Virtual Learning Solutions Slams Local School Boards in 1,080-Page Response

When K-12 and Virtual Learning Solutions presented their proposal of an online charter school to the Plainfield School District Board of Education three weeks ago,  with the information provided.

"Quite frankly, it was a waste of time and really pathetic," board member Rod Westfall later said about the presentation. He also noted that the proposed school would be diverting state funding away from the already cash-strapped District 202 — money that could not be recouped even if students eventually left the charter school and returned to the district.

"I believe in charter schools," board member Michelle Smith later said, but took issue with the fact that K12 is a for-profit company. "The company that came here and presented to us, Id on't believe in at all."

K-12 has now responded, releasing via email a 1,080-page PDF document stating its case for the charter option.

The report is attached here, for your light-reading pleasure.

It makes strong, data-supported arguments for online charter schools as well as the performance of the K-12 schools elsewhere in the country. The document, introduced and signed by Virtual Learning Solutions President Sharnell Jackson, takes a few moments to slam what VLS calls "special interest groups"—notably including local school board members—for trying protect their "power base."

From the report:

"The many adult interest groups that live off our public education system are already doing their best to co-opt digital learning for their own ends—and to ensure that nobody uses it to threaten their power, membership, or revenue base. Two such groups are especially powerful players in the politics and policies of public education.

"First are local districts and their school boards, vigorously represented by the National School Board Association (NSBA). This crowd would stifle the openness and global reach of digital learning in the name of district empowerment and local monopoly. According to Ann Flynn, NSBA’s director of education technology, online learning 'should be something that school districts can control.'

"Such a cramped viewpoint has even been adopted by some smart reform thinkers. Writing recently in Education Next, for example, veteran thought leader (and digital-learning advocate) Paul Peterson notes that 'if digital learning is to advance beyond the pilot stage, it needs to work within the current system of public education, not against it.' "

Area school districts are expected to vote on the proposals, starting this week. 

Districts Targeted for a Fox River Valley Region

1. Plainfield Community Consolidated School District 202
2. Indian Prairie School District 204
3. School District U-46
4. Community Unit School District 300
5. Valley View Community Unit School District 365U
6. Naperville Community Unit School District 203
7. Oswego Community Unit School District 308
8. East Aurora School District 131
9. St. Charles Community Unit School District 303
10. Community Unit School District 200
11. West Aurora School District 129
12. Batavia Public School District 101
13. Geneva Community Unit School District 304
14. DeKalb Community Unit School District 428
15. Yorkville Community Unit School District 115
16. Kaneland Community Unit School District 302
17. Sycamore Community Unit School District 427
18. Central Community Unit School District 301

Related:

• Critics Sound Off on Plainfield Charter School Proposal
• Charter School Controversy: K12 Disputes Reports of Grade Tampering

Editor's note: This article was written by Rick Nagel.