SPECIAL REPORT: Going to school on-line in NE Iowa (Part 1)

The open enrollment deadline is Tuesday for most K-12 Iowa students for next year.  When most people think of open enrollment, they think of students coming from one school district and enrolling in an adjacent district. This is often done for matters of convenience, when parents live in one district but work in another or when a particular school might provide specific programs or services that are appealing.

When a student open enrolls out of a school district, state funding follows that student and goes to the receiving district. The figure for 2016-17 is $6,446 per student. Obviously, that can be of benefit to the receiving district or a financial blow to the district losing students.

Iowa has two online or virtual schools. The CAM school district, based in Anita, operates (hosts) the Iowa Connections Academy, while Clayton Ridge, in Garnavillo, hosts the Iowa Virtual Academy (IAVA).   Readers may have recently noticed television ads from these schools, touting free tuition and noting that they are public schools. 

Free tuition is the case for the students enrolled, but the vast majority of the state dollars that follow a student go to private companies that operate the online schools – rather than to a neighboring school district, as is the case with most open enrollment.

Coming up in part two: How does the Iowa Virtual Academy in Garnavillo work?