Florence Teacher is Virtual Teacher of the Year

FLORENCE — A Florence woman is the first to receive distinction as the state’s virtual school teacher of the year.

The S.C. Public Charter School District, a group of 11 statewide charter schools, chose Laura Howard to represent it as public school district teacher of the year. She is now eligible to be considered for the statewide Teacher of the Year.

The charter school district in the past has chosen a more traditional teacher who taught in a brick and mortar school. A brick and mortar school teacher shows up to work in a classroom with students that come to class every day. A virtual school teacher, however, is one who teaches exclusively online.
Howard teaches 500 S.C. Virtual Charter School students.

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House 78 candidates

Brady: Each child is special and unique, making it paramount to offer parents all public education options for their child. As a mother of three, I understand that a “one-size-fits-all” approach to education does not accommodate the way our children learn. Policy makers and educators need increased flexibility in setting public education funding and implementing innovative learning.

Charter schools and public virtual charter schools offer a learning alternative to students not performing in traditional classroom environments. However, charter schools and their teachers must have oversight and accountability to succeed. Similarly, the concept of a private school voucher system is a disservice to parents and taxpayers because of a lack of oversight.

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EDITORIAL: Online learning a method some Pee Dee students using to their advantage

Students are accustomed to weighing their options when it comes to choosing a post-secondary educational path.

Not all students will excel with a liberal arts education, just as not all will succeed with a technical education.

Then there are nontraditional students — people who further their education while holding down a full-time job and often tend to a family of their own at the same time.

A student is expected to choose the option that suits him or her best, weighing factors like their interests and talents along with efficiency and cost.

As times change and technological advances are made, more options become available — and not just to students pursuing graduate studies. Some South Carolina high school students today are taking advantage of online classes provided through Provost Academy, Palmetto State e-Cademy, South Carolina Virtual Charter School and Olympus High School, which is is academically affiliated with University of Phoenix, to name a few.

According to Edu-Center.org, an online directory of information on education, online learning and correspondence courses, online high schools were created to address the needs of school children who, for some reason, are not able to participate in the traditional school system. An online high school is an educational institution accredited by the state wherein teaching and learning happens mostly online and courses are normally self-paced by the student.

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http://www2.scnow.com/news/2010/aug/01/editorial-online-learning-method-some-pee-dee-stud-ar-644294/