Online classes soon will be commonplace for public schools nationwide, a new study contends. And two area school systems have the enrollment figures to prove it, despite using different strategies.
Montgomery County’s online enrollment spiked from 25 students in 2004 to more than 1,000 in 2009, and enrollment is expected to keep growing by 50 percent each year, the program’s coordinator said Wednesday.
Fairfax County’s online campus, which began with 24 students 10 years ago, now enrolls 950 students. Mike Kowalski, the county’s online campus coordinator, said he expected the summer school program to grow fivefold this year.
New research predicts a growth in online enrollment over the next decade that will dramatically cut costs for public schools and improve academic performance. The study, which was sponsored by D.C.’s Center for American Progress, is some of the first insight into online schooling below the college level.
Using figures from 20 virtual schools in 14 states, researchers found the average annual cost per student online was $4,300 compared with the national average of $9,100 for traditionally taught students.
But for Fairfax County, virtual learning is not a bargain.
“It is not a cost-saving factor,” Kowalski said. “It is a matter of providing high-quality classes to students unable to attend regular classes.” He said these students may be ill or unable to commute to a school that teaches the classes they need.
Fairfax’s online courses take “as much teacher time and preparation” as traditional courses, and faculty members are paid the same salaries regardless.
In fact, Fairfax’s online courses tend to cost more than traditional courses because the classes are smaller, he said.
In Montgomery County, online students are excelling.
“Online, students tend to do better than in regular classes,” said Richard Jolles, eLearning coordinator. He said students could learn at their own pace, and teachers could establish a “more personalized individual connection with students” online.
And on the Web, shy students have nowhere to hide.
“Every student has to participate in every aspect of the class,” he said. “No student is able to skip participation in discussion.”
Jolles said he saw eLearning spreading to Montgomery’s elementary and middle schools within the next five years.
As for cutting costs, he said eLearning was a “long-term investment,” and savings would collect as the program matures.
