Dive Brief:

• Maine's first virtual charter school is set to open this fall and has already gone above its minimum enrollment requirement.  
• Currently, Maine Connections Academy, a seventh through ninth grade virtual school where students learn from home, has 279 students enrolled for its September start date.  
• The influx of enrollees is a relief to operators — in June, the school had less than half of the required target of 243 students enrolled.  

Dive Insight:

Supporters of virtual schools celebrate the alternative option for students. Bullied students and athletes with intense training schedules have options and a set curriculum beyond traditional homeschooling. That said, there are still many skeptics. Those who critique virtual schools are quick to point out that they are often run by out-of-state, for-profit management companies who, at the end of the day, are focused on their bottom line. The biggest target for this criticism is probably K12 inc., the leading virtual school provider.

While Maine Connections Academy is run by Connections Academy (which is owned by Pearson) and not K12 Inc., there is some overlap and similarities. According to the Portland Press Herald, a 2012 investigation of the state's digital education laws by the Maine Sunday Telegram found, "policies were being shaped in ways that benefited the two companies, that the companies recruited board members in the state, and that their schools in other states had fared poorly in analyses of student achievement."