ONLINE SCHOOLS

Recession fallout is evident almost everywhere.

It has impacted millions of workers, leaving a disconcerting holding pattern of high unemployment.

Families have been devastated as foreclosures transform neighborhoods into ghost towns. Thousands are still homeless.

Businesses once hunkered down, hoping to be spared as their customer bases diminished and revenue declined. But many still ended up closing their doors forever.

However, as budgets were unceremoniously trimmed and slashed in public schools, administrators turned to a saving grace that has worked out well — distance learning.

A recent government survey shows that fifty-five percent of public school districts had students enrolled in distance learning classes in 2009-10, three times the number enrolled just five years earlier. Ninety-six percent of those students are in high school.

Students who once had few class options are now able to take advantage of classes offered by other high schools, colleges and online schools. These options have been coordinated through the efforts of like-minded school administrators who value distance learning as a low-cost alternative to traditional classroom learning.

Today, at least 1,816,400 public school students are enrolled in distance learning classes.

These dramatic findings were compiled after questionnaires were sent from the National Center for Education Statistics and the Institute of Education Sciences to 2,310 public schools in 50 states, along with the District of Columbia. At least 94% of those schools responded to the survey.

The proliferation of distance learning into the public school arena has widespread implications for public and private colleges.

As public school students become increasingly comfortable with e-learning and the flexibility it provides, they may naturally gravitate toward online degrees and classes once they graduate from high school.

In fact, as parents are less able to bankroll a pricey traditional college education, students may be forced to work their way through school. And of course, e-learning offers great flexibility for adult learners who work full or part-time jobs.

The meteoric growth of e-learning in public schools is sure to impact postsecondary education. As students seek their degrees online, traditional colleges will need to keep developing and expanding their online degree program offerings in order to remain competitive.

This week, the Southern University System and Education Online Services Corporation announced a partnership to do just that — to create and implement multiple online degree offerings.

Understandably, we should expect expanded e-learning opportunities to become available at most colleges and universities in the future.

The lessons learned by public school administrators in seeking to keep costs low and quality high will likely lead college administrators to the same formula for education success — implement more distance learning options for students.

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