At-Risk and Online: Parent Perceptions of At-Risk learner’s Choice to Attend and Experiences in a Fully Online School.

Full time virtual schools may offer help for at-risk students through personalized learning options where students can catch up with past work in a non-traditional environment. Thus, we need to understand the reasons at-risk learners choose a virtual school as well as their expectations and experiences in such schools. This research study implemented focus groups with 16 parents of at-risk students enrolled in virtual schools to understand their perceptions of at-risk learners’ choices to attend and experiences in a virtual school. Results showed that parents of at-risk students chose a school for safety, medical/health, student behavior and academic reasons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]