Quaker Tech Academy opens at Salem

By D.a. Wilkinson

SALEM — Superintendent Thomas Bratten has unveiled the district’s Quaker Tech Academy that is designed to allow online learning at home and provide a good education.

The academy quietly went into operation last week, he said.

Most of the accredited online schools are rated by state educators as being in either an academic watch or academic emergency, he said.

Bratten did not mention any online schools by name.

For Salem students who want online teaching, “The bottom line for us is, we in the Salem schools want something better,” he said.

One step was the hiring of district teacher Ray Swink, who will oversee and can help online students. There are about 100 Salem students in other online schools.

The plan is to keep Salem’s strong tradition of education by offering online learning. Salem will provide the computers and other needed equipment.

But the financial bottom line is that the district loses $5,700 in state revenue for every student who leaves the district for an online school. That’s costing the district $570,000 this year.

“That’s huge financially,” he said.

One problem with online schools, he said, “is that most parents don’t want to be monitoring children during the day and evening.”

Students who want online education — often self-starters — can qualify for all the school’s activities such as sports, dances or proms by taking one subject in a school building during the year.

“The new program is designed to be flexible and challenging,” Bratten said.

The program may be able to help students who have fallen behind while in online schools from having to repeat a year, the superintendent said.

In other action, the district approved placing a renewal of a $2.1 million, five-year levy on the May ballot.

The levy was first approved in 2000 and was renewed in 2005.