Online charter schools respond to local demand from K-12 students

Imagine getting up for school each morning and only having to move as far as the nearest computer. This could soon be the reality for public-school students around Indiana.\nBall State University has authorized its sponsorship of the first virtual charter schools in the state, said Larry Gabbert, director of the Office of Charter Schools at Ball State.\nGabbert said public demand drove the university's decision to approve the fall 2007 opening of six charter schools throughout the state, including two virtual schools. This raises the total number of charter schools sponsored by Ball State to 25, he said.\nAccording to Ball State's Office of Charter Schools Web site, a virtual charter school is a charter school that provides more than 50 percent, but less than 100 percent, of student instruction through "virtual distance learning, online technologies or computer-based instruction." \nThe two virtual schools -- Indiana Connections Academy, which will be based in Muncie, and Indiana Virtual Charter School, to be based in Indianapolis -- will make Indiana approximately the 15th state to open a virtual charter school, according to the Web site.\nGabbert said the demand for virtual education in Indiana is "tremendous."\n"We've had over 10,000 inquires from people interested (in the virtual schools)," he said. "We're expecting a wide range of students. Some of them are homebound, some just want to work at their own pace."\nBoth schools are expected to provide services for students from kindergarten to 12th grade by 2012, he said.\nThere will, however, be a cap placed on the number of students who may attend, Gabbert said. One of the virtual schools is planning a first-year capacity of 15,000 students and the other plans to hold 700, he said.\nAll state charter schools, including the virtual ones, must have Indiana-certified teachers on staff, Gabbert said. For those students receiving their education over the computer, teacher instruction will be conducted online, over the telephone and, in some instances, face-to-face, he said.\nThe charter schools will be paid for by a mixture of local, state and federal funds, Gabbert said. \nThe idea of a publicly funded, home-based education has raised some opposition and concern, said Mark Shoup, a spokesman for the Indiana State Teachers Association. \nUnder state law, a charter school may not provide exclusively home-based instruction, although it may deliver educational services through the Internet and other online arrangements, according to the Indiana state government Web site. \n"It doesn't make sense that state funding should go to students who stay at home," Shoup said. "There is a 99 percent chance that these students will never attend a bricks-and-mortar school."\nAnother point of concern for the teachers association is that Ball State will provide free textbooks and some supplies for virtual school students -- a luxury not afforded to other public-school students and their families, Shoup said. \nShoup said it's not fair to the state or traditional schools that millions of dollars in taxpayers' money will be used to fund the virtual schools. The association's position states that Ball State should use its own state funding or charge a fee for the charter students to cover costs, he said.\n"All we're asking is that Ball State doesn't pull the money away from traditional schools," Shoup said. "We're struggling to keep above water as it is"