Clayton Ridge to Roll Out Virtual School

By Katie Wiedemann, Reporter

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By Aaron Hepker

Story Created: Jan 25, 2012 at 7:13 PM CDT

Story Updated: Jan 25, 2012 at 7:39 PM CDT

GUTTENBERG, Iowa - A rural eastern Iowa school district will soon embark on a whole new way of learning. The Iowa Virtual Academy is an alternative learning program that students can choose to enroll in.

It’s an effort to improve every student’s achievement and decrease drop out rates. Clayton Ridge Schools in Clayton County will be one of only two school districts in Iowa to offer the program. The other is in Anita, Iowa.

Technology is everywhere in the Clayton Ridge Schools. Laptops have replaced notebooks. Soon the school district will offer a whole new, high tech way of learning.

"The content and the instruction is primarily over the Internet and delivered to students and their parents in their homes," said Superintendent Allan Nelson.

Students enrolled in the Iowa Virtual Academy will never set foot in an actual classroom. Instead, they’ll work from home with an Iowa certified teacher on their computer screen and a parent or guardian by their side. All students are required to spend at least five and a half hours learning each day.

Nelson said, “Younger kids also have materials sent to their homes that will include print materials but also hands on activities.”

Any students is eligible to enroll in virtual school. But administrators expect less than one percent of the students to take part.

“It might be the autistic kid or special needs child who needs to focus and not have all the noise or distractions going on in the classroom.” Nelson said the program could also be attractive to parents who have the time and resources to spend at home with their student.

No matter the reason for enrollment, Nelson says for some students this program could be the difference between success and failure.

Any student in the entire state of Iowa is eligible to open enroll in the Clayton Ridge Virtual School program. That deadline is March 1st.

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