---
[ ARCHIVE ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/archive)
# Virtual Schools: Scam or the Future of Ed?
November 09 2015
Written by Donald Cohen.
[](https://www.addtoany.com/share)
ONLINE LEARNING--Did you know that one of the fastest growing sectors of the charter school industry is the “virtual” charter school, where K-12 students learn from home in front of their computers? No school buildings, no recess with friends, no shared learning. It’s true.
The largest virtual charter company, a publicly traded corporation called **K12, Inc.**, provides education to over 120,000 public school students across the country. Last year, it made more than $900 million in revenue, most of it taxpayer money earmarked for public education.
But virtual charters are starting to pile up bad news and serious questions about their priorities. A study [released last week](https://mail.citywatchla.com/CW-Deegan11-10-15:released%20last%20week) by the Center for Research on Education Outcomes (CREDO) found that students attending virtual charters learn *significantly* less in math and reading than similar students attending brick-and-mortar schools. So significantly less that the *Washington Post*’s Lyndsey Layton wrote, “In other words, when it comes to math, it’s as if the \[online\] students did not attend school at all.”
This week, news broke that California’s attorney general is [investigating the entire](http://www.buzzfeed.com/mollyhensleyclancy/californias-investigating-online-charter-schools#.rfWZjA7A2%20%20%20) virtual charter industry. And for good reason. Earlier this year, we at In the Public Interest looked [under the hood](http://www.inthepublicinterest.org/wp-content/uploads/Virtual_Public_Education_In_California.pdf%20) of California Virtual Academies (CAVA), the state’s largest provider of online public education, and what we found was clear: CAVA’s manager and primary vendor, a subsidiary of K12 Inc., has put its responsibility to maximize profits for shareholders above investing in educating children.
While the overall percentage of U.S. students who attend online schools is small, in some states—like California, where CAVA teachers are [organizing to serve students](http://cavirtualeducators.org/?p=369%20) and families, not corporations—online education has become yet another path towards the privatization of public education. Online charters are a [significant issue](http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/opinion/index.ssf/2015/11/pa_must_demand_accountability.html%20) in Pennsylvania’s ongoing budget standoff between legislative leaders and the governor, as the state has the second-highest online enrollment in the country.
An increasing number of charter schools are using ‘blended learning’ models, where students go to school but spend lots of time in front of keyboards and screens. A former executive of the charter school chain Rocketship—which is one of the largest users of online learning—[called blended](http://www.tennessean.com/story/news/education/2015/07/05/rocketship-charter-network-criticized-overly-rigid/29646659/%20) learning a “stripped-down efficiency model.”
Along with a growing crowd, we have concerns about an overreliance on technology in the classroom, but fully online schools go too far. While high quality virtual charters can be useful for certain students, like actors, artists, or Olympic hopefuls, the majority of kids need teachers to interact with and classmates to socialize and study with. And a pro-charter think tank (CREDO), California’s attorney general, and many others, including teachers, seem to agree.
To follow up our CAVA report, we’re going to be looking even harder at virtual charters. Let us know if companies like K12, Inc., are recruiting students in your community.
*(Donald Cohen is the founder and executive director of In the Public Interest, a national resource and policy center focusing on privatization and responsible contracting. This was first posted on [capitalandmain.com](http://capitalandmain.com/latest-news/issues/education/online-learning-no-buildings-no-school-yards-no-education-1106/).) Prepped for* CityWatch *by Linda Abrams.*
-cw
CityWatch
Vol 13 Issue 91
Pub: Nov 10, 2015
{module \[1177\]}
[  ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/component/banners/click/107 "LA DWP | Save $4K, Green | Priority Ad")
[  ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/component/banners/click/98 "Donna Tryfman - HS1-1")
[  ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/component/banners/click/82 "LA DWP #2 (Power Savers)")
[  ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/component/banners/click/111 "David DeJute Campaign")
[  ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/component/banners/click/97 "Home - LA DWP #2 (Pay Water Bill Help)")
[  ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/component/banners/click/112 "Anna Reitano Vertical R. Col")
## Get The News In Your Email Inbox Mondays & Thursdays
Website
---
## Featured CityWatch Stories
[  ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/los-angeles/33386-massacre-on-city-streets-mayor-bass-must-issue-an-emergency-declaration-now)
### [Massacre on City Streets: Mayor Bass Must Issue an Emergency Declaration Now](https://mail.citywatchla.com/los-angeles/33386-massacre-on-city-streets-mayor-bass-must-issue-an-emergency-declaration-now)
NICK'S VIEW - I have previously written about Los Angeles’s grim paradox: a city that promises safer streets while bein…
[  ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/la-watchdog/33395-should-dwp-ratepayers-pay-for-the-citys-streetlights)
### [Should DWP Ratepayers Pay for the City’s Streetlights? ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/la-watchdog/33395-should-dwp-ratepayers-pay-for-the-citys-streetlights)
LA WATCHDOG - In June, 80% of Los Angeles voters rejected the Bureau of Street Lighting’s ballot measure to increase th…
[  ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/neighborhood-politics/33398-why-are-la-officials-ignoring-illegal-rv-parking-on-washington-blvd)
### [Why Are LA Officials Ignoring Illegal RV Parking on Washington Blvd?](https://mail.citywatchla.com/neighborhood-politics/33398-why-are-la-officials-ignoring-illegal-rv-parking-on-washington-blvd)
WESTSIDE - Washington Blvd here in Venice is a main artery and corridor to the beach and pier. It is in fact a gateway…
[  ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/housing/33413-with-national-implications-corporate-landlords-take-aim-at-three-pro-rent-control-campaigns-in-california)
### [With National Implications, Corporate Landlords Take Aim at Three Pro-Rent Control Campaigns in California](https://mail.citywatchla.com/housing/33413-with-national-implications-corporate-landlords-take-aim-at-three-pro-rent-control-campaigns-in-california)
HOUSING IS A HUMAN RIGHT - Corporate landlords and their high-powered lobbying group, the California Apartment Associat…
[  ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/guest-words/33419-they-tried-to-break-the-jewish-people-we-kept-building)
### [They Tried to Break the Jewish People. We Kept Building](https://mail.citywatchla.com/guest-words/33419-they-tried-to-break-the-jewish-people-we-kept-building)
A STUDENT’S VIEW - My generation of Jews has learned something I wish we did not have to learn so young: antisemitism i…
---
## [ ARCHIVE ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/archive)
[  ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/archive/15339-early-intervention-and-jobs-are-key-to-stemming-chronic-homelessness-in-los-angeles)### [Early Intervention and Jobs are Key to Stemming Chronic Homelessness in Los Angeles](https://mail.citywatchla.com/archive/15339-early-intervention-and-jobs-are-key-to-stemming-chronic-homelessness-in-los-angeles)
### [Tucker Carlson and Gay Rightwinger Blame California Wildfires On Hiring LGBTQ People](https://mail.citywatchla.com/archive/18755-tucker-carlson-and-gay-rightwinger-blame-california-wildfires-on-hiring-lgbtq-people)
### [Anti-LGBTQ Veep Just Can’t Stop Talking about Mayor Pete](https://mail.citywatchla.com/archive/17690-anti-lgbtq-veep-just-can-t-stop-talking-about-mayor-pete)
[  ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/archive/15316-news-pulse-corrupt-system-reason-for-not-voting-in-2018-majority-wants-more-than-two-parties)### [NEWS PULSE: ‘Corrupt System’ Reason for Not Voting in 2018 … Majority Wants More Than Two Parties](https://mail.citywatchla.com/archive/15316-news-pulse-corrupt-system-reason-for-not-voting-in-2018-majority-wants-more-than-two-parties)
[  ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/archive/10245-dead-dog-set-on-fire-sparks-fears-for-strays-in-los-angeles)### [Dead Dog Set on Fire … Sparks Fears for Strays in Los Angeles](https://mail.citywatchla.com/archive/10245-dead-dog-set-on-fire-sparks-fears-for-strays-in-los-angeles)