K-12 education is clearly confronting unprecedented challenges.  We know we are trying to prepare students for jobs that do not yet exist.  We know that with every four students who opt for homeschooling, the equivalent of a teacher’s salary is lost. We know that schools are not yet producing graduates with the skill sets valued most by 21st century employers nor are they serving as incubators of talent, allowing students to explore their own gifts and interests within the context of the school day.  We know that some parents feel that their students’ mental and physical health is best protected by learning at home. But how do educators respond to the need for personalized, mobilized learning in the digital age while preserving the best of what has defined them as a backbone of their communities for decades?

We believe the solution is for educators to launch online learning programs that provide maximum flexibility within highly supported learning models but that continue to reflect the integrity, commitment, and values of the communities they serve.  Within these scenarios, educators can widen their services to those who prefer home learning as well as those who complete at least some of their courses in the brick-and-mortar setting.  Districts and homeschool organizations who are ready to launch their own virtual school programs will find that partnering with Village Virtual not only saves time and money but, more importantly, puts all our expertise and experience at the service of your students and staff from day one.

Program Development

Our best advice for launching virtual school initiatives?  Start small, learn from your successes and failures, scale up year over year.  For some schools, the best way to accomplish this measured growth is the “Start-Together” model, plugging into Village Virtual’s already successful methods and technologies and adapting the program components to individual needs and program goals.  This model requires little to no up-front investment in software but allows for a very great deal of customization and supported growth during those first critical years.

Village Virtual can also help districts navigate a “Start-From-Scratch” model, with expertise across many learning management systems and a deep understanding of the user experience from student, parent, teacher, and admin points of view.