Maryetta Schools in Stilwell is wrapping up its first semester of virtual school, which gives students in grades third through eighth the chance to participate in online classes from a home-school setting.

“We’ve had a lot of good, positive comments from the students that are participating and the parents so I feel like it’s been a good experience so far,” Maryetta Principal Rhonda Brown.

From their home computers, students interact daily with teachers to complete state-accredited courses. All online courses and curriculum are based on core curriculum standards.

“Everything that they take is coordinated with the state standards,” Brown said.

Nancy Neff, who oversees the virtual school, stays in contact with the parents and students.

“She can monitor how many times the child is logging in, how long they’re staying on because that’s a way of checking roll and keeping up with the students’ progress,” Brown said.

The virtual school was designed for families who consider home schooling and other options to a traditional classroom and have children who want more flexibility regarding time and pace of learning.

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A gathering of school choice advocates is on tap for Tuesday, January 24 at Constitution Hall on the University of Central Oklahoma (UCO) campus in Edmond. The event is intended, organizer Stuart Jolly said, “to support the future workforce of America.”

In addition to leading school choice advocates from Oklahoma, presenters at the event will include John Fund of the Wall Street Journal, and former U.S. Rep. J.C. Watts, a former member of Congress from Norman.

The event comes just a few months after national news stories pointed to Oklahoma as an apt metaphor for what advocates dubbed “The Year of School Choice.”

Context for the gathering, and some of the national attention it is gaining in advance of the event, comes from the Sooner State’s recent history.

Choice legislation was enacted both in 2010 — when then-Governor Brad Henry (a Democrat) supported and signed a bill benefitting special needs children – and in 2011, when Governor Mary Fallin (a Republican) supported and signed into law the Equal Opportunity Education Scholarship Act.

In an interview with CapitolBeatOK, Jolly, Oklahoma state director for Americans for Prosperity (AFP) said, “the core appeal, the central issue, is parental rights to choose. Parents simply have the right to select the school to which they send their kids. I’m looking forward to this conference, as we look back to celebrate and support what has already passed in Oklahoma, and what we have planned for the future.”

Americans for Prosperity is a national activist organization that works for limited government and free markets.

Another sponsor of the school choice event is the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs, a “think tank” that focuses on economic liberty, tax policy and state governance issues.

Concerning this year’s likely or potential legislation at the state Capitol, Jolly reflected, “I expect to see a virtual school bill, a process to create a clearinghouse at the state Department of Education. I believe Senators John Ford [a Bartlesville Republican] and Gary Stanislawski [a Tulsa Republican] may both be pushing that idea. Another proposal is to relieve individual school districts from the burden of negotiating with virtual education providers.”

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DeSpain said at this time there are fewer than 200 students using the credit recovery program but the district has the capability of reaching 300 students. She added 57 1/2 credits were earned in summer school by students taking APEX online courses.

“We are taking it pretty slowly so we can identify and take care of any unforeseen problems,” DeSpain said, “and teachers at every site are giving feedback as to the way the program is progressing.”

“We chose APEX over Odyssey because eventually we are looking at offering a virtual school where the students will do coursework at home.

“Although this is something we are looking at in the future, the school board members decided last spring to take changes in measured steps. Odyssey was not as rigorous and complete as APEX.”

DeSpain added APEX also has an AP component, where students can enroll in different levels, to appeal to the different needs of students.

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