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| TUESDAY NEWS ROUNDUP: Lockout continues to attract media, parent attention |
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March 4, 2008
NEWS ROUNDUP: Our fight against the virtual school lockout continues to dominate news across Wisconsin. It’s on the air, online and in print media outlets from in the state and across the country.
Wisconsin Public Radio
Virtual schools are a reality for many Wisconsin students, but lawmakers are deciding how wide the scope of online schools should be. After six, John Munson and his guest explore the future of virtual schools.
Guest: Steve Correia, associate professor of teacher education, St. Norbert College.
http://wpr.org/cardin/index.cfm?strDirection=Prev=2008%2D03%2D04%2007%3A00%3A00
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Wisconsin Journal Sentinel All Politics Blog
Virtual schools advocates demonstrate in Milwaukee
By Patrick Marley
Tuesday, Mar 4 2008, 03:15 PM
More than 70 advocates for virtual schools demonstrated Monday outside a fund-raiser for Democratic state senators in Milwaukee to keep a focus on their issue in the waning days of the legislative session.
Students and their parents lined the street outside the Pieces of Eight restaurant on Lake Michigan as Senate leaders gathered for the event, according to the Wisconsin Coalition of Virtual School Families.
The $100-a-head event raised funds for the State Senate Democratic Committee in an effort to keep Democrats in control of that house.
In December, an appeals court ruled one virtual school does not qualify for state aid, threatening the future of all Wisconsin online schools. About 3,500 students attend them.
The Senate and Republican-controlled Assembly have passed competing bills to keep the schools intact, but virtual schools advocates prefer the Republican version because it will allow the schools to grow more.
Rose Fernandez, president of the schools group, said advocates are trying to put pressure on Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle in a non-confrontational way as the Legislature heads into its last two weeks of meetings for the year.
http://blogs.jsonline.com/allpoliticswatch/archive/2008/03/04/virtual-schools-advocates-demonstrate-in-milwaukee.aspx
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Wisconsin State Journal
March madness at the Capitol
By MARK PITSCH and JASON STEIN Wisconsin State Journal
March 4, 2008
Whether it tosses up a brick or lands a slam dunk hinges on whether the Democratic-controlled Senate and the Republican-led Assembly can reach agreement on a series of key issues.
They include keeping virtual schools in operation, banning smoking statewide and protecting the Great Lakes.
VIRTUAL SCHOOLS
Senate: Passed a bill to keep virtual schools operating, require an audit of the program and cap enrollment at 3,500 for two years and 4,500 by 2014.
Assembly: Passed a bill to keep virtual schools operating, require an audit, and cap enrollment at 1 percent of public school enrollment, about 8,700.
Likely result: Tossup
http://www.madison.com/wsj/topstories/275385
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eSchool News
Lawmakers feud over virtual schooling's future
Wisconsin governor wants freeze on enrollment; state Republicans favor a less restrictive cap
Tue, Mar 04, 2008
From eSchool News staff and wire service reports
How many students should be able to enroll in Wisconsin virtual schools is a key sticking point.
Wisconsin lawmakers are locked in a largely partisan dispute over the future of online instruction in that state.
The Wisconsin General Assembly voted 53-44 on Feb. 28 to keep the state's online public schools open next fall. However, lawmakers continue to disagree over how many students should be allowed to enroll. If there's no deal in the next two weeks, the state's 12 virtual schools could shut down, because an appeals court has ordered that their state funds be cut off.
According to a ruling by the appeals court in December, virtual schools violate Wisconsin state laws on teacher licensing, open enrollment, and charter schools. If lawmakers don't reach an agreement, a dozen virtual schools enrolling 3,500 children will begin closing.
Governor Jim Doyle, a Democrat backed by the state's largest teacher's union, has demanded that any bill include an enrollment cap and an audit of the schools to gauge their effectiveness.
Two weeks ago, with the support of Gov. Doyle, the state senate passed virtual-school legislation that would freeze enrollment levels for two years while the schools were studied. Under the senate bill, enrollment gradually could increase to 4,500 in 2014.
State representative Brett Davis and Assembly Speaker Mike Huebsch, both Republicans, sent a letter to Doyle on Feb. 27 outlining a compromise: They'll agree to cap enrollment at 1 percent of all students in Wisconsin's K-12 public schools, or about 8,700 students. Siblings would be exempt from the cap. They also agreed to an audit of the state's virtual schools.
This cap is 2.5 times larger than what Gov. Doyle called for.
Davis says he doesn't believe in capping enrollment, but he knows Doyle won't sign anything into law until he gets what he wants.
"I'm a realist," Davis said. "I want to make sure these schools stay open."
Yet, Doyle spokeswoman Jessica Erickson said the governor likes the virtual-school legislation passed by the senate as is.
"The governor believes the bill already amended by the senate protects these kids and their siblings and ensures they can remain in their schools while we study the system," Erickson said.
Other reports say Doyle might be willing to raise the enrollment cap, but not to the 8,700 the GOP wants. Doyle has hinted he would veto the Republicans' compromise.
Davis and Huebsch said in their letter to Doyle that Republicans can't abide a two-year lockout.
"We believe our offer is a reasonable solution whereby we can save the virtual charter schools, provide an audit of the program, and implement a less restrictive cap," they wrote.
Rose Fernandez, president of the Wisconsin Coalition of Virtual School Families, said Davis and Hubert's deal is better than the two-year freeze on enrollment Doyle wants.
"You got your cap. You got your audit," Fernandez said. "Accept bipartisanship and compromise."
Even if lawmakers reach a deal, not all will be happy with an enrollment cap of any size.
In an editorial written for The Capital Times, Joni Burgin, superintendent of the Grantsburg School District, said her district's virtual school just opened and would not be able to survive with an enrollment cap.
"Wisconsin still has an achievement gap that leaves poor children, English-language learners, and children of color lagging behind. Closing it must be at the heart of everything we do," wrote Burgin. "When Wisconsin has school programs that are finally working to narrow that gap, we owe it to our students to keep those programs in place."
She concluded by saying that politicians who vote for caps on virtual schools "contribute to the dropout problem instead of being a part of the solution."
Republicans have accused Doyle of being too close to the Wisconsin Education Association Council, the state's largest teachers union. That group contends virtual schools pull too much money from traditional public schools and brought the lawsuit that has thrown the schools' future into doubt.
http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/top-news/news-by-subject/technologies/?i=52801;_hbguid=f0358e71-5ed0-43ff-bc2c-c450df204ec7&d=top-news
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The Waukesha Freeman
Letter to Editor: Virtual schools
March 4, 2008
There has been much discussion in recent weeks about virtual schools in Wisconsin. Much of it has centered around the idea that children who attend these schools might be better served in a traditional setting. To counter this argument, many parents of socially challenged children have stepped forward. They have shared how valuable this option has been for their children. While I admire the choices these parents have made, I fear that they too are only showing one facet of the potential of these schools.
My children have been involved with online education for the last three years. I have four children, in two online schools. I chose to enroll them online because it enables them to advance in course work independent of their age level.
My fifth-grade daughter is enrolled in the Wisconsin Virtual Academy. She attends classes online with other students. She is the editor of the student newspaper. She emails her friends from school daily. Lunch times are often spent on her instant messenger account, chatting with her friends from school. She is a perfectly normal, socially active 10-year-old, with one exception. She is learning algebra, not long division. She is learning about the rock cycle, and balancing chemical equations. She is writing a research paper on World War II. Her classes are often filled with seventh- and eighth-grade students. But, there is no social stigma for her. No one looks at her as a “little kid.”
I have another daughter, aged 14. She also is attending online classes. She is taking honors British literature, physics, honors chemistry, honors world history and her second year of advanced calculus. She attends daily classes online, interacting with classmates and teachers. It isn’t unusual for her teachers to spend an hour with her, answering questions, challenging her to think more deeply about a problem. She could attend classes through the local high school. They would send her to the University of Wisconsin to take her math class. But, that causes me concern. How would I feel about my 14-year-old little girl attending class with 20-year-old men? Would she have the courage to ask questions in class? Would the social stigma of being different paralyze her thoughts?
In an era when society is struggling to find ways to encourage young women to excel in math and science, can we afford to stifle this opportunity? I appreciate Gov. Jim Doyle and the Legislature trying to protect the education of our children. Most of us agree that the educational system needs improvement. If we continue to do the same thing, we will reap the same results. Online schooling is a new tool to help our schools become the best schools. We shouldn’t eliminate it just because it is different.
Karen Spiewak
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