National Network of Digital Schools to Have Strong presence at This Year’s iNACOL Conference

BEAVER, Pa., Nov. 7, 2011 The National Network of Digital Schools, a leader in educational management services and online curriculum development, is proud to be a part of this year’s Virtual School Symposium, sponsored by the International Association for K-12 Online Learning (iNACOL). This year’s event will be held November 9-11 in Indianapolis, Indiana.

iNACOL’s Virtual School Symposium highlights the cutting-edge work in K-12 online education across the country, of which NNDS and its subsidiaries, Lincoln Interactive and Backpack, are leaders. Lincoln Interactive, the nation’s premiere online learning curriculum, is a diamond sponsor of this year’s event.

“The Lincoln Interactive curriculum is changing the way students all across the country learn and schools all across the country teach,” said Bryan Bown, director of educational services for NNDS. “Our approach to online and blended learning makes us a leader in the industry. The Virtual School Symposium provides us with a wonderful opportunity to share our success with like-minded educators as well as learn from each other through networking, presentations, and the sharing of research and best practices.”

Lincoln Interactive will present the session “Creating a Blended Learning Environment for Elementary Students.” Presented by Kellie Hamilton, director of elementary curriculum and instruction, the session will address how elementary students can be engaged by online curriculum and how a blended environment can strengthen learning for that age group.

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Waukesha School District’s Virtual School Getting Makeover, New Name

The School Board voted Wednesday night to approve a name change, a marketing plan and curriculum modifications, with all changes deemed necessary as the district takes over control of the virtual school from its current partner, KC Distance Learning.

Starting next year, the new name of the virtual school will be Wisconsin Academy of Virtual Education (WAVE), causing one board member to humorously point out that the name follows in the long tradition of education to have a strong acronym.

Most of the discussion by the board about the changes was about the marketing plan for the virtual school, with some board members balking at the $460,000 estimated price tag.

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Oak Glen High School Achieves Program Success

His two year effort was part of the Alliance’s Student Educational and Economic Development Success (SEEDS) Program.

Woofter paired at risk freshmen with high school junior or senior peer mentors.

The SEEDS students were also introduced to Advanced Placement courses and their families were given information about the state’s virtual school‘s advanced courses.

The news relase said as a result of their SEEDS experience, a significant number of students demonstrated improved grades, attendance and an overall attitude toward school.

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IU13 virtual school set to go

Choices vary by district, however.

Pequea Valley, for example, is offering only the full-time option at the outset, Assistant Principal Jared Erb said.

The schools that have signed Virtual Solutions contracts under what IU 13 calls a “strategic alliance” include Lancaster, Columbia, Hempfield, Manheim Central, Lampeter-Strasburg, Penn Manor, Pequea Valley and Elizabethtown.

The Lebanon County partners are Annville Cleona, Cornwall-Lebanon and Lebanon.

Advocates say it’s high time for public schools to augment their traditional bricks-and-mortar offerings with virtual alternatives, including on demand tutoring, streaming videos, flash-drive activities, podcasts, blog writing and text and voice discussion forums.

Virtual Solutions will help schools offer more courses at a time when education budgets are being slashed, backers add.

Dubble said EdisonLearning, a public school management group in New York, is providing the high school courses for the program.

Educators from Intermediate Unit 15′s Capital Area Online Learning Association, the IU 13 virtual school counterpart in Harrisburg, are serving as mentors.

Virtual Solutions and CAOLA are among many online programs started recently by public schools nationwide, said Holly Brzycki, CAOLA supervisor of online learning.

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Local Classroom 1 Of Only 2 In US Testing Virtual Program

The students at the Reiffton School in Exeter Township, Berks County are experimenting with the program Avatar Storyteller. It’s the vision of former Exeter teacher Janet Hale.

“She left to create a virtual school and use 3D immersion for her learning process,” explained Scott Schaeffer, educational technology specialist for the Exeter Township School District. “She decided after she’d worked a number of years in that, that she wanted to bring that back to public school.”

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IU 13 eyes cyber school program

As they struggle to meet students’ needs, cash-strapped school districts find themselves in a Catch-22 situation.

On the one hand, they want to offer more courses and programs to better compete with increasingly popular cybercharter schools, which are costing them millions of dollars in tuition each year.

On the other, the economic downturn is making it difficult to pay for new programs and personnel.

Lancaster-Lebanon Intermediate Unit 13 thinks it has a solution.

The IU is developing a virtual school consortium that would allow public school students to take online courses while remaining in their “home” school districts.

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Bernie O’Neill to continue service in Bucks County’s 29th District

Since he was elected in 2002, O’Neill has focused on improving public education, reforming the school funding formula, preserving open space, advancing opportunities for individuals with disabilities and protecting the welfare of domestic animals, his website said.

In this term the representative said he would focus on establishing a virtual school that would level the playing field for students across the state. A virtual school, O’Neill said, would allow students to receive the same educational opportunities via the computer. The Internet would allow students to participate in programs that are not offered at their school or for which there is no teacher available to teach it.

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State Rep. Bernie O’Neill seeks another term

“Education is just not equal right now,” O’Neill said, citing the disparities between rural and suburban schools as well as urban and suburban.

If the virtual school became a reality all Pennsylvania students could receive the same educational opportunities via the computer. The Internet would allow students to participate in programs that are not offered at their school or for which there is no teacher available to teach.

The plan would also save school districts money because the online courses could be used in lieu of a tutor for homebound students.

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2010 School Year Begins for Students at Agora Cyber Charter School

WAYNE, Pa., Aug. 30 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — On Wednesday, students from Agora Cyber Charter School will begin online classes for the start of the 2010-2011 school year. Agora Cyber Charter School teachers and staff have been traveling across Pennsylvania meeting their students to prepare them for an exciting and productive school year using the award-winning K12 curriculum. The virtual school is a high-quality, tuition-free public school that creates an individualized online learning experience for each child.

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