Posted in Current News

 

 

Among other pieces of junk mail to hit our post office box recently, one in particular caught my attention as a homeschooling parent.

 

It was an invitation to an “Education xPo” at the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis regarding a new educational option to Indiana students – the K12 Indiana Virtual Charter School (INVCS).

 

Instruction in a virtual charter school takes place in the home via the computer and using text books provided by the company. On the surface, this new educational option sounds like a delightful blend between homeschooling and public school – and it’s free!

 

Books, materials, and a computer (on loan) are provided by INVCS through the K12 company (located in Herndon, VA).   Indeed, based upon the K12 website, these are the same resources that I buy to use with my own student, but with this program I could receive them for free. 

 

But, how does a virtual charter school compare to “traditional” homeschooling in Indiana?

 

First, it is helpful to understand the position of a homeschool in our state.  Indiana’s law views a homeschool as “a school that is non-public, non-accredited, and not otherwise approved by the Indiana Board of Education.”

 

Thus homeschoolers are required to provide instruction for the same number of days as the public school system, generally 180 days per year.   Also, because a homeschool is “non-accredited,” homeschool students are not required to administer standardized tests, including the ISTEP.

 

In comparison, the Indiana Virtual Charter School is a form of public school.  It is accredited, it is open to anyone, and is approved by the Indiana Board of Education.  As such, INVCS will require students to take the ISTEP exam.  Additionally, it will require an annual Measure of Academic Progress (MAP) exam and, for children K-3, it will require a Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) test for pre-reading and early reading skills.

 

This form of public school will double the amount of standardized testing required in grades 2-10 and triple it for third graders.

 

Let’s revisit that idea of “free” textbooks again.  As a homeschooling teacher, I have available to me an array of resources for teaching the basic subjects as well as history, science, art, languages, and physical education.  The virtual charter school will make these choices for me, using materials I already know and like. 

 

But, what if these materials now, or in the future, fail to engage my student?  What if they present ideas of which I, as a parent, disapprove?  What if the style of learning used by the program doesn’t suit my child? There are no options or choices in the INVCS on this issue, unless I wish to disenroll my student from the program (and give back the loaned computer and books). 

 

Homeschool students traditionally work at their own pace, sometimes working grades ahead in some areas, while being at grade level in others.  Such students typically love to learn and excel at their studies. 

 

Though the INVCS claims to be “self-paced and flexible,” this pacing comes with a timeline “within the parameters specified by state law.”  In addition, through the INVCS, a teacher is assigned to groups of 45-50 families.  INVCS requires a teachers conference with parents and students twice every month during the school year.

 

Of course, nothing is truly free.  Virtual charter schools are another form of public school and, as such, are supported by our tax dollars. 

 

However, is the amount of control given to schools such as the INVCS worth the price of a computer and textbooks? 

 

By enrolling in an INVCS, parents lose their ability to have a say in local issues regarding education.  Those issues will now be resolved by the state.  INVCS will choose the textbooks, the coursework, and the pace at which your child will move through these materials.

 

The advantage to the state is tremendous as many districts face overcrowding, relatively high student-teacher ratios, and increased incidents of student violence resulting in suspensions or expulsion.  These same concerns may recommend the INVCS to parents who would rather choose public-school-at-home over a brick-and-mortar school.

 

In the end, the primary issue is parental choice.  The many options we have for educating our children was determined by the generations that went before us.  How we exercise that choice is up to us. 

 

But, to make such a choice, we must be informed, and this just might require educating the parents.