Online learning deserves full funding

Published 2:16 pm Friday, February 24, 2012

My daughter’s basic education is fully funded. My son’s is not. They both deserve full access to basic education, even though it is delivered in different ways.

Years ago we learned that our daughter, Dallas, was in need of additional challenges in her school. My wife did some homework and discovered an online public school that could challenge our daughter in subjects that excited her, yet demanded accountability for the mastering of subjects in which she was weak. It was an online public school that made this offer.

Dallas learned to love history and law, inspiring her to strive to become the first Native American United States Supreme Court Justice. In part, because of her strong academic foundation, Dallas received the incredible honor of being personally and publicly recognized in the White House by President Obama as a “Champion of Change.”

Dallas is now a freshman at our local traditional high school. She’s applying what she learned from her online school to help establish a program of experiential learning, working with her peers in a greenhouse as they study harvesting. My wife, Sandra, and I continue our commitment to our children’s education and our focus has turned to the education of Dallas’ brother, our son, Bernard.

All children are unique and all children have unique challenges. Bernard has his. He is a doubly challenged. First, because he is a severe hemophiliac, a scratch on the playground could cause him life-threatening external or internal bleeding. Second, Bernard is also challenged with dyslexia.

Our school on the Tulalip Reservation doesn’t have a program for children with dyslexia, so we enrolled him in an online public school where he can take the lessons at his own pace. Like all online public school students, he can move ahead or take more time when he struggles. When he is unable to write because of his medical condition, he can move ahead with other learning activities. He has terrific support from his teacher who is trained specifically to handle such children.

Bernard is a special young man with a compassionate heart that is rare in an 11-year-old. He deserves a chance to reach his educational potential and share his talents with the world.

Online learning has allowed my children to move beyond the limits of what is offered on our reservation. Their childhood is passing ever so quickly so I am grateful for this opportunity to support their education. Because of their online public schools, my children have a chance to excel in life and achieve their dreams.

So why am I writing this? Why are my wife and I taking the lead to represent families of students in online schools across the state to sue the state in the case of Duplessis v. State of Washington? Why am I taking the gloves off to fight for my child’s education?

Because on the last contentious budget deal last year, the Legislature stopped funding students in online public schools as full-time students. They decided to count my son and his online classmates as less than a full-time equivalent. Bernard and his classmates are full-time students. They deserve to be counted as such.

So where would my son be without an opportunity to be a student in an online public school? Our neighborhood school has among the lowest reading scores in the country, if not the lowest.

I recently met with Sen. Nick Harper, who represents the 38th Legislative District, and was encouraged by his support of online learning alternatives and the need to fully fund education in our state.

As my family and I continue to move forward, I hope to meet with more like-minded legislators and public officials. Creating awareness about innovative ways of delivering basic education available — and success stories like Dallas and Bernard — is the best way to shape and change the way we educate our kids.