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E-schools provide valuable option, say participants

Jared Sellers, 18, works on a computer in the living room of his parents’ Beavercreek home. His brother, Joseph, 14, works on a computer in the background. Jared recently graduated from Ohio Virtual Academy, which his siblings still attend online. He plans to attend college at Brigham Young University

Ron Alvey Jared Sellers, 18, works on a computer in the living room of his parents’ Beavercreek home. His brother, Joseph, 14, works on a computer in the background. Jared recently graduated from Ohio Virtual Academy, which his siblings still attend online. He plans to attend college at Brigham Young University

ENLARGE PHOTO

Gerald Fullam Source: Ohio Department of Education

ENLARGE PHOTO

Gerald Fullam Source: Ohio Department of Education

ENLARGE PHOTO

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By Margo Rutledge Kissell, Staff Writer Updated 2:56 PM Monday, August 2, 2010

BEAVERCREEK — Doug and Linda Sellers grew disenchanted with traditional public education and wanted something that would meet the needs of all four of their children.

Their eldest son, Jared, was gifted but had grown bored with school.

Daughter Sarah had been bullied.

Joseph fell behind because of medical issues and youngest son, Matthew, hated school because, according to his father, he had been mislabeled as academically challenged when he was younger.

The parents said they found the answer in the Ohio Virtual Academy based near Toledo, which has seen its enrollment grow to about 8,400 students in nine years.

It is one of Ohio’s 27 online schools offering education to students in kindergarten through 12th grade.

The e-schools are public charter schools that receive taxpayer dollars. They are operated by sponsors that might be a for-profit corporation, a school district or other educational entity.

Because the online charter schools are public schools, there are no tuition costs. Charter school students are counted as part of the funded enrollment base for school districts and payment to the e-schools are deducted from the foundation payment of the school district where the student lives. That cost is $5,718 per pupil, but e-schools receive more for special education students.

The Sellers children are among an estimated 200,000 students nationally enrolled in e-schools, according to the International Association for K-12 Online Learning.

Doug Sellers, who spent 17 years in the Air Force before becoming a civilian engineer at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, said he never considered online learning for his children until he earned his master’s degree in engineering online from the University of Southern California.

Linda Sellers, who stays at home with the children and fills the vital role of “learning coach,” said the nontraditional education works for them, but it’s not for every family. She believes the e-school curriculum offers more structure than home schooling.

All the Sellers’ kids said the switch was worth it, though Jared admits it was “strenuous” finding and maintaining a social life though he attended two proms — Beavercreek’s and Ohio Virtual Academy’s, which was held at COSI in Columbus.

“You have to actively seek out social interaction,” said Jared, 18, who recently graduated from the online school and plans to attend Brigham Young University-Idaho where he plans to live on campus. “Doing high school and college online might be pushing it a bit,” he said.

The Sellers, who are Mormons, said the children are heavily involved in church, Scouts and other activities to keep them socially active.

Sarah, 17, now a senior, said she finds e-school less stressful because there isn’t the normal load of homework and “no one judges you on your appearance.”

Matthew, 12, a seventh-grader, especially enjoys the flexibility of the hours.

School’s open 24/7 during school year

At Ohio Virtual Academy, kindergartners through eighth-graders must do approximately 25 hours of course work per week; high school students 30-35 hours. It doesn’t matter if they log on in the morning or evening, said Beth French, development manager for the Ohio Virtual Academy, which is sponsored by the Ohio Council of Community Schools.

The school is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, during the normal school year. Students, now on summer break, start back in late August.

French called the school another option for Ohio students and said they have participants in all 88 counties.

She said the e-school provides the same education to all students regardless of whether they live in an urban, suburban or rural environment. They get the exact same materials and have contact with the same licensed teachers. Online schools have been criticized for bypassing teacher unions.

The Ohio Virtual Academy employs 275 teachers who work from home offices, she said.

The state requires teachers to have four annual face-to-face meetings with students, and most have weekly contact through e-mail or by phone, French said.

The number of e-school students has continued to climb statewide although 16 online schools have closed, according to a list provided by the Ohio Department of Education, which oversees them.

Julie Daubenmire, the department’s assistant press secretary, said several e-schools closed because they no longer had financial viability and a few merged with traditional public schools.

Tom Lasley, executive director of EDvention, a collaborative dedicated to accelerating science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) talent in the Dayton area, said one expert predicts that by 2020, half of high school classes will be taught online. Lasley thinks the e-option allows students to experience different forms of learning; and that, one day, spending hours away from home at a traditional school will be viewed as outdated as the one-room schoolhouse is today.

“I think e-schooling is going to mature in ways that are more strategic,” he said, “beyond the ideological battles we’re having now, that it’s either good or bad.”

Give us your opinion on e-schools and watch a video of the Sellers family at DaytonDailyNews.com/go/education.

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