The opposing view holds that “a common cultural experience comes out of public schools” and districts shouldn’t undermine ít by letting parents design a “boutique education” for their children at public expense, said Russ Whitehurst, director of the Brown Center on Education Policy at the liberal Brookings Institution.

Douglas County, a swath of tidy cul-de-sacs and look-alike subdivisions, already boasts nine charter schools, two magnet schools and an online school as well as 65 traditional schools—all funded by tax dollars. Students receive high scores on standardized tests and a recent community survey found overwhelmingly positive views about the public schools. Fewer than 4,000 students in the district chose private or home schools last year, according to state statistics.

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School District 51 plans to add an online school to its academic offerings this year.

The District 51 Board of Education will decide Tuesday whether to approve the creation of Grand River Virtual Academy, which will offer online classes for ninth- through 12th-graders this fall. The academy will launch as a pilot program and offer classes to high-school-age students through a software program called K12.

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Students will be allowed to work at their own pace, but they are encouraged to reach benchmarks to be able to stay on course with the lessons.

Students’ work will be both computer and teacher graded.

Students may choose to participate in band, vocational classes and sports at the high school as long as they meet requirements of the district’s athletic handbooks, Maurer said.

Students participating in the online school also will be required to meet with an instructor two hours each week at the school district, 403 W. Fifth St. Maurer said he will touch base with parents once a month.

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