Students sat in a room at Indiana Premium Outlets, working on computers to complete high school classes in what most people would consider a shopping center.
For those 12 students, it’s school.
At the Edinburgh Resource Center, teacher and Edinburgh High School basketball coach Keith Witty supervised online classes that assist not only students from Edinburgh schools, but other surrounding schools.
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Each day, for 2 1/2 hours, Witty helps the students with any questions they may have as they complete online courses. Students there have either fallen behind in the traditional classroom setting or aren’t able to attend school full time, he said.
“For the most part, a lot of them, it’s almost their last chance to graduate,” Witty said. “I think that motivates them. It’s kind of a last shot to make it count.”
During each of the four semesters preceding Fall 2019, more than 350 Johnson County students attended school online. Last spring, 393 Johnson County students attended an online school. Then, in the fall, about a third of those online students shifted away from virtual education, according to data from the Indiana Department of Education.
Online schools offer many of the same courses as brick and mortar schools, as graduation requirements are uniform across school types. Students login to an online platform to complete their assignments, and get support from teachers by communicating with them online. Students are able to take courses in core areas such as math, science and English Language Arts, submit assignments and complete exams, just as they would at a traditional school.
At Indiana Connections Academy, where 208 of the 270 Johnson County students took classes in the fall, students can take Advanced Placement and dual-credit courses. Students also take courses needed to fulfill the state’s graduation pathways requirements, and prepare for statewide exams such as the ILEARN, said Chandre Sanchez-Reyes, executive director of Indiana Connections Academy and Indiana Connections Career Academy.
The significant drop in Johnson County students taking online courses from spring to fall 2019 coincided with the closures of two of the state’s most popular online schools for students in the county.
Indiana Virtual School and Indiana Virtual Pathways Academy shuttered last year. More than 2,600 students were enrolled at Indiana Virtual School, but none of them took an Advanced Placement exam, and the school’s graduation rate was just 6% in 2019, according to data from the U.S. News and World Report.
Both online schools were accused of inflating enrollment numbers to receive additional state funding, according to a report from the The Associated Press.
Now, school districts such as Edinburgh and Indian Creek have launched their own similar programs despite the challenges others around the state have faced.
Indian Creek schools started its online academy in the fall with about 60 to 65 students, although it drew most of its students from all over the state. Just three or four students originally from Indian Creek schools attended the academy, said Andy Cline, Assistant Superintendent of Indian Creek schools.
Cline was unsure how many students at the school live in the county, he said.
Online learning provides an alternative option for students who might have to work part-time or struggle in a traditional classroom setting, Cline said.
“It is another opportunity for students to pursue the education they need to be successful,” Cline said. “A big chunk of courses for college students is the online component. It’s not only the opportunity for students to succeed, but it’s helping students with those post-secondary opportunities, having that knowledge and opportunity to be online and have that academic success.”
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Here is a look at Johnson County students enrolled in online schools, by geographic district.
Fall 2019
Clark-Pleasant;69
Center Grove;65
Edinburgh;4*
Franklin;65
Greenwood;37
Indian Creek;27*
Total;267*
Spring 2019
Clark-Pleasant;97
Center Grove;92
Edinburgh;14*
Franklin;92
Greenwood;76
Indian Creek;22
Total;393*
*Does not include students in school-run programs
Source: Indiana Department of Education
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More Johnson County students attended Indiana Connections Academy than any other virtual school in the fall. With the closures of Indiana Virtual School and Indiana Virtual Pathways Academy, the school got an even greater share of local students. Why are Johnson County online students flocking so heavily to Connections in particular? See Friday’s Daily Journal for this story.
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