News, Weather and Sports for Sioux City, IA: KCAU-TV.comA New Online Option for Students in Iowa

A New Online Option for Students in Iowa

By: Hollie Hojek

hhojek@kcautv.com

Trading the classroom for the computer. A virtual school is being offered to students here in Iowa, but local schools have some questions about it.

With the click of a mouse, your child could be enrolled as a student at the Iowa Connections Academy, The first kindergarten through 12th grade virtual school in the state of Iowa.

"Students will work from home with Iowa licensed teachers using a very robust, very rigorous curriculum that includes both online and offline materials," said Susan Stanger, from ICA.

ICA is a fully accredited, free online school that currently operates in 23 other states. There are over 600 courses offered to students through this program.

"We have a really advanced technology that allows it to be more interactive, more adaptive and to provide students, especially in a rural states, like Iowa, more course selections," said Stagner.

The first school in Iowa to approve this program is Chamberlain-Macina-Annita school district in Annita Iowa.

Here in town, the Sioux City School District says it's begun incorporating online courses into it's own curriculum.

" I think there is some value in online learning.. The value of having students in school, in front of a teacher, having direct instruction from a teacher... that can't be matched,"said Jim Vanderloo, director of secondary education.

Stagner admits that the program isn't for every students, but it is another option.

"I think there is an unfilled need for students right now. A lot of students, for whatever reason can't be in a building all day," she said.

Funding for this "free" online education works like any other free enrollment public school.