SCOTTSDALE – The AZ 2020 Online Academy will offer a state of Arizona high school diploma to students ages 14-21 throughout the state of Arizona.

The Academy was developed through the Arizona Online Instruction (AOI) initiative. This program is powered by Education2020 with curriculum that is aligned to Arizona state standards.

Education2020 is a leader in educational technology and web-based curriculum.

Their curriculum has been utilized successfully throughout the U.S. since 1998 and is currently offered in over 44 states and more than 3,200 schools and districts use the program.

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Though pencilling Enright into a future rotation spot would be convenient, there’s no guarantee that he’ll continue retiring batters at such a strong pace. His arm might best serve as a long-relief option out of the bullpen in years to come.

Considering the current state of Arizona’s relief corps, Enright’s contributions, even from a lesser role, could make a world of difference for the Diamondbacks.

Andrew Kneeland is a student at the Arizona Virtual Academy. He is an intern at the Green Valley News.

For the rest of the article, go to DUGOUT: Enright fooling Diamondbacks, opposing teams

PHOENIX, Aug. 13 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — The Valley of the Sun Y and K12 Inc., the nation’s largest provider of proprietary curriculum and online school programs for students in kindergarten through high school, are partnering to open over 15 iLearn Centers across the state of Arizona.

In 2002, the Valley of the Sun Y launched their innovative community-based youth development program called iLearn to address the student dropout problem among Arizona high schools. The partnership with K12 will expand the program to hundreds of new students beginning this fall.

The K12 iLearn Centers are available to high school students who are in the Arizona Virtual Academy (AZVA), the state’s largest online public charter school. K12 provides its award-winning curriculum and academic services to AZVA.

For the rest of the article, go to Valley of the Sun Y Partners With K12 to Expand iLearn Centers Across Arizona

Summer school was considerably more popular this year in Flagstaff Unified School District, and even turned a profit.

In total, 268 students registered for summer middle and high school classes, and 225 earned credit, for an overall 84 percent success rate.

This summer was a mix of traditional in-class sessions and online classes. The traditional high school classes drew 91 students, while the new high school online option drew 67. At the middle school level, 110 students signed up for traditional classes (and 102 of them passed), more than doubling last year’s middle school rolls.

Assistant superintendent Dave Dirksen said the failure rate was relatively high for the hybridized online classes — only 40 earned credit in the pass-fail classes for a 60 percent success rate, while 83 of the 91, or 91 percent, of the traditional classroom students earned credit. He guessed that wasn’t due to a lack of technological savvy but because some students didn’t have the self-discipline to keep up with online instruction.

For the rest of the article, go to FUSD Notebook: Summer school popular and profitable

Though classes started Monday in the Marana Unified School District, there are some district students who may never set foot in a Marana school. And they can still get an MUSD high school diploma.

The district has formed a partnership with Mesa Public Schools for Marana students to enroll in the Mesa Distance Learning Program to take a full load of kindergarten through 12th-grade coursework online.

It costs nothing for the students who take the classes, and Marana gets per-pupil state funding for the enrolled students. MUSD, which administers quarterly and final exams to its distance-learning students, pays some of the money to Mesa Public Schools, which provides the curriculum and instructors for the classes.

For the rest of the article, go to Marana kids go the distance without leaving home

Newspapers have migrated online. Music has gone digital. It was only a matter of time before education went the way of the iTouch and smartphones.

Once a fringe offering, online education has gone mainstream, with 27 percent of all high-school students taking at least one online class last year, according to a new survey by Blackboard Inc. and Project Tomorrow.

Students cited the ability to work at their own pace and personalize their learning as more important than earning college credit, taking classes not offered at their school or fitting classes into their crowded schedules as reasons for enrolling in online classes.

For the rest of the article, go to Arizona schools putting more classes online

Mercury Online Academy of Arizona is a blended learning program — a combination of online courses and charter-school curriculum.

“The beauty of this program is it’s online learning, which you can customize for every child,” explained Gene Eidelman of Mercury Online Academy of Arizona.”With online options, you can, first of all, find out what level students are in all different subjects.”

With the blended charter school component, students go one day a week to a learning center for project-based learned and to interact with his or her teacher and other students.

“That is the uniqueness of this program — the online component and the in-classroom component,” Eidelman said.

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Students in Scottsdale can greet one another in the new school year with ni hao (hi or hello) as all five high schools will offer Mandarin Chinese language classes for the first time this fall, using the Scottsdale Unified School District’s new distance-learning technology.

Two teachers of Mandarin will be able to instruct students at the five schools using videoconferencing equipment that’s been installed at each school, said Andi Fourlis, assistant superintendent for teaching and learning.

Besides Arcadia, Chaparral, Coronado, Desert Mountain and Saguaro high schools, four middle schools also will offer Mandarin: Cocopah, Ingleside, Mountainside and Mohave.

For the rest of the article, go to Lots of changes as school starts today in Scottsdale district

PHOENIX, Aug. 4 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Arizona kids are preparing to head back to school, but for students at the Arizona Virtual Academy (AZVA) their first day back to school is only a click away. Today, thousands of students enrolled in Arizona’s premier virtual charter school will log on back to school for the official start of their 2010-2011 school year. AZVA serves students in grades K-12 from all across the state. It is the largest virtual charter school in Arizona.

“The back to school period is one of the most exciting times of the year,” remarked AZVA Head of School Megan Henry. “Our students are eager to start learning again and their enthusiasm is a great sign we are ready for another successful year.”

For the rest of the article, go to First Day of School for Arizona Virtual Academy

As a varsity cheerleader, it was part of her job to show anyone around who needed help finding their classrooms or lockers.

“We’re here to keep the school spirit up and represent the school,” she explained.

For Rebekah Kale, a junior, it was a chance to adjust to the transition from Connections Academy, an online charter school.

The decision to move from Connections to Buena was made in order for Rebekah to join the swim team, said her mother, Denise Kale.

“Charter schools aren’t allowed to participate on the public school sports teams,” she said. “It’s sad because there is a large talent within the charter schools, and the public schools really miss out.”

The goal, Rebekah said, is to earn a scholarship to help her go to the University of Arizona and swim there.

While Denise Kale is excited for Rebekah to join the swim team, she says she will miss the amount of responsibility the online school instilled in her daughter.

For the rest of the article, go to Freshmen explore halls of knowledge at Buena High School