COVID-19 Fuels Big Enrollment Increases in Virtual Schools

as parents seek an alternative to chaotic remote school experiences this spring.

Florida Virtual School's enrollment is up 54 percent year over year for its individual online course offerings and 64 percent for full-time programs. Public schools' online programs managed by the for-profit provider K12 Inc. have grown from 122,000 enrollments in fall 2019 to 170,000 a year later. Applications to Connections Academy, a virtual school provider owned by Pearson, are up 61 percent.

The Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School filled up months before it usually starts receiving the bulk of new applicants. An Oklahoma virtual charter school earlier this summer was enrolling 1,000 students a day. Enrollment in virtual schools is also up in Connecticut, Ohio, and Wisconsin.

https://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2020/09/03/covid-19-fuels-big-enrollment-increases-in-virtual.html?cmp=eml-enl-tl-news1&M=59679493&U=2050105&UUID=42d8eaa0e1fd83d2d422f1841ef2e9b9