Opinion
VIEWPOINT
Erik Black, PhD, MPH
Department of
Pediatrics, University of
Florida College of
Medicine, Gainesville.
Richard Ferdig, PhD
Research Center for
Educational
Technology, Kent State
University, Kent, Ohio.
Lindsay A. Thompson,
MD, MS
Department of
Pediatrics, University of
Florida College of
Medicine, Gainesville;
and Department of
Health Outcomes and
Biomedical Informatics,
University of Florida
College of Medicine,
Gainesville.
Corresponding
Author: Lindsay A.
Thompson, MD, MS,
General Pediatrics,
University of Florida,
1699 SW 16th Ave,
Gainesville, FL 32608
(lathom@ufl.edu)
jamapediatrics.com
K-12 Virtual Schooling, COVID-19, and Student Success
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic
has significantly affected K-12 education in 2020.1 To protect students and staff, as well as to flatten the infection curve, parents, teachers, and policy makers endorsed and implemented a modified version of
homeschooling in the spring in the US and across the
globe. Teachers used some form of paper mailings and
electronic technology (eg, video conferencing, emailing) to deliver content to students, while parents assumed a coteaching responsibility. Most parents, schools,
and teachers were unprepared and untrained to handle
the complexities inherent to educating as well as the demands of the technology needed to support these efforts. Although teachers deserve high praise for their
rapid response, the educational outcomes were unsatisfying, families were burdened, and most are hesitant
to repeat the same format. As government officials attempt to plan for the fall, the American Academy of
Pediatrics released a statement supporting the return to
traditional school as soon as possible to preserve
education and socialization while limiting the exacerbation of existing educational disparities for high-risk
populations.2
This unprecedented spring transition was an introduction to K-12 online learning for many educators and
families. However, K-12 online learning started in the mid1990s under the broad label of K-12 online and blended
instruction (blended refers to the use of both face-toface and online formats). While more than a billion children worldwide newly experienced this pandemicrelated abrupt transition to online education, at least 2%
of US students and many more globally had already been
participating in online instruction from K-12 online or virtual schools.3 As policy makers, health care professionals, and parents prepare for the fall semester and as public and private schools grapple with how to make that
possible, a better understanding of K-12 virtual learning
options and outcomes may facilitate those difficult
decisions.
Virtual schooling is the delivery of instruction
through technology to students physically separated
from their teachers. Formal virtual schools exist nationwide at all levels from kindergarten through 12th grade
for both general and special education. At the elementary school level, online learning typically requires parental involvement and facilitation. Students at the
middle school and high school levels often independently communicate via email, text, telephone, or video
for group and individualized learning. Virtual schooling
classes are frequently asynchronous, where students and
teachers do not have to be online at the same time, allowing for learning anytime and any place.4 Unlike the
rapid transfer of face-to-face curriculum into an online
format in spring 2020, virtual schools use curriculum designed specifically for online instruction. These schools
mostly employ teachers who are experienced online educators and often have online teaching certificates and
graduate degrees that specifically include online education. Virtual schools also focus their ongoing professional development around online teaching and learning practices.5
Just like the myriad options that are available for
face-to-face schooling in the US, virtual schooling exists in a complex landscape of for-profit, charter, and public options. For example, in Florida, school districts have
partnered with Florida Virtual School, a state-funded
public entity. Florida Virtual School provides counties
with curricula and, in some cases, both curriculum and
instruction for K-12 online classes. Students can take 1 or
all Florida Virtual School classes channeled through their
local public school. This partnership, which includes
highly trained online instructors and high-quality curriculum specifically adapted for online delivery, produces similar or better performance when compared
with face-to-face high school students on required state
end-of-course examinations.6 However, not all virtual
schools are created or maintained equally. Parents need
to seek reviews and ask for educational outcomes from
each virtual school system to assess the quality of the
provided education.
Importantly, K-12 virtual schooling is not suited for
all students or all families. Individual students need to
be motivated, organized, and supported. Differences in
their environment, meaning their access to instructional support as well as their internet access, can cause
significant variations in student success. Finally, while research is scant, 1 review indicates that specific teaching
strategies used in online and blended environments can
have a dramatically positive effect on outcomes.7
One of the more recent and promising advantages
of virtual K-12 schooling is to meet the educational needs
of children with special health care needs. Research supports that online learning can be a more suitable solution than attending a face-to-face school, especially when
a student may experience frequent absences due to illness and/or frequent visits for chronic health management. Preliminary work by these authors has found that
children who qualified for hospital homebound programs and chose to enroll in a K-12 course performed at
least as well, or potentially better, than their nonhospital homebound peers. Moreover, children with special
health care needs felt more in control of their education when participating in online learning.8
Many schools are still considering online or blended
instruction as a necessary alternative or hybrid as this
pandemic evolves. Also, many families may be considering whether some or all of their child’s current or future education could take place online. As such, parents should evaluate the unique strengths and needs of
their children by considering the following questions:
(Reprinted) JAMA Pediatrics Published online August 11, 2020
© 2020 American Medical Association. All rights reserved.
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Opinion Viewpoint
1. Can their child maintain a study schedule and complete assignments with limited supervision?
2. Would their child be able to ask for help and effectively communicate with a teacher via telephone, text, email, or video?
3. Does their child have an intrinsic drive to learn skills, acquire
knowledge, and complete assignments?
4. Does their child possess foundational reading, writing, math, and
computer literacy skills?
Parents should also learn more about the virtual school options
available to them. They should seek to understand the following:
1. How will student information be shared with their local
school district?
2. Is the virtual school accredited?
3. How does the virtual school comply with state standards for K-12
educators (eg, licensure)?
4. Are Universal Design for Learning9 standards incorporated into
instructional materials?
5. What support does the school provide for children with
special needs?
ARTICLE INFORMATION
Published Online: August 11, 2020.
doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2020.3800
Conflict of Interest Disclosures: None reported.
REFERENCES
1. Dibner KA, Schweingruber HA, Christakis DA.
Reopening K-12 schools during the COVID-19
pandemic: a report from the National Academies of
Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. JAMA.
Published online July 29, 2020. doi:10.1001/jama.
2020.14745
2. American Academy of Pediatrics. Covid-19
planning considerations: guidance for school
re-entry. Critical Updates on COVID-19. Published
June 25, 2020. Accessed July 13, 2020. https://
services.aap.org/en/pages/2019-novelcoronavirus-covid-19-infections/clinical-guidance/
covid-19-planning-considerations-return-to-inperson-education-in-schools/
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6. What expectations does the school have for parents/
caregivers?
7. What technology is necessary for participation? Who is responsible for providing it?
8. How will the virtual school facilitate communication about their
child’s unique needs?
The pandemic has encouraged many parents to explore educational alternatives, particularly for students who may have health
concerns such as those with respiratory disease or who are immunocompromised. With social distancing creating obstacles for traditional education, K-12 online learning may become more mainstream. For more information, consider the Michigan Virtual Learning
Research Institute’s parent guide to online learning10 and the
Universal Design for Learning.9 Future studies of the intersection of
educational and health outcomes can clarify the effect of education on health and health on education. The COVID-19 pandemic offers a unique challenge for educators, policy makers, and health care
professionals to partner with parents to make the best local and
individual decisions for children.
3. Snapshot 2019: A Review of K-12 Online,
Blended, and Digital Learning. Digital Learning
Collaborative. Published April 2019. Accessed July
13, 2020. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/
59381b9a17bffc68bf625df4/t/
5cae3c05652dea4d690f5315/1554922508490/
DLC-KP-Snapshot2019_040819.pdf
4. Molnar A, Miron G, Elgeberi N, et al. Virtual
Schools in the US 2019. National Education Policy
Center; 2019.
5. Moore-Adams BL, Jones WM, Cohen J. Learning
to teach online: a systematic review of the literature
on K-12 teacher preparation for teaching online.
Distance Educ. 2016:37(3):333-348. doi:10.1080/
01587919.2016.1232158
6. Transforming Education Worldwide–One
Student at a Time: Annual Report 2017-18. Florida
Virtual School. Published December 2018.
Accessed July 16, 2020. https://www.flvs.net/docs/
default-source/district/flvs-annual-report.pdf?
sfvrsn=9a487b2a_18
7. Pulham E, Graham CR. Comparing K-12 online
and blended teaching competencies: a literature
review. Distance Educ. 2018:39(3):411-432.
doi:10.1080/01587919.2018.1476840
8. Harvey D, Greer D, Basham J, Hu B. From the
student perspective: experiences of middle and
high school students in online learning. Am J
Distance Educ. 2014:28(1):14-26. doi:10.1080/
08923647.2014.868739
9. CAST. About universal design for learning.
Accessed July 29, 2020. http://www.cast.org/ourwork/about-udl.html#.XyH3KJ5KjIU
10. Michigan Virtual Learning Research Institute.
Parent guide to online learning. Accessed July 29,
2020. https://michiganvirtual.org/resources/
guides/parent-guide/
JAMA Pediatrics Published online August 11, 2020 (Reprinted)
© 2020 American Medical Association. All rights reserved.
Downloaded From: https://jamanetwork.com/ by a Kent State University Library User on 11/13/2020
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