While spring of 2020 introduced virtual instruction to all public schools, virtual schooling had already been growing in most states. We focus on pre-COVID-19 changes to full-time virtual school enrollment in public schools, and provide evidence on the relationship between virtual school enrollment, internet speed, community demographics, and…

Even prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, high school students across the United States were enrolling in online courses at increasing rates. As a result of pandemic related school closures, even more schools enrolled students in supplementary online courses as a method for delivering instruction during emergency remote learning. Despite enrollment…

Despite increased interest in K-12 online education, student engagement deficits and the resulting student attrition remain widespread issues. The Academic Communities of Engagement (ACE) framework theorizes that two groups support online student engagement: the personal community of support and the course community of support. However, more…

There continues to be an abundance of research conducted and published about online learning in K-12 settings. In this systematic review, 386 articles on K-12 online teaching and learning published between 2000 and 2019 were reviewed for research themes, participants, school type, research methodologies, and data collection methods. The data was…

Although the COVID pandemic dramatically expanded K-12 remote learning in its first years, little is known about the lasting effects on virtual schooling policies and practices. Drawing on evolutionary theories of change and qualitative data from 2019 to 2022, we explore this topic in Oregon, a state with a long history of virtual schools. We find…

Full-time K-12 online learners faced little impact when schools had to rapidly transition to remote learning in March 2020. Essentially, everyone found themselves in the same position that full-time K-12 online learners had been prior to the pandemic. It is the experiences of supplemental K-12 online learners, those students who normally have…

In England, Pupil Premium Plus is additional funding to help address the educational attainment gap experienced by looked after children. This paper explores the experiences of virtual school heads and designated teachers (n = 140) as they access Pupil Premium Plus-related information, guidance and training to support their practice; navigate the…

Research suggests that teacher self-efficacy shares a relationship with student achievement. This relationship has mostly been examined in face-to-face contexts and it remains to be seen how that relationship translates to online settings. Furthermore, it is unclear whether the methods and instruments used to measure teacher self-efficacy in…

Since the peak of the pandemic in 2020, enrollment in virtual schools has steadily increased, with virtual schools now accounting for approximately 1.4% of the nation's public school students. While the effects of the pandemic on student achievement and mental health have been extensively studied, research has yet to thoroughly examine the impact…

In this paper, the authors draw on evolutionary theories of change and qualitative data from 2019-2022, to explore the impact of the pandemic on K-12 virtual education in a state with a long history of virtual schooling by asking: "How has the ongoing COVID pandemic influenced virtual schooling in Oregon?" A virtual school in this study…

Face-to-face cooking programs can positively impact food choices, fruit and vegetable intake, and cooking self-efficacy; however, little is known about virtual cooking programs. We studied the perceived acceptability of the virtual SWITCH Cooking School (SCS). Four monthly cooking classes were offered for each participating school. Classes…

Self-regulation has become increasingly crucial for learners' success in online learning environments. This study explored the relationship across performance (e.g., higher and lower) and satisfaction (e.g., satisfied and dissatisfied) levels to help identify which self-regulated learning (SRL) skills were most critical for 102 recent graduates of…

When parents enroll their children who qualify for special education services in fully online schools, that decision was an exercise of agency. Less is known about how parents understand and negotiate their agencies "after enrolling." Researchers interviewed 18 parents of children with special educational needs in fully online schools in…

Over the last decade there was constant growth of online schools over the last decade, and this is expected to continue. Noting the previous research of the importance of school leadership on student achievement and the expected growth of virtual schools, leaders of these schools need to possess and demonstrate new knowledge and skills beyond…

The charter school sector has expanded beyond brick-and-mortar schools to cyber schools, where enrollment grew almost tenfold between 2015 and 2020. While a large literature documents the effects of charter schools on test scores, fewer studies explore impacts on attainment or postsecondary outcomes and there is almost no work exploring the…