November 17, 2011

KP 2011: State virtual schools

The next type of online programs we’ll dig into are the state virtual schools. In a dedicated section beginning on p. 28, Keeping Pace 2011 identified 40 state virtual schools and state-led online initiatives. State virtual schools typically offer supplemental courses to high school students, although there are examples of additional grade levels served and limited full-time options. With the exception of the Wyoming Switchboard Network, the state-led online initiatives typically do not track enrollments, so here are some key data points for the 30 state virtual schools (SVS):

    • 536,000 total course enrollments (one student in one semester course) nationwide in 2010-11, showing annual growth of 19%
    • The largest SVS by course enrollments in 2010-11 were:
      Florida Virtual School – 536,272
      North Carolina Virtual Public School – 88,716
      Alabama ACCESS – 33,743
      Michigan Virtual School – 17,700
      Texas Virtual School Network – 17,117
      Idaho Digital Learning Academy – 14,481
    • 18 of the SVS are identified as prominent, with funding that is based on a formula that taps into the public education funding formula or a state appropriation
    • 10 of the SVS are small, typically because of lack of consistent funding (often relying on district support)
    • Vermont Virtual Learning Cooperative opened in 2010
    • Nebraska Virtual School opened in fall 2011
    • Texas and Tennessee were both fairly large in 2010-11 but lost state funding in 2011-12 (and enrollments appear to be responding accordingly)
    • Maryland Virtual Learning Opportunities lost its funding and is now considered a state-led initiative

If you scroll down on the Reports & Graphics page, you’ll see many of the graphics included in the 2011 report, including the state virtual school enrollment map. Thanks to our generous sponsors, these graphics are here for you to download and use under the Creative Common license.

One Response to KP 2011: State virtual schools

  1. Pingback: KP 2011: State virtual schools « Uncategorized « Keeping Pace | VR2Learning | Scoop.it

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>

WordPress SEO fine-tune by Meta SEO Pack from Poradnik Webmastera