North Carolina virtual schools

In October of 2014 I penned the following blog post: North Carolina stands on the virtual school precipice

At the time the state had approved two virtual charter schools -- one from Connections, and one from K12. In the post I suggested the following would happen within one year of their opening:

1. Attrition rates (withdrawal, dropout) would be high

2. Academic results would be below standards

3. The North Carolina Dept of Education would be seeking ways to improve the two schools

Today is June 10, 2016, and the schools are finishing their first year:

1. Withdrawals in North Carolina virtual charter schools continue to soar

2. NC House loosening state regulations -- it appears there is an effort to loosen regulations that count withdrawals, teacher location, number of students teachers can serve, etc. While it is difficult to ascertain what the NCDOE is doing behind the scenes, the legislators appear to be already working to assist the schools by easing the accountability.

As far as academics, the jury is still out. Results for this year are not in yet for public schools.

One little spark of inspiration: To achieve a vastly different output, you must alter the input.

houston@figment-consulting.com