From Religion News Service:
Since Florida became the first state to try them in 1996, virtual public schools have enjoyed dramatic growth, with at least some of it coming from religious families. Like home-schooling parents, parents of virtual public school students like having their children home so they can integrate religion and values into the school day.
In the 2011-2012 school year, 275,000 students were enrolled in online K-12 programs, up from 50,000 a decade ago, according to “Keeping Pace with Online and Blended Learning: A Guide to Policy and Practice 2012,” a report from the Colorado-based Evergreen Education Group. Currently, 32 states and the District of Columbia offer virtual public schools.
A growing number of private religious schools are also seeking religious course developers to develop virtual courses for them.
“There’s a lot of interest about online learning in the faith community,” said Matthew Wicks, chief operating officer for the International Association for K-12 Online Learning. Full story here.
