More students embrace virtual learning

Debra Sewell sat alongside her 6-year-old son in his classroom, a bedroom of their North Charleston home.

It's home schooling with a twist -- Malachi is enrolled in a public online school. The first-grader connects to his lessons, classmates and teacher through his computer, receiving a public education minus the traditional brick-and-mortar school.

Virtual learning is a relatively new concept to the Palmetto State, but interest in it is intense. Online charter schools launched in South Carolina last year, and enrollment grew 40 percent to 7,492 students this year.

The state Department of Education runs a separate Virtual School Program that allows students to take supplemental courses online -- it's not a school so students can't earn a diploma -- and participation has skyrocketed since its 2006 pilot year from about 1,920 students to more than 16,000 this year.

"I've worked in education most of my adult life, and you could've blown me over with a feather when I saw the enrollment," said Wayne Brazell, superintendent of the state's Public Charter School District that oversees the state's five virtual charter schools.

Virtual learning is becoming popular across the country. State online learning programs enrolled about 450,000 students in 2009-10, which was a nearly 40 percent increase from the previous year, according to Keeping Pace, an annual report on K-12 online learning. Two states, North Carolina and Florida, accounted for 96 percent of that growth, and the rest of the states' enrollment amounted to a 4 percent increase. Full-time virtual schools enrolled about 200,000 students.

In South Carolina, Brazell doesn't expect the growth to plateau until virtual charter schools enroll about 25,000 of the state's 700,000 students, and the only problem he foresees is money.

Most of the companies operating the nonprofit virtual schools are doing so at a deficit, he said. They've invested money into the school but can't break even because of the way the state funds schools in that district. They receive state and federal funds but no local money, which means they don't receive near as much as charter schools approved by local school boards.

"The funding level now is not sustainable," he said.

Even the state's Virtual School Program, which is paid for from the general funds that go to the department, is suffering. The budget shortfall this year has meant the state has had to limit its enrollment, although the demand would warrant expansion. The state has relied on federal and grant funds to cover its costs, and the state money only has been enough to cover staff members' salaries, said Suzette Lee, the instructional program manager for the state.

"I think we've come to a point where we can't do more and more with less and less," she said

Educators generally don't see a problem with the rapid growth, but Brazell said some students have enrolled before they understood the way online schools work. They think it's going to be easier than a traditional school or they aren't good at independent learning, and many end up withdrawing, he said.

"It's a good fit for a lot of students -- much more than I thought -- but not everyone," Brazell said.

Students are enrolling in these virtual charter schools for varied reasons. Allison Reaves, principal of South Carolina Connections Academy, said some families come to them because their children are zoned to attend an under-performing school. Others have said they worry about bullying, while other children are involved in extracurricular activities and want the flexible schedules involved in online learning.

Many children also have special needs, such as Malachi, who has severe food allergies. His mother felt concerned about his health and safety, but she also wanted him to be able to learn at his own pace. She and her husband work different full-time shifts as an airline customer service representative and restaurant server, respectively, but they've figured out a way to split the responsibility for teaching Malachi at home.

The online charter school gives Malachi the freedom to take private and group ice skating lessons, and if he ever wants to compete, he will be able to do that, she said.

"It's perfect for us," she said. "He gets everything a regular school would have without the public school setting. He gets up every morning and he wants to go to school."

Malachi participates in live, interactive lessons with his teacher and classmates, and he goes on field trips with other local students. He's met a good friend through his class, and they get together for regular play dates, she said.

Still, she said someone has to be willing to take the time to guide students through their lessons.

"As long as parents are willing to make this effort and have the ability to do this -- and thankfully, we do -- it's wonderful," she said.

For more on the state Department of Education's Virtual School Program, go to: scvspconnect.ed.sc.gov.

For more information on the state's online charter schools, go to www.sccharter.com. The six online charter schools, the grade levels they serve, and their enrollment include:

South Carolina Virtual Charter School: K-12, 3,008 students

South Carolina Connections Academy: K-12, 2,379 students

Provost Academy: 9-12, 1,392 students

Palmetto State e-Cademy: 9-12, 429 students

South Carolina Calvert Academy: K-8, 284 students

South Carolina Whitmore School: will open in 2011 and accepts high school students who are at risk of dropping out

Source: South Carolina Public Charter School District

Reach Diette Courrégé at 937-5546.