Online Schooling Grows, Setting Off a Debate - New York Times

I traveled the country with a touring theatre company and provided classroom instruction for four actresses, two fifth graders and two seventh graders from the four corners of the country. One of my students was an Idaho resident and attended a virtual school. The school provided books, materials, and a teacher to the family free of charge. I found the curriculum to be very good and the program served our needs well. Everywhere we went we were able to access her lessons via the Internet. These lessons were enhanced with videos and websites. I do believe families need this option for various reasons and it should be subsidized by the state. There are extremely rural areas of this country which make physically going to school very difficult. My student also had the best of both worlds, she had a certified teacher physically present when there were questions and a peer group with whom to socialize.