When the coronavirus pandemic hit in 2020, Florida Virtual School came to the rescue of more than just students in the Sunshine State. It jumped at the opportunity to partner with more than 160 new schools and districts to quickly put in place online learning programs. This week, the organization[Read More…]
Virtual Education
The other back-to-school story
Editor’s note: This commentary from Bruno V. Manno, senior advisor to the Walton Family Foundation’s K-12 Program and a reimaginED contributor, appeared Monday on RealClear Education. Back-to-school stories this year will focus, naturally, on the Covid-19 pandemic’s toll on students and families and on remedying these difficulties. But another story is being[Read More…]
Florida Virtual School mom: Her children learn anytime, anywhere
“ … our children discovered a new way of learning that has worked well for them. They enjoy the classes, their teachers, and the flexibility of learning online.” – Marcela Reis Marcela Reis is a mother of three from Boca Raton, Florida. All three children attend Florida Virtual School, the[Read More…]
Virtual school enrollment in Florida, nationally on the rise
Enrollment at Florida’s statewide public online virtual school is climbing as the coronavirus Delta variant surges amid fall semester school re-openings. Florida Virtual School is projecting more than 12,300 full-time students for the 2021-22 school year, less than the number who attended during the 2020-21 school year but significantly higher[Read More…]
Florida Virtual School teachers learned along with their students during the pandemic
When the coronavirus pandemic shuttered brick and mortar schools and fueled a rush to online education in the spring of 2020, Florida Virtual School stepped up, investing $4.3 million in an expansion that allowed it to serve 2.7 million students by May. As COVID-19 cases soared over the summer and[Read More…]
New Florida Virtual School board member brings special education experience to role
Editor’s note: Last year, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed a new slate of trustees to the board of the Florida Virtual School. Vice chairperson Linda Reiter is one of those appointees and the first in redefinED’s occasional series of profiles of leaders and advocates in the education choice movement. [Read More…]
Teachers unions are keeping kids out of the classroom; school choice can ensure they learn anyway
Editor’s note: This commentary from Jude Schwallbach, research associate and project coordinator at The Heritage Foundation, originally appeared in The Daily Signal. National School Choice Week has taken on renewed importance this year, as too many families are approaching the one-year mark of crisis online learning provided by their public[Read More…]
redefinED’s best of 2020: Switch, now, to online learning? This charter school org was ready
Editor’s note: During the holiday season, redefinED is reprising the “best of the best” from our 2020 archives. This post originally published March 26. About a decade ago, Fernando Zulueta was making a presentation to school district officials in Florida about why his charter school support company, Academica, needed to[Read More…]