No Teachers Yet for the Virtual School

Missouri’s virtual school tries to get its act together (thanks, Combest!):

The new program, which will take children out of the traditional classroom and send them online to learn, starts in August.

Yet no teachers have been hired for the program.

“I have to admit I wish we were further ahead, but with a new program we have a crunch time,” Curt Fuchs, virtual school director, said.

I see from this article that something in my previous writing about the Virtual Instruction Program was inaccurate. I did not know that Missouri has partnered with two private virtual schools, Kaplan Virtual Education and Connections Academy, to provide course content. However, I stand by my argument that MIssouri should allow virtual schools to compete for students.

Furthermore, requiring teachers to have Missouri certification is a bad idea. The whole point of virtual education is that the teacher doesn’t have to be right there with you. What if we could hire teachers who already teach in Florida’s successful virtual education program, for instance? If Missouri gave the program more flexibility, it would probably get off to a smoother start.