Laura Drews has converted a corner of her San Jose dining room into a public school. Every weekday, she guides her first-, fifth- and eighth-grade children through their class assignments, delivered through textbooks and desktop computers.
The Drews’ unorthodox education is paid for by taxpayers, but created and operated by a for-profit company based in Virginia. The California Virtual Academy at San Mateo is part of an expanding network of virtual public schools, including 10 in the Bay Area, that provide much of the instruction online with the help of a parent.
The schools are a manifestation of the charter school movement, which gives parents and students more choice in public education. Proponents say the virtual schools give students the intimacy of home schooling while maintaining the structure of a public school. Nationally, there are an estimated 200,000 full-time virtual charter school students, said Susan Patrick, chief executive of the International Association for K-12 Online Learning.
Full story: The Bay Citizen – Public Financing Supports Growth of Online Charter Schools – NYTimes.com