Online school is a mixed blessing

by Kim Smith
Staff Writer

Education has moved past the conventional brick and mortar school and into the world of cyberspace.

The Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow (ECOT) is an online school for grades kindergarten through twelve. It is the first school in the nation to be a public, statewide organization, said John Ledingham, ECOT director.

The organization works as a charter school and is based under Lupas County Educational Center in Toledo, Ledingham said. It began in late September and soon will have 3,000 students registered.

"Anyone can sign up with us, but it was created for those who feel their needs are not being met in a traditional school," Ledingham said. "Those who have signed up say it's a godsend."

The school is designed to help students with physical needs, an unusual learning pace, or returning students who want to earn their diploma, he said. But anyone is eligible to apply.

The students receive an actual diploma if they complete the school. About 62 people are employed as educational staff for the school, including an online nurse and certified teachers, Ledingham said.

If students have trouble with an assignment they can contact their teachers during regular school hours by telephone or e-mail, he said.

"Initially school superintendents saw us as a threat," Ledingham said. "But now educational opportunities are being experienced. It supplements what they do for special needs students."

But some school district superintendents in the area do not feel informed enough about ECOT, said Carl Martin, Athens City Schools superintendent.

"It's new enough that the full impact can't be digested yet," he said. "The bottom line is that now we are basically paying for home school and we never had to before."

Two area students who formerly were home-schooled now participate in ECOT. Because they live in the district, the Athens school district now spends about $9,000 a year for these students to attend ECOT.

The online school, in conjunction with Compaq and Xerox, provides a computer, modem, scanner, printer and fax to each student at no charge. These are on loan to the students for as long as they participate in the program, said Mark Dennis, Compaq sales representative.

The computers are paid for by the $4,500 the state provides for every new school in its starting year, Dennis said.

"Compaq is helping to provide a capability that wasn't there before," he said. "Sure it's a business opportunity, but it's also a matter of doing the right thing and providing educational alternatives."