Districts Collaborate On Virtual School Implementation

Education Week (3/13, Ash) reports that school districts are collaborating on best practices for establishing new virtual schools. "Banding together in multidistrict virtual learning collaborations helps member districts pool resources, increase purchasing power, and share best practices as they launch and support online learning for their students. 'Why re-create the wheel?' asks John Jacobs, the director of online learning for the Wisconsin eSchool Network, based in Webster village. The network, which began in 2002 as a collaboration between two districts-the Appleton and Kiel school districts-in the state, now serves 12 districts and has become its own nonprofit organization."