AHA Citizen Journal

Virtual students’ go to school without being in school

From the Post-Star in the Adirondack region of New York

By Tim Engle October 18, 2009

Philip Marten of Shawnee, Kansas, was homeschooled until high school. Now he attends school online from home. As co-conductor of the Kansas City Youth Symphony he finds the virtual school a good fit for his schedule.

Reporter Tim Engle explores the phenomenon of virtual schools: what they are, who attends them, their strengths and limitations, and, most importantly, the characteristics of kids who are successful in the virtual environment.

Contributed by Linda Aragoni

More from the article:

But what exactly is a virtual school?

It’s not a home school – parents are the teachers and control the curriculum in home schools – although like Philip, some home schoolers have transitioned to virtual school. Virtual schools employ state-certified teachers, who typically meet in “live” online sessions once a week with classes. Teachers might use webcams or just microphones.