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Letter: Incorporate online instruction

By Blaine Sundwall, Vancouver
Published: August 29, 2018, 6:00am

Regarding the recent votes by teachers’ unions to strike, there may be an option that works for everyone. There are schools such as the Washington Connections Academy, an online school, which are accredited and funded by the state, and free for students to attend.

Perhaps a hybrid solution between this home-schooling tool and a traditional public school could be created. Continue to utilize the buildings, buses and other infrastructure. But when the students are at the school, have them use district computers to access the free online school.

There would still be a need for teachers, as students attending online schools are required to interact with a teacher at least once a week. This would allow a large reduction in the head count of teachers.

Teachers that remained employed would be able to concentrate on children when they had trouble, increasing the effective teacher-to-student ratio. Students would have the benefits such as socialization and access to special programs. But overall costs would be lower.

The pay of teachers who remained employed would be increased. Teachers would have more time for individual instruction, and the district would save money.

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