{"id":16567,"date":"2026-07-11T13:31:26","date_gmt":"2026-07-11T13:31:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/poland\/16567\/"},"modified":"2026-07-11T13:31:26","modified_gmt":"2026-07-11T13:31:26","slug":"students-embrace-technology-in-indianas-growing-virtual-school-sector","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/poland\/16567\/","title":{"rendered":"Students embrace technology in Indiana\u2019s growing virtual school sector"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a> Elizabeth Sliger, executive director of Indiana Digital Learning School and Indiana Digital Alternative School, presides over a joint commencement ceremony in Indianapolis on May 28, 2026. An estimated 900 graduates were in attendance. (Photo by Mackenzi Klemann\/Indiana Capital Chronicle)
\nBy Mackenzi Klemann
Indiana Capital Chronicle<\/p>\n

Sabanna Yenna situates herself into a seat in the crowded Hinkle Fieldhouse, surrounded by 900 of her virtual classmates gathered in anticipation of Indiana Digital Learning School\u2019s inaugural in-person commencement ceremony.<\/p>\n

Yenna enrolled in the virtual school, now in its 10th year, her freshman year to escape bullies in her home North White School Corp. in White County.<\/p>\n

Now that she could relax in class, she soon joined the FFA and became president of the school\u2019s National Technical Honor Society chapter.<\/p>\n

\u201cI met teachers that were like family members to me, and they took me in like siblings and daughters,\u201d she said. \u201cI felt wanted \u2014 not being judged by who I was.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yenna is one of nearly 29,000 Hoosiers who attended virtual K-12 schools in 2025, according to an Indiana Capital Chronicle review of enrollment data through the state\u2019s Graduates Prepared to Succeed portal.<\/p>\n

The practice continues to expand despite ongoing legislative debate over state tuition support, financial and academic oversight.<\/p>\n

Supporters say virtual schools are an outlet for students who fail to thrive in traditional school settings, allowing them to recover credits and work at their own pace until they can return to in-person schooling.<\/p>\n

Critics see the continued expansion of virtual schooling as evidence of a breakdown in the state\u2019s school funding model, with more oversight needed.<\/p>\n

The growth is led by an unexpected partner: traditional public schools.<\/p>\n

Lucrative arrangements<\/p>\n

Public schools can\u00a0enter into cooperative agreements with third-party virtual school providers to capture a portion of state tuition dollars directed to those students, in exchange for full accountability for their academic performance.<\/p>\n

The arrangements can be lucrative, presenting an opportunity for financially challenged districts to offset declining student enrollment without raising property taxes.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t like the idea that school districts pick these systems up for financial reasons,\u201d said Rep. Ed DeLaney, an Indianapolis Democrat. \u201cThat tells you there\u2019s a core problem in financing our public schools.\u201d<\/p>\n

The arrangements are not without consequence:\u00a0Lawmakers approved an amendment to the budget bill last year to\u00a0close the Union School Corporation<\/a>, citing poor academic performance at the rural district, where virtual students now outnumber traditional students by a ratio of 25 to 1.<\/p>\n

At least part of the district\u2019s poor academic performance appears to be linked to virtual students, as a higher proportion of Union Elementary third graders met proficiency standards on the IREAD exam than their virtual peers at Indiana Digital Elementary School.<\/p>\n

Union filed a lawsuit to stop the closure, set for trial in November.<\/p>\n

But Indiana Digital Learning Schools, which have partnered with Union since 2016, won\u2019t have to close if a jury upholds the law.<\/p>\n

The virtual school, run by national for-profit network Stride-K12, signed new cooperative agreements with Beech Grove and MSD of Warren County Schools to keep Indiana Digital Learning Schools in operation \u2014 with enrollment to be divided between the three districts while the lawsuit proceeds.<\/p>\n

Stride oversees other schools in Indiana, including a private college preparatory academy for Marian University and a public, tuition-free school similar to Indiana Digital through Clarksville Community School Corporation.<\/p>\n

Ralph Shrader, superintendent of MSD of Warren County schools, said he initiated the conversation to partner with Stride after failed attempts at using other online platforms.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe felt that we were missing out on servicing our students in our community in a way that allowed us to reach all students,\u201d he said. \u201cWe were missing a population.\u201d<\/p>\n

The rural district is 13 miles from the Illinois border, with a student population of 1,332.<\/p>\n

How oversight changed<\/p>\n

The relationship between public schools and virtual school providers has evolved from the early days of online learning.<\/p>\n

Initially, school districts could authorize or monitor virtual charters.<\/p>\n

Lawmakers revised this setup after a state audit found two virtual charter schools authorized by Daleville Community Schools had collected $68 million through inflated enrollment or \u201cghost\u201d students.<\/p>\n

Now, public schools cannot authorize or monitor a virtual charter, but can still enter into agreements with online school providers \u2014 one of several reforms to rein in a troubled industry.<\/p>\n

In practice, this means operational responsibility, salaries and academic performance of virtual schools are no longer segregated from public school partners, said Rep. Behning, an Indianapolis Republican who chairs the House Education Committee.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverything flows through the school district,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

To monitor enrollment, the State Board of Accounts reviews attendance records for a sample of students. The Indiana Department of Education then recovers any tuition support if a student is found to not be enrolled.<\/p>\n

Additional oversight of these arrangements is expected soon: The State Board of Education is drafting financial reporting and oversight rules for school districts that enter into or renew contracts with outside virtual learning providers, due by the end of the year.<\/p>\n

Elizabeth Sliger, executive director of the Indiana Digital Learning Schools and its sister Indiana Digital Alternative School, said she welcomes transparency and accountability.<\/p>\n

\u201cI knew after Daleville I needed to prove what an accountable virtual school looks like,\u201d she said. The schools require proof of Indiana residency for each child, and file annual financial reports to district partners.<\/p>\n

Forthcoming rules are \u201cjust codifying what we\u2019re already doing,\u201d Sliger said. \u201cWe\u2019re not afraid of accountability. What we need is transparency\u201d of what compliant reporting means to lawmakers.<\/p>\n

Virtual schools receive 85% of the funding that brick-and-mortar schools get per student, and there have been efforts in recent years for equal funding.<\/p>\n

Are reforms working?<\/p>\n

Reforms appear to be working to Behning, whose granddaughter attended Indiana Gateway Digital Academy for two years.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe had her own counselor,\u201d he said. \u201cShe was on student council. They had afterschool activities. She had tutors available if she felt like she was getting behind. She had one-on-one support if she needed.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat happened in the pandemic was a crisis mode,\u201d Behning said \u2014 nothing like the organized virtual schools of today. Still, he said student success in either virtual or traditional schools is dependent upon parental involvement.<\/p>\n

The potential for inadequate parental involvement concerns DeLaney, who likened virtual schooling to homeschool.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re dependent upon the parental supervision,\u201d he said. \u201cAre they making sure their kid is there when that\u2019s necessary, or when it\u2019s asynchronous, are they putting their kid on adequate time? Are they giving him an environment and assisting the kid or not?\u201d<\/p>\n

Asynchronous means allowing students to complete work on their own time and schedule.<\/p>\n

Kylene Varner, a homeschooling advocate for the Indiana Association of Home Educators, said even the most engaged virtual school parents typically aren\u2019t supervising their child\u2019s instruction for six hours a day, unlike the hands-on approach common to homeschooling.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey might be popping in,\u201d she said, adding \u201cThat is what some families need and want, and that is completely fine. That\u2019s their choice. But when it comes to a homeschool family, we make all the decisions.\u201d<\/p>\n

Expanding virtual schooling beyond the small population of students who can\u2019t acclimate to in-person schools for emotional or physical reasons still troubles DeLaney.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we were serious, if we thought this were a useful program, we\u2019d have the state sponsor a program that was well-managed and well thought out and go from there,\u201d he said. \u201cBut we\u2019re not doing that.\u201d<\/p>\n

A day at Indiana Digital Learning Schools<\/p>\n

Indiana Digital Learning School launched in 2016. At the time, only 400 students enrolled. Enrollment surpassed 9,000 last school year, according to a spokesperson. There are over one million public school students statewide.<\/p>\n

Indiana Digital Learning Schools are tuition-free, available to any Hoosier from kindergarten through 12th grade, regardless of where they live in the state.<\/p>\n

The alternative is a popular choice for students who fail to thrive in traditional classrooms, encompassing everyone from student athletes and teen parents who need flexible class schedules to advanced or credit deficient students who want to work at their own pace.<\/p>\n

\u201cI like to say that we\u2019re a dichotomy of diversity,\u201d Sliger said.<\/p>\n

The school loans computers to families who don\u2019t have their own.<\/p>\n

Elementary students meet daily in online reading and math groups each day, reading aloud on Zoom-style platforms for their peers and teachers.<\/p>\n

Parents are expected to act as a \u201clearning coach,\u201d recording attendance and reviewing student work as students gain independence.<\/p>\n

High school students attend individual and group sessions each week, with attendance monitored Monday through Friday.<\/p>\n

Students are expected to dedicate at least six hours per class a week, and can enroll in dual-credit classes, career technical programs, internships, apprenticeships and student clubs outside of class.<\/p>\n

Sliger said it\u2019s similar to traditional schooling, \u201cbut we\u2019re just finding creative ways to use technology to create those tricks teachers have known for 50 years.\u201d<\/p>\n

A majority of Indiana Digital students enter two to three years behind grade level, she said.<\/p>\n

Those students typically return to in-person schooling within two years, which means their gains don\u2019t always appear on accountability reports \u2014 a reality Sliger hopes the State Board of Education will one day resolve.<\/p>\n

\u201cBy the time we get them close to proficiency, they may then return (to in-person schooling,\u201d Sliger said. \u201cThey come to us three years behind. We\u2019re graded at what we do in 162 days without the ability to show, to reach the points that proficient students get.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shannon Wilson came from the public schools to Indiana Digital Alternative School as a special education teacher three years ago.<\/p>\n

She maintains a regular schedule for live classes, but makes time for students to pop in for one-on-one video sessions, calls or text messages as needed.<\/p>\n

Where she once saw students unable to cope with the chaos of the classroom, she now saw students at ease as they worked from the comfort of their home.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey can really be authentically themselves,\u201d she said, \u201cand that makes such a difference.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Elizabeth Sliger, executive director of Indiana Digital Learning School and Indiana Digital Alternative School, presides over a joint…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":16568,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[11031,11032,11033,11034,11035,11036,843,11037,45],"class_list":["post-16567","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-warsaw","tag-inaugural-in-person-commencement","tag-indiana-capital-chronicle","tag-indiana-digital-alternative-school","tag-indiana-digital-learning-school","tag-national-technical-honor-society","tag-sabanna-yenna","tag-technology","tag-virtual-k-12-schools","tag-warsaw"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/poland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16567","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/poland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/poland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/poland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/poland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16567"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/poland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16567\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/poland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16568"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/poland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16567"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/poland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16567"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/poland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16567"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}