When the pandemic hit, traditional brick and mortar schools were forced to move their lessons online. Many of these schools floundered, leaving millions of students on the sidelines. As a result, many students have suffered learning losses, while others are not receiving the support and educational resources they need.
Unfortunately, online learning has taken the blame. Some policymakers and supporters of the education status-quo are using the pandemic and the shortcomings of brick and mortar schools to punish full-time online schools. The reality is thousands of students across the country who attend full-time online public schools suffered no disruption to their education as these schools are designed to deliver high-quality curriculum and services to students.
We wanted to take the opportunity to clear up some misconceptions about online learning, and set the record straight on the differences between full-time online public schools and the remote teaching many districts deployed during the pandemic.
