PRINEVILLE, OR -- Crook County students will have a new educational option, beginning this fall. Curriculum Director Stacy Smith tells KBND the district chose not to renew its contract with the charter school that has provided online classes for the last three years. "We had approximately 30 Crook County residents who took advantage of that as a full-time online student. So, we wanted to make sure we had online education options for at least those students. We’re also reaching out to home school students whose parents may have realized their children’s progress, academically, has outreached their ability to continue to educate them. Or, perhaps they want kids to participate in Smarter Balance testing for things such as college placement."
Crook County Expands School Options
Smith admits there have been challenges in creating the new program, but he says the new “Crook County School District Online Option” will be stronger than what was previously offered through Insight School of Oregon. "People are having to do some research and find a good partner, which I think we have. And, we have to develop our own space, we have to use our own personnel that may have been doing other things prior to this, so we had to redirect some people. But, at the same time, we’re excited; it’s a new thing. And, we’re anxious to be able to offer this to residents of Crook County."
He adds, "[Students] can take all of their required core content classes online. One of the things we like, as a smaller district, is to be able to use an online education to expand our elective options. For example, a world language, like Chinese, we wouldn’t have the funds and resources available to hire a Chinese teacher, but we can contract with an online provider to provide an online version of Chinese for our students."
A parent informational meeting will be held August 10. Click HERE for more details.
