Virtual savings? Online courses bring better access but little impact on the bottom line - Virtual High School

School Administrator, April, 2004 by Brett Schaeffer

The Michigan Virtual High School, which already offers 336 online courses to high school students, is about to expand into the professional development arena. "We're putting together a large package of online professional development courses that teachers in any district can tap into," says Robert Currie, executive director of the Michigan Virtual High School.

Dubbed Michigan Learn Port, the first online professional development courses will be available this summer, he adds.

Each Michigan school district will have to develop its own specific plan for teachers to use the online courses, either by paying for a group rate or buying individual "seats" for their teachers, says Currie, a former superintendent.

What's Ahead

Though online student courses haven't reaped savings for schools, some educators believe the potential for cost savings still exists.

Ciardulli, an administrator with the Georgia Department of Education, is working with colleagues in Maryland to share online content for use by teachers in both states. Ultimately, she says, the best solution would be to have all of the states sharing online content, thus maximizing resources.

That notion is only in its beginning stages, Ciardulli says, noting that the states have to determine how to set standards for those shared courses, "so that we're all sharing the same quality."

The model is similar to the Virtual High School, the Massachusetts-based pioneer of virtual courses, which operates as a cooperative. Each high school pays an annual membership fee to join the cooperative, and all member schools agree to have one high school teacher teach a course online through VHS each semester, says Liz Pape, the executive director.

Tom Scullen, the superintendent in Appleton, Wis., supports the notion of shared-content. "At the high school level, it's the way to go," he says. "It's an opportunity to share resources." And possibly cut costs, he adds.

Most school districts, even in the midst of their current budget crunches, are well.positioned to use online instruction.

"Even if it's not a big money saver, it's affordable," says Andrew Zucker, associate director of the Center for Online Professional Education. "It's in the ballpark for a lot of districts because they've already paid for an Internet connection and computers," he says. "And online learning is here to stay."

RELATED ARTICLE: Houston, we have a problem.

Like many small rural school districts, the 500-student Houston Independent School District in southeastern Minnesota must be mindful of declining enrollment numbers.

So to stave off the real threat of a diminishing student body, district officials looked to online education. In fall 2002 the school district opened the Minnesota Virtual Academy, a partnership between the Houston schools and K12 Inc., the private, Virginia-based company founded by former U.S. Education Secretary William Bennett.

The academy, which receives as much as $4,600 per-pupil funding from the state, depending on the enrollment status of the student, delivers a full course load of online instruction to approximately 200 students in kindergarten through 7th grade.