"He loves dance. He's passionate about it," Joyce Strasser said. To accommodate that passion, the Strassers enrolled Owen in Ohio Virtual Academy, an online school that is funded by the state and managed by K12. The program allows the second-grader, and his family, the flexibility to take multiple dance classes and attend his nightly rehearsals.

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A lot has been said about online public schools in Michigan, yet the voices of the true stakeholders — children and parents — have been largely left out of the conversation ("Online schools a virtual waste for students," Oct. 26). They deserve to be heard. First, the facts: Michigan's online public schools are held accountable to the same academic, fiscal and accountability standards as other public schools. They are governed by independent nonprofit school boards and authorized by state-approved entities. They use Michigan state-certified teachers who provide instruction and oversight. Online public schools receive and spend significantly less in total taxpayer funds (local, state and federal) than traditional schools.

They learn these things from the Michigan Virtual Charter School. It's a cyber school that is located wherever you live. "Our children can't choose where they live. The parents should be able to choose how they're educated and where they're educated," Ceteways told us.  That's the idea behind two cyber charters that are running in Michigan. They are free and open to just about anybody, but the problem is right now it's capped at about 1,500 students with a growing waiting list.

She used to attend a public middle school near their Conyers, Ga. home just outside of Atlanta, but this year for 8th grade, she’s relying on the online Georgia Cyber Academy for her curriculum.  Ali and her mother say excessive bullying from classmates on and off school grounds brought on Ali’s transition out of a traditional school.

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Harrison Voit, 14, jumps with excitement as he and his team, the Robotic Chefs from Colorado Virtual Academy, successfully complete a challenge Saturday during the 12th annual First LEGO League Poudre Robotics Qualifier Tournament at Poudre High School in Fort Collins. Student teams spent about eight weeks building and rogramming autonomous robots to take on missions related to this year’s theme: food safety.

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K12, Inc., a K-12 online learning provider delivers a 1:1 education approach with individualized instruction for every student. The online school currently has a 95 percent satisfaction rating in its delivery of fully online schools and courses. Today, Darren Reed, the Vice President of Blended Schools at K12, has given us some insights into online and blended learning.