Pandemic Speeds US Rise in Virtual Schools

 

There has been a long list of difficulties with distance learning during the pandemic. But public school systems across the United States are now setting up more virtual learning centers. They hope to serve families who feel remote learning works best for their children.

Thirty-eight state education departments answered an Associated Press survey this summer. Their answers showed more permanent virtual schools and programs will be in place in the coming school year.

Some parents are concerned about the coronavirus. But they also like the independence that comes with remote schooling¹.

In addition, schools want to improve attendance. They have seen too many students leave for virtual schools, home schooling, private schools and other choices. Fewer students could mean less financing for school districts.

Dan Domenech is executive director of the American Association of School Administrators². He said virtual schooling is the future.

"Some of these states might be denying it now. But soon they will have to get in line because they will see other states doing it," he said. And they will see why it is a good idea.

Karen Strauss is a parent in the U.S. state of New Jersey³. She lost a brother-in-law to the pandemic. Her vaccinated⁴ teenager will return to school in person. But she wants her 5-year-old son, Logan, at home until he can get the vaccine⁵. Strauss said Logan has done well online under the guidance of his teachers.

"If learning from home is what's best for them, why not do that? What's the reason, except that people are afraid of change?" she said.

School districts' plans for long-term, full-time⁶ virtual programs grew during the pandemic. Students in virtual learning centers usually are educated separately from a district's other students.

In Virginia, before the pandemic, most local virtual programs offered individual classes only to grades 6-12. Few offered full-time learning. But in the new school year, 110 of Virginia's 132 school districts will use Virtual Virginia, a state-operated program that includes all grades. It will provide some or all of their full-time virtual schooling, spokesperson Charles Pyle said.

So far, more than 7,500 students have enrolled⁸ in Virtual Virginia full time for the fall. That compares with just a little over 400 students in the 2019-20 school year, he said.

In Tennessee, state officials approved 29 new online schools for the 2021-22 school year. That is more than two times the number created over the last ten years, spokesperson Brian Blackley said.

Like most U.S. states, New Mexico is requiring schools to offer in-person learning this year. But the Rio Rancho Public Schools used federal money to add the remote SpaRRk Academy for K-5 grades. A survey found nearly 600 of the 7,500 student families wanted to continue virtual schooling.

The spread of COVID-19's delta⁹ variant¹⁰ and rising infection rates have caused worry at the start of this school year. But President Joe Biden and educators across the country suggest returning to in-person schooling. Their main concern is that many students were served poorly by distance learning.

Test scores in Texas showed the percentage of students reading at their grade level fell to the lowest levels since 2017. Louisiana tests scores also showed that public school students who attended in-person classes during the pandemic did better.

Research before the pandemic raised questions about the performance of fully¹¹ virtual schools. A 2019 report from the National Education Policy Center said data was limited by inconsistent reporting and school requirements. But it showed that only 48.5 percent rated acceptable out of 320 virtual schools with available ratings.

Domenech said families seeking virtual schooling often have children who are strong students. Remote learning is great for personalized learning because it lets them move at their own speed, he said.

States handle remote learning requirements differently.

Massachusetts, for example, requires districts to give proposals that include details about equitable¹² access, curriculum and demand. New online schools in Arizona have a trial period until student performance proves the schools are academically sound.

At least some of the virtual schools that districts set up may never take in students. In North Carolina, 52 districts made plans for fully virtual schools. Some were set up only in case they were needed, says education department spokesperson Mary Lee Gibson.

States like New Jersey, Texas and Illinois have removed widespread remote choices. Instead, they are giving the choice to students with special situations. But some parents are pushing back.

New Jersey mother Deborah Odore said she wants her son and daughter to continue schooling remotely this year for health reasons. They are too young to be vaccinated.

Words in This Story

survey – n. an activity in which many people are asked questions in order to gather information about what most people do or think about something

(school) district – n. an area or region containing the schools that a school board is in charge of

teenager – n. someone who is between 13 and 19 years old

variant – n. different in some way from others of the same kind

score – n. the number of points that someone gets for correct answers on a test or exam

data – n. facts or information used usually to calculate, analyze¹³, or plan something

grade - n. a level of study that is completed by a student during one year

enroll⁷ - v. to enter someone as a member of or participant in something

access – n. a way of getting near, at, or to something or someone

curriculum – n. the courses that are taught by a school, college or program

academic – adj. of or relating to schools and education

1 schooling   

n.教育；正规学校教育

参考例句：

• A child's access to schooling varies greatly from area to area.孩子获得学校教育的机会因地区不同而大相径庭。
• Backward children need a special kind of schooling.天赋差的孩子需要特殊的教育。

2 administrators   

n.管理者( administrator的名词复数 )；有管理（或行政）才能的人；（由遗嘱检验法庭指定的）遗产管理人；奉派暂管主教教区的牧师

参考例句：

• He had administrators under him but took the crucial decisions himself. 他手下有管理人员，但重要的决策仍由他自己来做。 来自辞典例句
• Administrators have their own methods of social intercourse. 办行政的人有他们的社交方式。 来自汉英文学 - 围城

3 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

4 vaccinated   

[医]已接种的，种痘的，接种过疫菌的

参考例句：

• I was vaccinated against tetanus. 我接种了破伤风疫苗。
• Were you vaccinated against smallpox as a child? 你小时候打过天花疫苗吗？

5 vaccine   

n.牛痘苗，疫苗；adj.牛痘的，疫苗的

参考例句：

• The polio vaccine has saved millions of lives.脊髓灰质炎疫苗挽救了数以百万计的生命。
• She takes a vaccine against influenza every fall.她每年秋季接种流感疫苗。

6 full-time   

adj.满工作日的或工作周的，全时间的

参考例句：

• A full-time job may be too much for her.全天工作她恐怕吃不消。
• I don't know how she copes with looking after her family and doing a full-time job.既要照顾家庭又要全天工作，我不知道她是如何对付的。

7 enroll   

v.招收；登记；入学；参军；成为会员（英)enrol

参考例句：

• I should like to enroll all my children in the swimming class.我愿意让我的孩子们都参加游泳班。
• They enroll him as a member of the club.他们吸收他为俱乐部会员。

8 enrolled   

adj.入学登记了的v.[亦作enrol]( enroll的过去式和过去分词 )；登记，招收，使入伍（或入会、入学等），参加，成为成员；记入名册；卷起，包起

参考例句：

• They have been studying hard from the moment they enrolled. 从入学时起，他们就一直努力学习。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He enrolled with an employment agency for a teaching position. 他在职业介绍所登了记以谋求一个教师的职位。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 delta   

n.（流的）角洲

参考例句：

• He has been to the delta of the Nile.他曾去过尼罗河三角洲。
• The Nile divides at its mouth and forms a delta.尼罗河在河口分岔，形成了一个三角洲。

10 variant   

adj.不同的，变异的；n.变体，异体

参考例句：

• We give professional suggestions according to variant tanning stages for each customer.我们针对每位顾客不同的日晒阶段，提供强度适合的晒黑建议。
• In a variant of this approach,the tests are data- driven.这个方法的一个变种，是数据驱动的测试。

11 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

12 equitable   

adj.公平的；公正的

参考例句：

• This is an equitable solution to the dispute. 这是对该项争议的公正解决。
• Paying a person what he has earned is equitable. 酬其应得,乃公平之事。

13 analyze   

vt.分析，解析 (=analyse)

参考例句：

• We should analyze the cause and effect of this event.我们应该分析这场事变的因果。
• The teacher tried to analyze the cause of our failure.老师设法分析我们失败的原因。