Category Archives: U.S. Dept. of Educ.

Creating Strong District Choice Programs

August 13, 2004 – 2:52 pm

The U. S. Dept. of Education has published a booklet, Innovations in Education: Creating Strong District School Choice Programs to provide guidance to school districts in providing more learning alternatives. Public school choice

By Wayne Jennings | Also posted in Alternatives, Choices, Reports | Comments Off

Free Books on School Change

July 30, 2004 – 1:29 pm

The U.S. Dept. of Education’s Office of Innovation and Improvement is publishing 3 new booklets this fall: “Successful Magnet Schools” (September 2004), “Alternative Routes to Teacher Certification”(October 2004) “Alternative Routes to School Leadership” (November 2004) For free copies, call Cynthia Dorfman, 202-205-5560, or email: Cynthia.Dorfman@ed.gov. These public domain booklets can be freely used by anyone. [...]

By Wayne Jennings | Also posted in Alternatives, Reports | Comments Off

Homeschooling as a Learning Alternative

June 11, 2004 – 9:06 am

Home schooling, as a learning alternative, has grown rapidly over the past two decades. The US Department of Education estimates approximately one million students being homeschooled– about 2% of the public education base. Homeschooling is usually divided into two broad categories: religious-values based and progressive education. These differ considerably with the religious based emphasizing more [...]

By Wayne Jennings | Also posted in Alternatives, Choices, Homeschooling, Reports | Comments Off

Florida Virtual School Enrolls 14,000 Students

June 1, 2004 – 11:21 pm

One of many virtual or online high schools, Florida Virtual High enrolls over 14,000 students annually across the U.S. and in other countries since its founding in 1997. Their motto is “Any time, Any place, Any path, Any pace.” This state funded school claims a 90% course completion rate and offer “franchises” to others wishing [...]

By Wayne Jennings | Also posted in Alternatives, Online learning, Virtual schools | Comments Off

Virtual Schools, More Choices

May 4, 2004 – 12:18 pm

The US Department of Education estimates that 50,000 students from 37 states attend virtual schools either full or part-time, a very rapidly expanding sector of school choice. Though critics worry about the lack of social contact and lack of regulation, parents are making the selection just as they do in the realm of homeschooling. The [...]

By Wayne Jennings | Also posted in Articles, Choices, Homeschooling, Online learning, Virtual schools | Comments Off

Homeschooling: A Learning Alternative

March 25, 2004 – 7:39 pm

Homeschooling has grown dramatically in the past decade. The U.S. Dept. of Education estimates that close to 1,000,000 students are in home schools up sharply since 1995. Homeschoolers fall into two rough categories: those who want certain religious beliefs inculcated and those who want a more progressive individualized program. An excellent article describes how it [...]

By Wayne Jennings | Also posted in Alternatives, Homeschooling, Research | Comments Off

Home Schooling Doubles in a Decade

November 23, 2003 – 9:32 pm

Another form of learning alternative is home schooling which has taken off rapidly in the U.S. during the past decade. The U.S. Department of Education study estimates some 850,000 students are home schooled up from 360,000 a decade ago. A story from the New York Times describes one family’s reaction and provides other useful information.

By Wayne Jennings | Also posted in Homeschooling, Reports | Comments Off

National Charter Schools Conference

October 10, 2003 – 2:43 pm

The 5th national charter schools conference will be in Miami, June 16-18, 2004 at the Fontainebleau Hilton sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education. Check the site. Questions can be directed to Dean Kern, dean.kern@ed.gov. Information on previous conferences is also available.

By Wayne Jennings | Also posted in Charter schools, Conferences | Comments Off

Study of Alternative Schools

May 20, 2003 – 5:52 pm

The National Center for Educational Statistics polled U.S. schools to determine the nature of alternative programs. They found 10,900 public schools serving 612,900 at-risk students. There are other alternative schools but this 2002 study examined just public schools serving at-risk students. The study contains much useful data on a little examined area. For example, 12 [...]

By Wayne Jennings | Also posted in Alternatives, At risk programs, Reports, Research | Comments Off