A second player is preparing to enter Maine’s virtual school game.
Earlier this year, the Maine Charter School Commission approved a contract with Maine Virtual Academy, which is enrolling up to 297 students who will start in the fall. To date, more than 100 students have filed a commitment to enroll, according to Amy Carlisle, chairwoman of MVA’s board.
It plans to hire eight teachers and the equivalent of 1.5 special education teachers, who will work out of the school’s future office in Augusta. The school has leased office space at The Ballard Center, the redeveloped former site of MaineGeneral Medical Center, and hopes to have all its teachers hired by July 1. Positions have not yet been posted.
Many states allow virtual school teachers to work from home, but the Maine Charter School Commission has been adamant in negotiations with the two existing schools that teachers work in a centralized location to facilitate collaboration, according to Carlisle.
Beth Lorigan will serve as head of school and CEO for Maine Virtual Academy. She is the former superintendent for the Greenville-area school district. She resigned from that post in September 2014. Lorigan had been serving on the virtual charter school’s board through much of the process but left it in order to throw her name in the ring for head of school.
“We feel she brings a wealth of Maine school knowledge to the table,” Carlisle said.
MVA contracts with K12 Education, a for-profit national educational services provider that has become the largest player in online public education.
Maine Virtual Academy has scheduled a trio of information sessions for prospective students and their parents next month — on May 6 at Bangor’s Comfort Inn, on May 12 at Augusta’s Fairfield Inn & Suites and on May 19 at Portland Public Library. Each session is scheduled to run from 6 to 8 p.m. Similar to MCA, it will be open to students in grades seven through 12.
“This is not a shortcut around education but rather gives students a lot of flexibility,” Carlisle said.
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