Wisconsin's Janice Mertes highlights state's digital content gains

Wisconsin, like most states, is searching for the best ways to manage the widening spectrum of licensed and openly available content for the state's teachers, many of whom are now contributing their own, according to Janice Mertes, assistant director for instructional media and technology at Wisconsin's Department of Public Instruction.

Mertes spoke with EdScoop during the recent State Education Technology Directors Association annual leadership summit about the growing role of open educational resources and a variety of technology and instructional media initiatives currently underway in Wisconsin.

Keep reading here.

BEYOND THE SCORE South Carolina Connections Academy is 'hole in one' for Pawleys Island golfer

Jackson Cole is at the top of his game on the golf course and in the classroom.

The 16-year-old all-region, all-state and former regional player of the year attributes his success to making a tough decision four years ago when the Pawleys Island student decided to forgo a traditional brick-and-mortar education and enroll in South Carolina Connections Academy, a tuition-free virtual public school.

Read more here. 

Online school setting helped Hastings teen overcome personal struggle

When Kyle Stendel was struggling in the public school setting and battling anxiety and depression, his mother, Wendy Stendel, took it upon herself to find an alternative solution. She found the online school called Insight School of Minnesota, a public, online school for grades six to 12. 

“It just allowed him that time to step away from the stressors that were going on in his original school setting and focus on healing him,” Wendy said.

Kyle started at Insight School in the eighth grade. Wendy said one of the most beneficial components of him attending the online school was the flexibility. He was able to go to his doctor appointments while still being able to view the recording of a class he may have missed from earlier in the day.

Keep reading here.

School Choice Program Saved up to $3.4 Billion for Taxpayers

By choosing Betsy DeVos as his nominee for the Department of Education, Donald Trump has proven his seriousness about increasing school choice and ending the Beltway’s micromanagement of local education. But whether the subject is charter schools, vouchers, distance learning, or education savings accounts, the teachers’ unions have cried foul. Their interest isn’t students, parents, or even individual teachers, but rather preserving their cut of the $670 billion K-12 market.

Read more here. 

Virtual public school working wonders for Washington state elementary student

Monte McGary is in third grade and he’s finally getting what he’s been in need of academically. A challenge. 

Before enrolling in Washington Connections Academy this school year, Monte attended a brick and mortar school in the Battle Ground School District. Since kindergarten, he’s been more advanced than his peers. He was becoming bored in class on a regular basis. 

Keep reading here.

Utah Connections Academy Student: Online School Helps Me Succeed

Sophia Perkins writes in the Deseret News:

I attend online school at Utah Connections Academy. There are many reasons as to why I am thankful for this school option: I am able to move at my own pace, I have done so much better than I did in traditional school, and it helps with my schedule. When I attended traditional high school, I wasn’t able to move at my own pace; sometimes I needed to go slower and other times I wanted to go faster. In online school I can take my time, and even if I fall behind I don’t feel pressured to constantly get caught up — this helps especially in math.

Online school, honestly, helped me become more successful in my academic career. I have a very time-dependent schedule. I am a teen parent, which I am proud of, and I am also working on getting a part-time job. Attending UCA helps me because I can work around my own schedule and at my own pace. The main reason I am thankful for UCA is the teachers and all their help. They always respond to every webmail I send, call me when I need them to, and help in live lessons. No matter how many times I ask, they are always very helpful.

Sophia Perkins

West Valley City

Charter Schools Are Working for Kids and Parents. Here’s How We Can Tell That Story

There are various views about public school choice coming out of the 2016 election. Some choice advocates view the Trump administration as more committed to school choice in all its forms than the Obama administration’s “pro-charter, anti-voucher” posture.

A less sunny view is based on elections results in “blue” Massachusetts and “red” Georgia, where voters in both states soundly rejected pro-school choice ballot initiatives. National surveys showing strong support for choice may be masking ambivalence or outright hostility at the state or local level.

Read more here.

Oregon girl shines under Broadway's bright lights and attends virtual school

Washington County resident Bobbi Mackenzie Chambers remembers what renowned composer Andrew Lloyd Webber told her when they met for the first time. 

The pint-sized tween walked into a room with a giant piano and began to sing “If Only You Would Listen,” her final audition song for a role in Lloyd Webber’s latest Broadway musical. 

“The last two lines he said to me were, ‘You always wanted to be on Broadway? Well, welcome to Broadway,’” remembers Bobbi, 11. 

Last year, she and her father moved from their home in Tigard to New York City to pursue that career dream.

Keep reading here.