- Select a language for the TTS:
- UK English Female
- UK English Male
- US English Female
- US English Male
- Australian Female
- Australian Male
- Language selected: (auto detect) - EN
Play all audios:
Share article Remove Save to favorites Save to favorites Print Email Facebook LinkedIn Twitter Copy URL
The Philadelphia school district, which has been plagued by budget woes and declining enrollment, has announced plans to open a virtual academy in an effort to lure students and families
back to the system.
Superintendent William Hite predicts that the district could offer a “superior online educational experience.”
The goal is to make the Philadelphia Virtual Academy the “preferred choice for parents and students who want a quality online education,” Hite said in a statement.
The school would serve students in grades 6-12 and open next academic year, Hite said. District officials say the virtual academy fits within Hite’s vision to create new, more flexible, and
more innovative models for delivering education to students, within the system, which has an estimated enrollment of 138,000 K-12 students.
The district would run the academy through a partnership with Chester County Intermediate Unit, a regional education agency.
State-run virtual schools have become a fixture around the country: There are 27 of those schools in existence today, by the most recent count of the International Association for K-12
Online Learning. But it’s become increasingly common for city school districts to run their own online schools, says Susan Patrick, the president and chief executive officer of the
association.
Sean Cavanagh Follow Unfollow Managing Editor, EdWeek Market Brief Sean Cavanagh is the managing editor of EdWeek Market Brief. twitter email linkedin Related Tags:Remote/Virtual Learning District Leadership Digital Learning Urban Education
A version of this article appeared in the June 12, 2013 edition of Digital Directions as Phila. District Plans to Open Online School
