The U.S. Department of Education plans to release a study about the prevalence of online schooling later this year. But one survey the department completed nearly five years ago found that 36% of school districts in the nation had students enrolled in virtual school, mostly high school students.
"We've certainly seen an increase," said Tim Magner, director of the department's Office of Educational Technology. "It's growing fast."
He said students often enroll in online classes to take Advanced Placement or other specialty courses not available in their local schools. Making up a failed class or adding courses that would not otherwise fit in a student's schedule are other top reasons, he said.
Online schools are also popular with home-schooled children, with students who are devoting large blocks of time to such activities as ballet, acting or tennis, as well as students who don't enjoy a traditional school atmosphere or who need to work.
"It's not a matter of intellect or aptitude. The most important factor would be the [student's] desire," said Patty Young, director of Orange Lutheran Online. "Students today really want a customized education. Why should school be confined to an old-style box with a daily schedule?"
Paul Riscalla, 17, a senior at Orange Lutheran who lives in Orange, splits his time between online classes and the traditional school so he can work 40 hours a week at two jobs and play drums in a rock band.
"It was a way for me to have more time outside school, because I have a lot of stuff going on," he said.
Other parts of the nation have a head start on virtual schooling, with 24 states running online schools. Nearly 30,000 students take classes at Florida Virtual School, which has a $43-million annual budget and, at nearly a decade old, is the nation's oldest and largest statewide online public school.
"Many states are realizing the world is moving in this direction, and we need to prepare kids to be able to work and exist in this type of environment," said Julie Young, co-founder of the Florida school.
In California, online schools are run through private schools such as Orange Lutheran, as well as public schools, universities and businesses.
The Orange County Department of Education runs Pacific Coast High School, an independent-study program that offers online and hybrid classes popular among home-school families, that has 421 students enrolled. Students from kindergarten through high school are filling the equivalent of 10,000 classroom seats in Stanford University's online program for gifted students, and in September the university launched a selective online high school.
