The Internet has turned homeschooling on its head.
From a fairly narrow niche of families who sought flexibility and control over their children’s learning, access to new online tools has sparked an eruption of mainstream options.
• Clark County Home Educators: www.cchomeed.org
• Washington Homeschool Organization: www.washhomeschool.org
• Family Learning Organization: www.familylearning.org
• Washington Home Educators Network: www.wahomeednetwork.homestead.com
• Homeschooling information and resources: www.homeedmag.com
And, Clark County is right on the front lines.
After watching the creation of a few statewide “virtual academies” — where students anywhere may take online courses, with their Olympia-alloted state education dollars paid to the sponsoring district — Evergreen Public Schools decided to jump in.
Evergreen landed the IQ Academy franchise for Washington, padding the list of states in the private firm’s lineup. Free of charge to students, the program provides them a free computer and stipend to purchase an Internet connection at home.
By late 2009, Evergreen had enrolled 585 students for full- or part-time study, two-thirds of them from outside the district. They were among 13,000 students counted in a statewide 2008-09 survey of all “virtual learners.”