In 1992, the first charter school was introduced and the concept of public school choice in American education was born. Today, over 2.5 million students attend more than 6,400 charter schools in 42 states and the District of Columbia. 

In the late 90’s, just as charter schools were about to experience a period of tremendous growth, a new educational innovation began to take root: digital learning.  

Over the last decade, a strong nexus emerged between digital learning and charter schools. In charter schools, digital learning found environments that nurtured creativity and innovation.  Through digital learning, charter schools were able to provide families from every demographic more options, access, and choice in public education.

Charter schools became the primary vehicle for the advancement of digital learning, and naturally so. One of the cornerstones of charter schools was to invite education advancements by giving educators greater flexibility and autonomy to pioneer new educational programs. The goal was to allow charter schools to test and develop new models that could be replicated by other public schools and districts – a kind of education “skunkworks.” 

The first online charter schools – totally digital learning environments – emerged in the early 2000’s when Pennsylvania became the first state to allow online charter schools. Soon after, many other states began to follow. Charters offering blended learning (combining digital and face-to-face instruction) quickly followed, providing a wide range of exciting and differentiated instructional models. These online and blended charter schools scaled quickly to meet demand from parents, and ran head on into the status quo. Conventional educational norms were challenged. Debate shifted from simply trying to find ways to tinker with the traditional model to wholly re-thinking how technology could disrupt the way education is delivered and consumed for the better.

Celebrating its fifth graduating class, YCCS Virtual High School honored more than 85 high school graduates at a ceremony that took place at Malcom X College on Monday, June 16.

YCCS Virtual High School uses an innovative blended school model, combining online learning and classroom instruction to primarily serve students ages 18-21 who, for a variety of reason, haven’t been able to finish their high school education.

"With the right support, our students absolutely thrive," says Elizabeth Roth, Head of School for the YCCS Virtual High School. "This program gives an opportunity for students to reach their goals and receive their high school diploma, while receiving the support they need into their post-secondary venture. There's not another program like this in Chicago that targets this age range"

YCCS Virtual High School is designed for students who have dropped out of traditional school or have fallen behind in credits, but still have the desire to graduate with a high school diploma.

In the past four years, YCCS has enable 92 percent of its students to graduates, a stellar rate of success that outpaces the national average.

A special message from the more than 5,000 teachers and educators, and the hundreds of professional staff members at K¹² who work so hard behind the scenes to put our students first!

Dear Graduates:

On behalf of all of us at K¹², Congratulations!

Idaho Virtual Academy Congratulates 2014 Graduating Class

This spring 130 students walked across the stage, graduating from Idaho Virtual Academy (IDVA) – a full-time, online public school serving students across the state.

Graduates from 26 counties and 52 cities celebrated academic achievements with teachers and peers in ceremonies in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho Falls, and Nampa. IDVA graduates will be attending universities and colleges such as Boise State University, Montana State University, and Carrington College.

More from IDVA:

READ: Online students prepare for graduation (Idaho ED News)

READ: Virtual Academy Students Graduate Wednesday (Idaho Press Tribune)

WATCH: Seniors Graduate Without Stepping Foot Into the Classroom (KPVI News 6)
 

South Carolina Virtual Charter School Celebrates Largest Graduating Class To-Date

South Carolina Virtual Charter School (SCVCS) honored more than 160 students at a ceremony that took place on Thursday, June 5.

The ceremony featured remarks from Hayden Covington, Valedictorian of the graduating class, and Johnathan Edwards, Salutatorian.
Hayden is a member of the National Honor Society and has been nominated for student of the month several times. Outside of school, Hayden is a seasoned ballet dancer, training 20 hours a week and performing with the International Ballet Academy. Hayden attributes her academic success to her determination and says that “SCVCS has been the ideal bridge to college” and has helped her learn to trust herself in learning new concepts. Upon graduating, Hayden plans to attend Furman University this fall, followed by graduate school. She would eventually like to pursue a career in the science field.

Another standout graduating senior, Johnathan has served as both President and Vice President of SCVCS’s National Honor Society and was a Junior Marshall for last year’s graduation. In his free time, Johnathan enjoys playing competitive tennis and has been recognized as one of the top 10 junior tennis players in South Carolina.  In addition to holding two jobs – as a tennis instructor and maintaining courts at the nearby tennis club – Johnathan is active in the community and has participated in food drives, book drives and tutoring. This fall, Johnathan will be playing NCAA Division 1 tennis at University of Connecticut, where plans to major in marketing.

Source: South Carolina Virtual Charter School, (2014). South Carolina Virtual Charter School Congratulates Class of 2014

Utah Virtual Academy Hosts in-person graduation with Noted American Economist, Best-Selling Author

Last week, more than 80 high school seniors turned the tassel and graduated from Utah Virtual Academy (UTVA).  

Paul Zane Pilzer, a noted American economist, best-selling author, and social entrepreneur, spoke to this year’s graduating class. Mr. Pilzer has written nine books, served in two U.S. Presidential administrations, is the founder of six companies, and has been profiled on the front page of The Wall Street Journal.

Students from this year’s graduating class will attend Westminster College, University of Utah, Utah State University, Weber State University, Brigham Young University, Snow College, and Salt Lake Community College.

Source: Utah Virtual Academy, (2014). Utah Virtual Academy to host in-person graduation on June 5

Ohio Virtual Academy (OHVA) honored 630 graduates and celebrated academic achievements in a ceremony that took place on Saturday, June 7. OHVA’s graduating class has amassed an impressive total of more than $1.65 million in college scholarship money offered.

"OHVA’s administration, teachers and staff are proud to celebrate the accomplishments of our graduating class. These students have worked hard to reach their goal of graduation and deserve to be recognized for their achievements. The fact that OHVA could provide a framework for students to succeed is truly an honor,” said Kyle Wilkinson, 11^th and 12^th grade Principal at Ohio Virtual Academy in a school press release. 

While the accomplishment of a high school diploma is an achievement in itself, the vast majority of students from the OHVA Class of 2014 have chosen to take their studies to the next level, including post-secondary colleges, advanced training and the military. Some of the colleges chosen by this year's graduating class include:

                        Air Force Academy                          Northern Kentucky University

                        Art Institute of Pittsburgh                Ohio State University

                        Brigham Young University               Ohio University

                        California Institute of the Arts        San Diego State

                        John Carroll University                   University of Cincinnati

                        Kent State University                      University of Dayton

                        Miami University of Ohio                University of Toledo

                        Virginia Military Institute                 Xavier University

On Saturday, May 31, I had the privilege of attending the inaugural high school graduation ceremony for the Georgia Cyber Academy (GCA). It was one of many graduation ceremonies of K12 partner schools taking place all across the country.

More than 2500 people packed the large space at the Gwinnett Center in Duluth, GA for the ceremony.  The 300 or so graduates congregated in a side room, out of view from the main space, to don their caps and gowns. Peach could have made for a disastrous school color when the gowns were chosen, but thank goodness the GCA team had the good sense to go with navy gowns with a modest peach trim!

When it was time for the ceremony to start, Pomp and Circumstance began to play, and the GCA administrators, teachers, and board members, along with a few special guests (of which I was honored to be included) processed onto the stage. As we walked past row after row of proud parents, family members, and friends, some of who had driven long distances to be there, I felt both the weight and the joy of the occasion. The graduates followed behind us, grinning from ear to ear as they made eye contact with their loved ones, and took their seats at the front of the room.

The ceremony program highlighted several outstanding graduates, including Grace Brosofsky, GCA Valedictorian, who will be attending the Georgia Institute of Technology as a Presidential Scholar this fall, and Eddie Sunder, Salutatorian, who will travel to Peru this fall to spend five months volunteering with Missions to the World before entering Georgia Tech in the fall of 2015. Landi Abercrombie was honored with the Prudential Spirit of Community Award, and two GCA graduates, Rachel Warden and Victoria Price, were honored for earning their Associate Degrees from from Middle Georgia State College through the dual enrollment program at GCA. Graduates from GCA were accepted into many outstanding colleges, including Cornell University, Georgia Institute of Technology, University of Georgia, Mercer University, and many others.

Over the past few weeks, 850 graduates from California Virtual Academies (CAVA) celebrated academic achievements with peers and teachers at ceremonies in San Diego, San Gabriel, Yucaipa, Vacaville, and Tracy.

The CAVA class of 2014 graduates will be attending universities and colleges across the country and state including Boston University, Azusa Pacific University, Pepperdine University, Duke University, The Juilliard School, Seattle Pacific University and  University of Massachusetts—Amherst, as well as several California State University and University of California campuses. One student earned a full-ride scholarship (Drake Scholarship) to study mechanical engineering at UC Berkeley.

It is graduation season again.  This year, thousands of students will graduate from full-time online and blended schools powered by K12.  We’re seeing stories across the country about these impressive group of K12 graduates – kids preparing to head off to colleges and universities; students with inspiring stories who overcame great odds to earn a diploma.  Schools are hosting graduation ceremonies bringing together families throughout the state.  New schools are celebrating their first ever graduating class.  It’s an exciting time.

With diplomas in hand, these K12 graduates are ready to begin their next chapter in life. 

It is estimated there are currently over 300,000 students enrolled in full-time online schools across the U.S.  Add students enrolled in full-time blended schools and that figure expands. The number of students graduating from online and blended schools is also increasing as more students choose these innovative schools.  Last year, K12 online and blended schools graduated over 4,000 students. The class of 2014 is expected to be even bigger.

We have come so far.  Most of the students from the class of 2014 were born in the mid to late 90s. (Wow, that makes me feel old!)  At that time no parent could have predicted their son or daughter would eventually graduate from an accredited, full-time online high school.  Such a concept would have been laughable to most, but not today. Just imagine what education will look like for the next generation 18 years from now.

The students of K12’s class of 2014 are pioneers. They join other recent K12 graduates who chose the digital learning route over the traditional classroom model.  This bold spirit is precisely why I believe K12 students are at an advantage. 

Students enrolled in K12 online school programs belong to a community of connected learners with a wide range of extracurricular clubs, programs, and school events. One such event is the K12 International Spelling Bee.

Over the past couple of months, K12 partner schools have hosted multiple local and regional spelling bees for students in grades 4 through 8, all leading up to the K12 International Spelling Bee. However, unlike traditional spelling bees, the K12 International Bee and most regional spelling bees were conducted entirely online.

Today we are proud to announce the K12 Regional and International Spelling Bee winners! 

From California to Dubai, students from roughly 23 online school programs participated in the virtual spelling bee. Using collaborative online platforms, students and judges logged on simultaneously to participate in the spelling bee. To ensure authenticity in the online setting, all student participants had a school-assigned individual onsite to proctor the contest. A panel of five judges determined whether words were spelled correctly and rules were upheld, while a Spell Master delivered and pronounced words for participants.

This year’s winning word was pandemonium.

“Each of these students genuinely deserves congratulations for their hard work.  We had some tough rounds, with some challenging words, and we are truly proud of all of the competitors,” said Sonja Howerton, K12 National Student Program Coordinator.   

Congratulations to all who participated in the K12 International Spelling Bee! 

In her May 21^st blog, she makes a series of erroneous claims about K12 Inc. and one of its partner schools, Texas Virtual Academy (TXVA).  Citing another educator’s piece, Ravitch inaccurately states that TXVA students were “getting credit for two years of Spanish in only eight weeks, and credit for one year of Environmental Science in only two days.”  She’s wrong, and a simple call to the Texas Education Agency would have cleared it up for her.