Former education secretary founds a virtual school as an alternative to public education.
Fall registration has begun at William J. Bennett's new school, but there's no crush of students lining up outside an ivy-covered building. Instead, families are pointing and clicking their way through registration at the former education secretary's for-profit virtual-education venture called K12.
Once a skeptic of the benefits of the computer in learning, Bennett has become a true cybernaut, putting his unique education philosophy on the Web and lending his energy and considerable clout to the new online school, headquartered in McLean, Va. "It's the best use of the private sector that I can think of," says Bennett, who also heads the Washington-based conservative think tank Empower America.
The school, currently registering students in kindergarten through the second grade, will expand by 2004 to offer a full academic course load to students through the 12th grade. It is aimed at providing a broad and connected curriculum for homeschooling families and other parents disenchanted with their children's progress in the classroom.
"It's not antipublic education," says Bennett, adding that it serves as an option for those who believe they know best about how and what their children should be learning. "We're recognizing the power and ability of citizen parents to take charge of their children's education."
Bennett will spend most of the summer traveling the nation touting the virtues of the online venture. The project, funded by an initial $10 million investment from the Knowledge Universe Learning Group, began a little more than a year ago and now boasts 145 employees. Yale University computer-science professor David Gelernter is chief technology adviser for the company. Advisory committee members include Chester E. Finn Jr., who heads the Fordham Foundation in Washington; Tom Loveless, director of the Brown Center on Education Policy at the Brookings Institution; and reading researcher Louisa Moats.
Veteran education researcher John Holdren, senior vice president of K12, will direct the curriculum, which emphasizes language arts with a strong focus on phonics, math, science, history, music and art. He hopes to add classes in health, physical education and a virtues curriculum.
In general, the program is basic and traditional, although perhaps broader than what a youngster might get in a traditional classroom, says Holden, who worked nine years at the Core Knowledge Foundation. Materials are "parent-friendly" and based whenever possible on "the best that has already been done, on research, on excellent and reputable state standards."
"In the early grades, we'll be taking kids on a journey through history, from the Stone Age to the Space Age," says Holdren. Older children will be offered a junior Great Books program, exposing them to classic literature. "From the very beginning, we want to open up the horizon of a child's mind and imagination," he adds.
While the lesson plans and schedules are online, the K12 program is designed for off-line work, encouraging adult and child interaction. In the early grades, about 25 percent of class work is on the computer and the rest involves reading books, working out math problems by hand and conducting "hands-on" science experiments.
The online school also provides assessments for parents who want to know where their children stand in core subjects such as math and reading. Based on the outcome of the tests, K12 experts will determine an appropriate level for students to begin their studies.
K12 joins a crowded field of cybereducation ventures, but Chief Executive Officer Ron Packard believes there's a market for the company's services. The "e-learning market," say K12 officials, accounts for about $1.3 billion and is projected to reach $6.9 billion by 2003.
Those who enroll in K12 can take an entire semester of courses for $895 or a single course for $125. The kindergarten and first-grade programs, for example, include 640 lessons each, with parents and students encouraged to work at their own pace.
RELATED ARTICLE: Dr. Laura Apologizes to Homeschoolers
Famed radio counselor and traditional-family advocate Laura Schlessinger, known for her in-your-face straight talk on moral and social issues, doesn't often backpedal, but says she's made an apology to one growing sector of the education arena -- homeschoolers.
For two years, the well-known host of the Dr. Laura show was critical of what she described as the narrow focus of homeschooling, offering her concerns that home educators were not teaching major science and math to children and were keeping youths from being properly socialized.
About six months ago, however, she had a change of heart, and said as much to her army of loyal listeners, which number more than 15 million.
"I don't know if I've gotten more enlightened or the movement has grown or both, because now I am recommending it constantly," Schlessinger says. "I am an enemy of the public-school system because of the liberal forces that have taken it over and are determined to do social engineering there, foisting upon people notions of behavior and philosophy ... sexual behavior, that have nothing to do with reading, writing and arithmetic."
-- AB
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