Moms Talk: Lisa Brennan Looks at Virtual Schools

When you have a child with special needs the search for schools becomes that much more difficult. In an ideal setting, I would send my son to a private school and that would be the end of it. But here is the issue my son has special needs and he requires additional assistance, which is not always readily available in a private school.

So then I wondered, if a private school possibly can’t meet his needs and public could aggravate the situation, what are some different education options that I may wish to consider?

I have not ruled any schools specifically in or out. But I realize with the unique needs my child has, I may need to look at a school with unique offerings. As I continue this journey, I will be touring public, private, magnet, charters, military, and e schools, this way when I make a decision it will be well researched. In this column, I’ll share my research on virtual schools.

“Wake up its time to go to school,” is a phrase mothers call out all across the area. But Stacie Smith, who lives in Caledonia, does not utter a word. “They wake up and get going on their own. It’s usually around 9 in the morning,” she said.

Smith’s children attend the Wisconsin Virtual Academy (WIVA), a charter school authorized by the McFarland School District.

“My children learn at an independent pace, their grades have improved since we put our children in WIVA.  My children also have plenty of social interactions because I have them in various organizations. It allows my children to focus on education not lining up for this or that, not waiting for the class to settle down. They learn and work as fast as they want without all the headaches,” she said.

To me, that sounds okay, but one main concern is that I do not want to be left to educate my child, and I am not sure I want to stay home all day with him.

On Sunday, IQ a virtual school out of the Waukesha district was at the Marriott so I went, in an effort to observe all of my options. The children’s test scores surpassed RUSD. That was not surprising to me, I like using the WKCE scores because it’s a quantitative way to compare schools.

My son thought it was the coolest thing that he could interact with his classroom online in real time. He could also play a slue of educational games, and everything is typed, which excited him since he does not care to write. That was my area of concern. If everything is done online, then how does their penmanship improve? Many parents and children need and enjoy that break from each other, but to know that there are other options is fantastic.

If you would like more information about using a virtual school as an alternative to traditional education, try http://www.k12.com/ . It is free to those who register at http://www.k12.com/wiva/event-type/open-house-socials.  The open enrollment window for the 2011-2012 school year is open from now until 4 p.m. on Friday, February 25, 2011.