You are here: Home / Archives for BestOnlineHighSchools.com

School to hold sessions

March 30, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Information sessions will be held in Summerville on Wednesday and Charleston on Thursday for parents interested in enrolling their children in the tuition-free virtual public school, South Carolina Connections Academy.

The academy is South Carolina’s first virtual public charter school and has been serving students statewide from kindergarten through 12th grade since it first opened in fall 2008.

Enrollment for the 2011-12 school year will begin Friday.

For the rest of the article, go to School to hold sessions

Filed Under: BestOnlineHighSchools.com, Home Page Tagged With:

SC Rep. Wilson: virtual school students should be welcomed into nation’s high-tech military

March 28, 2011 By Leave a Comment

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Students who attend computer-based virtual schools across the country are given second-class status when they try to join the military, and S.C. Rep. Joe Wilson said Wednesday he will work to get the policy changed.

“We are dealing with new technology,” said the Republican lawmaker, after meeting with an 18-year-old student who wants to join the Air Force but has encountered difficulties in his attempt to enlist. “We just need to keep adapting.”

Wilson, who heads the House Armed Services personnel subcommittee, said he thinks “thousands” of students nationwide may be affected by the policy, which places students who graduate from traditional schools ahead of those with home school or other alternative credentials.

At a time when the nation is at war, the Pentagon should be seeking out students who meet the military’s high-tech needs, not making it harder on them, Wilson argued.

Wilson spoke after meeting with Jared Dennis, of nearby Lexington, who is to graduate from the Connections Academy in June, one of South Carolina’s five virtual charter schools.

For the rest of the article, go to SC Rep. Wilson: virtual school students should be welcomed into nation’s high-tech military

Filed Under: BestOnlineHighSchools.com, Home Page Tagged With:

Rep. Wilson wants virtual school students in ranks

March 24, 2011 By Leave a Comment

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS) – South Carolina Rep. Joe Wilson and State Superintendent of Education Mick Zais want changes in a policy they say puts students who attend virtual schools at a disadvantage when they want to join the military.

Jared Dennis openly admits he was kicked out of high school in Lexington School District One. He says he forgot to leave a pocket knife at home, and was expelled.

Looking for an alternative, he enrolled at the South Carolina Connections Academy, a SACS-accredited school offering AP courses where graduates receive a regular South Carolina high school diploma. But because the school is online, it’s considered a tier two school, barring students like Jared from enlisting in the Air Force.

“They told him to just drop the enlistment process at the time,” said Dennis. “They told me I couldn’t enlist as tier one at the time, and the enlistment process has stalled and I haven’t heard from the recruiter since then.”

For the rest of the article, go to Rep. Wilson wants virtual school students in ranks

Filed Under: BestOnlineHighSchools.com, Home Page, News Tagged With:

SC superintendent to discuss charter schools on TV

March 6, 2011 By Leave a Comment

The program titled “Public Charter Schools: Successes and Challenges” will air at 5 p.m. Sunday. The one-hour show is part of ETV’s “In our Schools” series.

Educators and community leaders will join Zais on the panel. Others will include the superintendent of the statewide charter district, charter school teachers, a charter school principal and a parent of 2 students in an online charter school.

For the rest of the article, go to SC superintendent to discuss charter schools on TV

Filed Under: BestOnlineHighSchools.com, Home Page, Online High Schools Tagged With:

Mick Zais One-on-One: New Superintendent’s Vision

March 1, 2011 By Leave a Comment

To Zais, the change would mean the power of taxpayer dollars would be in the hands of consumers, meaning the student and their parents could decide where the student would attend: a magnet school, a charter school, or a virtual school. It would open options and make way for achievement, in Zais’ opinion.

Zais says charter schools are free from the bureaucratic requirements that handicap traditional schools; however, South Carolina’s statewide charter district is the lowest-funded district in the nation.

For the rest of the article, go to Mick Zais One-on-One: New Superintendent’s Vision

Filed Under: BestOnlineHighSchools.com, Home Page, Online High Schools Tagged With:

S.C. legislature in brief

February 28, 2011 By Leave a Comment

CHARTER SCHOOLS: The House approved a bill meant to increase charter schools statewide without forcing school districts to cough up the money. The House voted 85-32 on a measure designed to provide more money to charter schools organized under the statewide district, which get state and federal, but no local, money. The original bill required school districts to send local property taxes to charter students within their borders. But lawmakers agreed to a change that leaves the funding to the state. The bill gives more options for charters to form and allows for boys-only and girls-only schools. The House budget-writing committee approved spending up to $25 million on schools in the statewide charter in 2011-12, with schools that have buildings getting more per student than virtual schools.

For the rest of the article, go to S.C. legislature in brief

Filed Under: BestOnlineHighSchools.com, Home Page, Online High Schools Tagged With:

Budget writers OK charter funds

February 25, 2011 By Leave a Comment

COLUMBIA — Legislative budget writers in the cash-strapped state want to make a $25 million investment in South Carolina charter schools, in a move intended to help several stay open in the coming months.

The House Ways and Means Committee agreed late Wednesday to carve out of the draft $5.2 billion budget $1,700 for every child in a virtual charter school within the statewide Public Charter School District above the base rate the state pays for every child in public school. Students in the charter district’s brick-and-mortar schools will get $3,250 more for their education.

The decision came as the committee spent hours crunching numbers for the budget year that begins July 1.

For the rest of the article, go to Budget writers OK charter funds

Filed Under: BestOnlineHighSchools.com, Home Page, Online High Schools Tagged With:

Principal: Spartanburg Charter School seeks sustainability

February 22, 2011 By Leave a Comment

This week, South Carolina lawmakers are expected to pick up debates surrounding charter school funding options that charter school leaders say are imperative to the long-term success of the schools.

A House budget-writing panel voted last week to give brick-and-mortar charter schools organized under the South Carolina Public Charter School District an additional $4,000 per student in the 2011-12 school year. Virtual charter would get an extra $2,500 per student. The one-time allocations would be on top of the base student cost, a figure given to districts for every student. Base student cost for the next school year is being estimated at $1,617.

For the rest of the article, go to Principal: Spartanburg Charter School seeks sustainability

Filed Under: BestOnlineHighSchools.com, Home Page, Online High Schools Tagged With: ,

Lawmakers predict belt-tightening for education

February 21, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Railing against one often-quoted study of a low 50 percent graduation rate, District 95 Rep. Jerry Govan said his colleagues should “stop allowing them to drive the debate” and to “stop repeating wrong information.”

The rate is less than 30 percent, he said.

Increasing funding for charter schools, including virtual schools, is the “worst thing” the legislature can do, Cobb-Hunter said.

“I can’t comprehend how we can justify spending $20 million on charter schools when our public schools are so woefully underfunded,” she said.

For the rest of the article, go to Lawmakers predict belt-tightening for education

Filed Under: BestOnlineHighSchools.com, Home Page, Online High Schools Tagged With: ,

Greenville County Schools chief honored with national award finalists

February 19, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Fisher was cited for her “vision and determination” in the construction of 70 new schools across the district, plus the opening of the state’s first elementary school with a fully integrated engineering curriculum: Whittenberg Elementary School of Engineering.

The judges also pointed to Greenville County’s students “consistently outperforming their national peers on high-stake tests.”

They said Fisher helped meet the needs of a diverse student population “by championing programs such as virtual school and twilight school, and offering a variety of choice programs that provide opportunities for learning while recognizing the important role of extracurricular activities in developing an individual’s full potential.”

For the rest of the article, go to Greenville County Schools chief honored with national award finalists

Filed Under: BestOnlineHighSchools.com, Home Page, Online High Schools Tagged With:
« Older Posts
Newer Posts »