When a student abandons an online school, the online school often keeps the state tuition cash. Colorado bases school funding on a single enrollment count. Once the count has been taken, the money is allocated and belongs to the school even if students soon thereafter.

That means another school ends up with former online students, but not the tuition.
The administration of Colorado’s largest online public school, Colorado Virtual Academy, agrees that online schools should not keep the money.

“Colorado should move away form a school-funding model based on a single-count date to a better model, such as an average daily membership,” said Jeff Kwitowski in a statement to The Gazette’s editorial board. He’s the vice president for public affairs for K12, the curriculum provider for Colorado Virtual Academy.

For the rest of the article, go to OUR VIEW: State’s money must follow students (poll)

“That’s definitely a concern,” Mund said. But, it is one the school district that accredited the online school must address — not the state, she said.

Once, the perception was that online schools were for struggling students hanging on in school by a thread.

“That’s changing,” said Heidi Heineke-Magri, head of Colorado Virtual Academy, the state’s largest online program.

“We tend to get students on both ends of the spectrum — from those in special ed and those really struggling and from the upper end, those who are accelerated and gifted and talented.”

For Elvrum, whose son is not struggling, online is a perfect blend of a teacher’s expertise and parental involvement. “This is the best of both worlds.”

For the rest of the article, go to Dip in number of Colorado home-schoolers may be linked to surge in online enrollment