Mon., August 17, 2009 8:03am (EDT)

Charter School Commission To Consider Dozens Of Applications

By Edgar Treiguts

Updated: 4 years ago

ATLANTA  —   Applications for 34 charter schools will be considered today by a new state level panel. Georgia’s charter school commission will meet for discussions on the proposed schools, all of which hope to open by fall of 2010.

Five of those applications are for so-called virtual schools, allowing students to take coursework online. Andrew Broy heads the charter school division for the state’s Department of Education. He says the virtual schools allow parents more options for their kids:

"I think what's happening is that as additional options are presented to parents, they're using those options in ways that allow students themselves to pace their work and progress at the speed that the student is entitled to."

Broy says Georgia has two virtual schools up-and-running. One is the Georgia Virtual Academy, which Broy says has 4,400 students already enrolled.