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Alachua County eSchool

By Jackie Alexander
Ocala Star-Banner
November 28, 2011

Alachua County middle and high school students will be able to take classes with local teachers from their computer screen as part of the Alachua eSchool, a partnership between the school district and Florida Virtual School.

The Florida Virtual School allows each school district to create its own “franchise’’ in which the curriculum is the same as the virtual schools but all the personnel are local and paid by the school district.

According to the statewide online school, more than 28,368 Florida students were enrolled in franchise schools during the 2010-11 school year, more than 11,000 more students than the previous academic year.

Ed Stefansen, who has worked for Alachua County Public Schools for 18 years, is the eSchool coordinator. The eSchool will begin in January and is open to all students — public, private and home-schooled students.

“It’s been a work in progress,” he said Monday.

Stefansen said students will be afforded local technical support and teachers. Four part-time teachers will instruct students in middle and high school math, science, social studies and English.

Stefansen said the district hopes to cap class sizes at 30 students.

One positive for the district, officials said, is that money paid by the state for student enrollment, also known as full-time equivalent funds, will come to the district instead of going to the Florida Virtual School. The $50 course registration fee will go to the Florida Virtual School.

Alachua County middle and high school students will be able to take classes with local teachers from their computer screen as part of the Alachua eSchool, a partnership between the school district and Florida Virtual School.

State FTE funds comes in at $3,400 for a student enrolled in six courses, Johnson said. If a student took an eSchool class who would have otherwise taken a Florida Virtual School class, the district would receive that $566, which is one-sixth of a full-time student funding.

According to Florida Virtual School, 1,639 Alachua County students took 3,241 courses during the 2010-2011 academic year.

The partnership also will help the district alleviate some of the pressures from class-size requirements, said spokeswoman Jackie Johnson.

Home-schooled students who enroll in the Alachua eSchool have the chance to earn a high school diploma from that school and home-school parents will have local resources to enhance their lessons, Stefansen said.

“They have the opportunity to become part of the school system by signing up for an Alachua eSchool class,” he said. This will help usher home-schooled students into being part of the greater education community.

New state legislation requires all high school students to take one virtual course as a graduation requirement.

“By 2014, there’s not going to be any more textbooks so they’re going to have to know how to maneuver digitally in their education,” he said.

ESchool courses on the high school level will be treated as dual enrollment, Stefansen said. Students would be able to use that class period to go to a computer lab or media center to work on their virtual course.

Marion County Public Schools have owned their franchise since 2006. Spokesman Kevin Christian said 650 students are enrolled in more than 1,250 courses from kindergarten to 12th grade. The district employs 11 full-time teachers and seven adjuncts.

“It’s one tool we’ve used in these budget cuts to give kids more opportunities that don’t cost as much,” he said.