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Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Daily Kos: Do you REALLY think online charter schools are the answer?

Daily Kos: Do you REALLY think online charter schools are the answer?:


Do you REALLY think online charter schools are the answer?

Many of the so-called "reformers" and many of their allies among Republican governors and legislators seem to - after all, that is why they have been pushing this particular approach for a number years.
If you have any interest in this topic, I am going to strongly urge you to read a just-released policy brief from theNational Education Policy Center.  Titled Understanding and Improving Full-Time Virtual Schools, and has a subtitle which reads "A Study of Student Characteristics, School Finance, and School Performance in Schools Operated by K12 Inc.: The authors are Gary Miron, a professor at Western Michigan University, and Jessica L. Urschel, a doctoral student at the University.  K12 Inc. is the nation's largest operator of online charter schools, and is controversial enough that New Jersey, whose governor Chris Christie has been actively involved in undermining public education in that state, just postponed acting on a request from K12 to open a charter in that state.
I have not had time to thoroughly examine the report, as I was offline for most of yesterday.  It is formally being