Create Your Own or Attend a Free Public Virtual School Online

All you have to do to organize a virtual school from kindergarten through high school is to band together with a group of teachers and parents whose children wish to attend school at home. It's a lot like homeschooling, only it's a virtual school in the Sacramento area run by your local school district. Kids attend school full time at home.

In Sacramento and surrounding regional areas there already is the first virtual public school--free--in the county. And enrollment is open. Check out the Sacramento Bee, May 10, 2010 article, under "Region in Brief--Elk Grove," Students from region can enroll in virtual school.

Did you know that enrolled families get a stipend if they have Internet access? The entire curriculum and a loaner computer and printer are provided at no cost, and enrolled families receive a stipend for Internet access.That means you don't have to shell out more than a thousand dollars to buy a computer. A computer can be loaned to the enrolled student.

In Sacramento, the Elk Grove Unified School District has done just that--opened enrollment for the first virtual school in this area. It's different from home schooling in the sense that it's public school--free public school. All other virtual schools you probably have to pay for or buy supplies. But this one is free because it's run by the Elk Grove Unified School District. What a blessing to parents who aren't able to chauffeur their kids to school on a daily basis.

Students who wish to attend have all their supplies needed to complete a school year delivered to their homes. They will learn their lessons at home whether their parents can afford to buy a computer or not. But tests will be taken at a campus. There will be meetings once in a while with a teacher. The important point is that learning materials will be delivered to the front door. The school is virtual.

How this differs from home schooling is that in home schooling, parents have to buy the supplies in most cases or pay a fee to school their children at home, for example, if the home schooling supplies are given by various associations or religious groups. But the Sacramento virtual school in Elk Grove is free.

That means, whatever your income, you can afford to go to school free and stay at home while taking classes. Think of all the opportunities this creates for kids to be free from hassles, peer bullies, and safety problems associated with commuting to school, let alone the cost of food.

Because the Elk Grove Unified School District has opened enrollment, the school is free and open to any student in grades kindergarten through grade 12 of high school, living anywhere in Sacramento County. That means you don't have to live in Elk Grove. Also, the school is open to kids living not only in Sacramento County but in Amador, Contra Costa, El Dorado, Placer, San Joaquin, Solano, Sutter, and Yolo Counties.

Visit the academy for informational meetings at Cosumnes Oaks High School, 8350 Lotz Parkway, El Grove at 9:00 am Friday. Or Pleasant Grove Elementary School, 10160 Pleasant Grove School Road, Elk Grove, at noon, May 17th; Elk Grove Adult and Community Education, 8401 Gerber Road, Sacramento, at 4:30 pm. May 25; Los Flores High School, 5900 Bamford Drive, Sacramento, at 5:00 pm on June 3; C.W. Dillard Elementary School, 9721 Dillard Road, Wilton, at 3:00 pm, June 8th; and Cosumnes Oaks High at 9:00 am on June 16th.

For further information, email EGVirtual@egusd.net. Or phone (916) 686-7747 or visit Elk Grove.

The Elk Grove area school isn't the first virtual school in California, though. Check out the California Virtual Academies website. According to its website, California Virtual Academies '" the only K¹² Certified Schools in the state'"combine visionary leadership and the highest-quality distance-learning curriculum available today to provide an innovative, highly effective education for California students.

The California Virtual Academies (CAVA) are WASC-accredited, state-approved public charter schools. The curriculum is provided by K¹², and is accessed via an Online School (OLS) as well as through more traditional methods, with materials'"including books, CDs, and even bags of rocks and dirt'"delivered right to your family's doorstep.

Parents and students are assigned their own California-credentialed teacher to help guide and track their progress through the curriculum. There are regular, face-to-face meetings as well.

Student/student interaction is actively encouraged, so CAVA students are always well-educated and well-socialized. Who is this intended for? California Virtual Academies serves students in grades K-12 across the state. What are the costs? Because they are part of the public school system, the California Virtual Academies are tuition free.