The school board voted on May 23 to proceed with sponsoring Indiana Virtual, a virtual charter school that hopes to start up statewide for the 2011-12 school year, offering classes online for students around the state.

For the rest of the article, go to Daleville Community School Board plans charter school meeting

The school board voted on May 23 to proceed with sponsoring Indiana Virtual, a virtual charter school that hopes to start up statewide for the 2011-12 school year, offering classes online for students around the state.

For the rest of the article, go to Daleville to have hearing on sponsoring virtual charter school

Thanks in part to Daleville Elementary School Principal David Stashevsky’s outside work as an educational consultant, Daleville officials were approached by Indiana Virtual, a virtual charter school that hopes to start up statewide for the 2011-12 school year. Rather than wait for a new board appointed by the Indiana Department of Education — another recent addition to charter school law — to sponsor it, the virtual school organizers hoped to find a school district as a sponsor.

For the rest of the article, go to Daleville to sponsor virtual charter school

Other approved changes included the creation of a licensing program for charter school teachers that makes any college graduate with a 3.0 grade point average eligible to teach classes at a charter school in the subject they studied.

The Senate also removed a requirement that a school’s teachers consent to the conversion of a traditional public school into a charter school. Instead, only parents and the school board would be required to consent.

Senate Democrats’ proposals to cap the number of students permitted to attend a virtual charter school and limit the universities permitted to sponsor charter schools were voted down.

For the rest of the article, go to Ind. Senate boosts teacher licensing requirement at charter schools

• Allow students to graduate early and offer them a college scholarship equal to the amount the state would have spent on the last year of high school.

• Ensure state education dollars follow the needs of students so parents can select the best possible educational options for their children.

• Create an Indiana Charter School Board to authorize new charters across the state.

• Allow private higher education institutions to apply to the State Board of Education to authorize new charters.

• Increase accountability for all charter authorizers. Only let the best open, and close poor performing charters.

• Expand virtual charter schools to reach underserved students and to fill gaps in the traditional system.

• Eliminate caps on charters and help them access safe and appropriate public facilities.

• Grant schools and communities more authority to convert failing schools to charters.

For the rest of the article, go to Bennett eyes reform for education.

The mayor of Indianapolis and Ball State University are the primary sponsors of charter schools. Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels says he wants to expand charter schools.

Indiana also offers two virtual charter schools, in which teachers offer instruction online to students at home. The state is funding a two-year virtual charter school pilot program, approved by the General Assembly last year.

For the rest of the article, go to Official: Charter schools create more competition

Spokeswoman Pat Laystrom says Indiana Connections Academy Virtual Pilot School will serve about 280 students from around the state.

Students receive personalized learning plans but do their work from home. A certified teacher will work with them in live, online classrooms and by phone.

For the rest of the article, go to Second virtual charter enrolling for fall