For the rest of the article, go to New generation takes the helm at Asheville–Buncombe League of Women Voters

The case brought some improvement, but Hoke still is a long way from having big resources. But we just got a look at a program there that helps students use 21st century technology to learn better and faster, with more resources at their fingertips.

For the rest of the article, go to Editorial: E-learning – Hoke finds way to get its students online

N.C. Administrative Law Judge Beecher Gray found the state education board acted in an “arbitrary and capricious” manner by not acting on an application submitted in February by N.C. Learns, a non-profit organization that will contract with K12, Inc., an online education company that sends its profits to Wall Street investors.

K12 has had a reputation for aggressively pursuing proposals in other states, and North Carolina was no exception. The company hired a s team of lobbyists from one of the state’s top firms, McGuire Woods, including former state Rep. Jeff Barnhart to lobby Cabarrus County school board officials, a group that up until recently he had represented in the state legislature. Then, N.C. Learns (which doesn’t have any apparent funding streams outside of start-up dollars forward by K12, Inc.) hired state Sen. Fletcher Hartsell, another Cabarrus County Republican, to serve as its lawyer.

For the rest of the article, go to Virtual charter moves forward after judge rules against State Board of Education

That number will continue to grow if the N.C. State Board of Education grants approval to the N.C. Virtual Charter Academy’s application. But a delay in that process has drawn a lawsuit against the state board.

The virtual school, to which the Cabarrus County Board of Education granted preliminary approval in January, would be based in Cabarrus County but would enroll eligible students across the state.

The school would provide full-time public school services online, using curriculum and services from the for-profit company K12 Inc. It could mean job opportunities for state-certified teachers.

For the rest of the article, go to Virtual charter school seeks state response

Now, Hartsell wants an administrative law judge to force the state board to review the school’s application.

State board chairman Bill Harrison has said he supports virtual education, but he also said online charters bring up policy questions that need to be sorted out both in terms of finances and curriculum.

For the rest of the article, go to Proposed Virtual Charter Tries To Force State School Board Review

The winner will face Democratic incumbent June Atkinson in the general election.

The campaign for state education chief comes at time when state education leaders, battling budget cuts and an increased interest in privatization, see the need to formally spread the message that public schools, which enroll about 1.5 million children, serve the public good.

Michelle Lourcey, curriculum and instruction director for the N.C. Virtual Public School, tapped Fetzer to develop the program, now finishing its second year, after seeing her success teaching online students courses they had previously failed in brick-and-mortar schools.

“She’s so passionate in her belief that all kids can learn,” Lourcey says. “She can take those kids who have known no success in that subject, and she is able to work with them until they know that success.”

The award allows education leaders to showcase practices that are working in the growing world of online education, says Mattlea Parker, a technology specialist with the Southern Regional Education Board, which co-sponsors the award.

For the rest of the article, go to Tar Heel of the week: National online teacher of the year helps children learn in a new way

Scholl is vice chairman of the advisory board for the North Carolina Virtual Public Schools, which offers students online learning in subjects such as advanced placement, foreign languages and test preparation. Scholl also owns a company offering web-based training and web-site development to businesses.

Graduation rates are another campaign issue. The Republicans focus on the fact that though the statewide high school graduation rate has been improving, too many children fall short.

For the rest of the article, go to GOP candidates for NC schools chief vary on role

The N.C. E-Learning Commission, which acts in an advisory role to both N.C. Gov. Bev Perdue and the N.C. State Board of Education, met Thursday morning and passed a recommendation that the state board take a closer look at virtual education before approving any cyber schools.

The committee’s recommendation for a detailed cost analysis, curriculum review and accountability assessment of virtual education programs is expected to be in front of the N.C. State Board of Education by June.

“As we go forward with virtual schools, with charters, I think it’s very important that we do it right,” said Lt. Gov. Walter Dalton, the committee chair (and one of several Democratic candidates for governor).

Funding will be a major issue — nothing now prevents a virtual school from getting the same amount of funding as a brick-and-mortar charter school.

For the rest of the article, go to Virtual charter schools need to be scrutinized before opening, N.C. commission says

As chairman of the state eLearning Commission, Dalton has also championed more online learning. North Carolina is operating the second largest virtual high school in the nation, and the University of North Carolina offers more online courses than any state university system in the country, Dalton said.

Dalton has spent a good part of his three years as lieutenant governor traveling across the state, chairing meetings of the Joining our Business and Schools (JOBS) Commission, which looks for ways to tie education more directly to the needs of the marketplace.

For the rest of the article, go to Candidates spar over schools