Many of you may not realize this, but Louisiana is fast becoming a virtual world. Don’t let the occasional hurricane or 100 megaton radioactive disaster waiting to happen fool you. Soon all of our commerce, and commuting will be done online. This is why we have stopped investing in real highways, bridges, hospitals and universities. Who needs those passe’ real world objects when there is a virtually untapped infinite virtual world waiting to take our money and our students? Just hop aboard this virtual pirogue and we’ll be off!
Our first stop on this virtual tour is the Louisiana Virtual Charter Academy (site code 343002 .) Boasting a virtual enrollment in excess of 1200 students, this virtual school serves students in grades k-12.
With Louisiana’s revolutionary new virtual school system, class size constraints will be a thing of the distant past. Students will no longer have to worry about trying to relate to their peers in the real world. (I wonder if their avatars will have to wear school uniforms?) Without a brick and mortar presence, and significantly fewer teachers and administrators, one would expect Louisiana would be trying to address its budget woes by reducing payments to virtual charter schools. One would think, but one would be thinking wrong. For these miraculous wonders we pay about the same amount as we do to traditional schools. We actually end up paying more when students leave virtual programs when they realize they are not getting the same level of education as their peers in traditional settings. Fortunately for the charter schools, they get to keep the money when students withdraw early, but the school districts funded, by local tax revenues, get to pick up the tabs.
Now study after study after study after study has shown that virtual schools are still pale imitations of the real thing for most students, and should only be used for extreme cases such as child actors, students with physical ailments like immune deficiencies, etc. But in Louisiana we only pay attention to studies that reinforce what our politicians and anointed leaders say, so you won’t see us worrying about those.
Don’t get me wrong, I think charter schools are great. . . for charter operators and politicians who need campaign contributions from charter operators. Fortunately we have some conscientious “Parental Options” (a group made up of high paid political lackeys that ensure charter schools follow as little regulation and oversight as possible) folks at the LDOE making sure charter schools live up to all their hype and maximize their profitability.
Yes—this is correct—it was a phone conversation that I had with [name redacted] of Louisiana Connections Academy—I emailed her a copy of Bulletin 741 and referred her to the SIS Guide for Membership definition of active attendance. She verbally expressed concern to me that she had several cases where the students were logging in BUT not producing the work and therefore were circumventing the system and she wanted to drop them and allow other students to enroll. [name redacted] reported to me that the Parental Office folks told her that she could not drop those students. (quote from former LDOE official)
I’m so glad we have a Parental Options group looking out for our Corporate stakeholders. They almost made a mistake by reporting honest information about students dropping out from their virtual school which could have cost them around 8 to 10 thousand dollars per student. They also saved this student from being considered in violation of the state’s truancy laws.
So listen up all you wanna be truant students. For only 10,000 dollars a year (the state will foot this bill) you can get a free computer at home with unlimited online access, and never have to set foot inside a school again. If an officer tries to pick you up while you’re hanging out at an arcade or skating in a park just show ’em your get out of jail free card – your virtual school ID.
Crazy Crawfish 
Online schools are a disaster for everyone…except the corporate profiteers. Here’s another look: http://www.examiner.com/article/k12-inc-online-schools-a-view-from-the-inside
Good article. Thanks for sending it. Ive seen a number of similiar stories over the years. The virtual charter situation is the invisible elephant in the room of the charter movement. It will lead to massive corporate profits, but massive educator unemployment and rapid and tragic destruction of our education system and the futures of millions of children.
Reblogged this on The Last Of The Millenniums and commented:
Great post!
With our economy in a constant state of recession (because private industry WON’T invest and Republicans WON’T let the Government invest) States are getting less and less money both from the Federal and also at the State income.
Many legislators see these ‘virtual’ schools as the answer to cutting spending on education.
The ripple effect, 5, 10 15 years down the road will have the US at the bottom of education – and THAT will be a direct reflection on our economy.
3rd World.
Ironically legislators aren’t even using this as an opportunity to cut costs. In most cases they are paying virtual charter operators the same or “virtually” the same amount of money, In some cases they are shaving off 10% or less to make the claim their are saving money. These same charter operators are giving vast sums to these same legislators.
I call that bribery, the Conservative Supreme court calls that free speech.
Adiitionally, states are using these guys to cut payments made to traditional schools. Their hope is to destroy the teachers unions and teaching profession. As if teachers weren’t already being compensated poorly enough to begin with! Now even those salaires will be facing downward pressure from these 800 pound corporate gorilla terrorirsts seeking to suck all the remaining air and life out of the profession.
Thanks for the reblog fatherkane, keep up the good work!
Of course they (the guardians of the public interest) want to guarantee their contributors maintain enough cash to contribute. They also can use it as an advance reserve option on their future transition into the “private” sector.