An article in The Kansas City Star by Tim Engle is worthy of note and a thank you too. Engle starts his story, Virtual kids: Actually they’re real, but they go to school online describing the school day of eleventh-grader Philip Marten.

Marten’s second-hour class is orchestra. But first hour, third hour, fourth hour and the rest of his school day are spent not at school but at home in Shawnee.

Philip takes orchestra at Shawnee Mission Northwest High School because otherwise he wouldn’t be able to audition for all-state orchestra. But in his 16 years he has rarely darkened the door of a school building. Before high school, his parents homeschooled him.

Having been told that Marten’s day has a flexibility familiar to homeschoolers and now knowing he had homeschooled, I was not sure where we were going. The next subhead brought a bit of a surprise – a reporter getting the distinction between homeschooling and enrolling in a-school-at-home program right!

It’s not home school

The state of Missouri runs a virtual school, the Missouri Virtual
Instruction Program (www.movip.org), now in its third year. MoVIP, as
it’s known, started with 2,000 students and grew 30 percent its second
year. But this school year, enrollment is off about 20 percent thanks
to a $1 million state budget cut, says Curt Fuchs, Missouri’s
coordinator of educational support services. “We are now stalled
because of money,” he says.

But what exactly is a virtual school?

It’s not a home school — parents are the teachers and control the
curriculum in home schools — although like Philip, some home schoolers
have transitioned to virtual school. Virtual schools employ
state-certified teachers, who typically meet in “live” online sessions
once a week with classes. Teachers might use webcams or just microphones.

Thank you Tim Engle and The Kansas City Star.

In too many conversations I have found myself weighing the risk of sounding shrill against letting a misconception about homeschooling and public school program stand. We need more of these. Read the entire piece here.

It’s been an ugly row, and somehow the Illinois homeschooling name seemed to be in the middle of this issue.  Both of these parties (the Chicago public schools, along with the CTU President, Marilyn Stewart) talked a good bit about “home schooling”.

Virtual charter school can receive public funds Chi Town Daily News June 12, 2009
BY ADRIAN G. URIBARRI

Marilyn Stewart, president of the Chicago Teachers Union, says the difference was not enough to merit public funding. Since students of the virtual school spend most of their time learning at home, she says, they are essentially home-schooled.

“For someone to take public funds to home-school their children is not right,” she says. “It should not be on the backs of a majority of our students who are in our public schools.”

As I read the excerpt below, Judge Riley seems to have made a solid, factual decision based on Illinois charter school statutes:

From a K12 Business Wire:

The judgment ensures the continued lawful operation and funding of CVCS.

The Court concluded that the Plaintiffs arguments fail as a matter of law. The Court determined that CVCS is not a “home-based” school and therefore not in violation of charter school law, and that the school is in full compliance with the Illinois School Code.
In the ruling, the Court emphasized the differences between the model of instruction employed by CVCS and traditional home schooling, stating:
“Home schooling is a well-known and established means of education.While the form of home schools may vary, the underlying substance of the education is decided by a student’s parents.Home schools do not have to teach according to ISBE’s [Illinois State Board of Education’s] mandated curriculum, nor are the students required to take standardized tests to meet the State’s requirements for basic skills improvement.CVCS, however, is required to teach according to the ISBE curriculum.CVCS students must meet the State’s requirements of the No Child Left [Behind] Act.CVCS is subject to fiscal oversight by the ISBE and CBOE [Chicago Board of Education].And, unlike home-schooled students, CVCS students are graded by certified teachers.”

The Chi-Town Daily News quoted the CVCS head:

“There are differences between the way we do education and traditional home schooling,” says Bruce Law, head of the Chicago Virtual Charter School. “On that difference — that’s where we were making our case.”

In this case, it was necessary for them to show that their school is different from homeschooling.  K12 is providing the CVCS curriculum, and the Virginia based company is also lobbying in our state capitol for a state-wide virtual school.  In 2002, K12′s chair made this case below about his hope that independent homeschoolers would put up and shut up.  (Bennett was also the Reagan administration’s Secretary of Education):

How William Bennett’s Public E-Schools Affect Homeschooling-Larry and Susan Kaseman
November-December 2002

The major differences between Bennett’s goals and those of most homeschoolers can be seen clearly in Bennett’s comments during an interview by Mark Standriff on WSPD radio in Toledo, Ohio, August 16, 2002.

Standriff: What kind of opposition have you folks found?

Bennett: We found opposition from both sides of the political spectrum. Some of the homeschooling people have opposed us.
Standriff: Oh really, I would think this would be right in line with their thinking.
Bennett: Well it should be. Frankly, I’m disappointed. I’ve been defending homeschoolers for twenty years. But the principle I’m defending, Mark, is school choice, parental choice. The objection they have is that it shouldn’t be involved in public funding, at all. It shouldn’t be involved with government schools, as they say. But, I’m not prepared to relinquish $400 billion and just say, well never mind, this is not money that I’m entitled to. Parents are paying that money in taxes, they should have an option within the public school system that gives them a chance to educate their children at home, but be publicly accountable as all public schools should be.

The Chicago Public Schools attorney had this explanation in a 2006 Chicago Tribune article about the Chicago Virtual approval:

Illinois law states that charter schools must be “non-home based,” which the teacher’s union argued would restrict the state from approving the virtual school. State Supt. Randy Dunn recommended the board deny the virtual school’s application based on the law’s language. But board members and proponents of the virtual school said that charter school laws enacted in the 1990s did not anticipate the growth of technology that has made virtual schools possible. Rocks, the attorney for Chicago Public Schools, said the restrictions on”home-based” charter schools mushroomed from concerns that home schools were trying to become charter schools simply to get public dollars. He presented letters from state lawmakers who voted on Illinois’ charter school law, and said their intent was not to block Internet-based schooling.

The legislators might have been been worried that Illinois homeschoolers were looking at public monies, but I have seen little evidence of that.

The union voice from Ms. Stewart is harsh.  Chi-Town Daily News: Teachers union pans virtual classroom plan July 17, 2006
BY JENNIFER KOONS

“For them to think they can address the social and emotional issues of a child without being in the same room as that child is ludicrous,” Stewart said. “You can only adequately address these issues in a classroom where you have necessary peer support and peer interaction.”

Stewart expressed concern about a lack of interaction between students and educators.

“Qualified teachers are only providing 20 percent of the lessons,” Stewart said. “Who are the certified professionals who will supervising the students when they are off-line?”

She wasn’t done there.  The Southwest News Herald had a 2006 article (not available online) quoting her union concerns about children learning at home via the Chicago Virtual Charter School:

“How are students to model behavior with a computer screen,” said Stewart.

They’re in their home, dear.  The 8 year olds don’t need to model their behavior after the 8 year old in the next door desk.

But everything, including grading, she said, is being done virtually. And Stewart is unhappy that there is “no direct supervision.”

What, Stewart asked, if there are three or four children in a household enrolled in the virtual school? Are there going to be three or four parents watching the children?

“And who are these parents or guardians that are helping the children — their grandparent who barely speaks English, or a work-at-home parent?” asked Stewart.

She loves parents….I was feeling that.

That “S” word doesn’t seem to go away.  Socializing is a bit different than School Socialization.  Apparently, the Chicago Virtual families chose getting together in their community, as opposed to the same room as folks like Marilyn Stewart.

Experienced Educator, Newcomer Battle for Wis. Post Education Week Published Online: March 30, 2009 By The Associated Press

Fernandez never worked in a school. She spent her career as a pediatric nurse, but got involved in education policy when she worked as president of a coalition serving families whose children attended school over the Internet.

This particular statement got my attention: “A well-known supporter of charter schools, Fernandez has promised to be the “best friend” of home schoolers”.

That’s a good political sound bite, since office seekers have figured out that most homeschoolers vote. Important point though, charter schools are public schools. Homeschools are not. That point was even made in the Wisconsin Coalition of Virtual School Families newsletter:

Full-time online public charter schools must meet the same federal and state fiscal and accountability requirements as other public schools, including No Child Left Behind requirements.Online schools are not “homeschooling.” They are public schools.

Pssstt..the newsletter says that you can contact Rose Fernandez for further information

The Wisconsin Parent’s Association has a few thoughts on their website about this coming election. I posted the outline of their article below, but suggest reading the details in the 2 page document. It’s informative, grassroots homeschool advocacy.

Election of State Superintendent- WPA
(Posted March 9, 2009)

General Background Information on the Office of the State Superintendent of Public Instruction

Relationship of the Office of the State Superintendent of Public Instruction to Homeschooling

Should Homeschooling Be An Issue In This Campaign?

What we can do to minimize the extent to which homeschooling becomes an issue in this campaign

Need to Be Vigilant After the Election

The election is April 7th.

This point below was made in the WPA article too. From EdWeek:

The position is nonpartisan and largely administrative. While both candidates talk about broad reforms they’d like to make, most of the significant changes require legislative approval that is beyond the control of the DPI secretary.

However, they can help shape education policy by using the position as a bully pulpit to advance their agenda, working internally in their role administering state and federal aid and offering guidance to teachers and administrators, and by lobbying both the governor and Legislature.

Posted by Susan Ryan

Insight into a student’s life, 10 November 2007, Burnett County Sentinel, Grantsburg, Wisconsin

These students come from a variety of backgrounds and have chosen to enroll in the Insight School for a number of reasons.

Some chose Insight in order to access classes not available at their own school, others have selected it as an alternative to the home schooling in which they were engaged, and for some students with jobs, the freedom from the regular school day offers the flexibility needed to accommodate their busy lives.

For 15-year-old Emma Foss of Osceola, the decision to enroll in the Insight School was made as an alternative to the home schooling from which she had previously been learning.

No one can tell another person which experience is “better” because we all have our preferences, but this article’s focus seems to be this virtual public school’s superiority only over homeschooling.

“I think it’s better than home school because you get to interact with more people, and I think it’s better than public school because you’re not around all of the bad things that happen, but you still get to see what other peoples’ points of view are on things.”

posted by Valerie

For a long time, the received wisdom about children doing well in school hinged in part on parents helping the children with their lessons. Social authorities have dinned it into parents’ heads to be active in helping their children learn. Government tells parents to do this, as do television ads, and academic researchers:

• University of Michigan: “The most effective forms of parent involvement are those, which engage parents in working directly with their children on learning activities at home.”
• Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory: “The research overwhelmingly demonstrates that parent involvement in children’s learning is positively related to achievement. Further, the research shows that the more intensively parents are involved in their children’s learning, the more beneficial are the achievement effects.”
• NEA: “Reading achievement is more dependent on learning activities in the home than is math or science.”

The NEA has changed its stance from “adamantly opposing” virtual schooling:

NEA page on Charter Schools 2002

New concerns are being raised by the recent proliferation in California, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and elsewhere of non classroom-based charter schools, or “home-study schools.” These include online schools and distance-learning schools-an abuse of the charter school concept that NEA adamantly opposes.

… to thinking that the schools are not so bad after all:

current NEA page on Charter Schools:

NEA believes that charter schools and other nontraditional public school options have the potential to facilitate education reforms and develop new and creative teaching methods that can be replicated in traditional public schools for the benefit of all children.

Still, the NEA is not entirely comfortable with handing over the keys to learning. An NEA representative does not think that parents should horn in on the virtual teaching of children. She expresses a fear that the virtual programs are “homeschooling in disguise” and that parents will botch the job. I guess if the kids have questions they are supposed to stay glued to the computer screen, or wait their turn in virtual lines.

Virtual Schools Click With Parents, 13 August 2007, Tampa Tribune, Tampa, Florida

Home Schools In Virtual Clothing?

Stein, from the NEA, questioned to what extent such programs are home schooling in disguise.

Stein, who has helped draft standards for online education nationwide, said neither she nor the NEA objects to them. But an excess of parent involvement raises concerns about quality and accountability. “There are concerns about deputizing whoever happens to be at the kitchen table as a teacher.”

So, what does “home schooling in disguise” mean? It cannot mean parents using taxpayers’ money to buy substandard books or religious materials because the virtual school puts together the subjects, tests and books. Children who use virtual schools are (for the most part) public school enrollees and subject to NCLB testing. If the parents substitute materials, the children will not learn the same lessons that the tests are checking, and the kids might flunk. I assume that by using a virtual school, the parents want their children to do well in the program as it is structured. If this is the case, then tests take care of “accountability.”

Maybe the NEA representative meant that parents ‘get away with something,’ by using the virtual school but then teach the kids themselves. This kind of fudging, though, does not fit with the advice for parents to help their children at home.

ERIC: The Role of Parents in High-Achieving Schools Serving Low-Income, At-Risk Populations

Results suggest that schools struggling with unsatisfactory student achievement may benefit from focusing parent involvement efforts on building parenting capacity and encouraging learning-at-home activities.

What are parents supposed to do? Just pay the taxes and then hush up?

As for the “deputizing,” the schools are not the ones who deputize the parents; it is the other way around. We The People pay taxes to support schools to replace the at-home teaching of children. In loco parentis means that parents delegate their duties to others, not that schools allow parents to be caretakers.

The concept of public service has been mangled in the re-telling of who is serving whom.

posted by Valerie

posted by Valerie