News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
As AllPrep/Ed Choices falls under the scrutiny of the Oregon Department of Education and the Oregon Department of Justice for its financial practices, one Sisters parent told The Nugget that the Sisters Web Academy - which the troubled charter school company oversees, has been a valuable asset to her two children.
Nathan and Emily Woodworth have been homeschooled for their entire school careers and are outstanding students.
"Nathan went into the early college program, so he finished his high school diploma and took nine college credits toward his AA (Associate of Arts) degree at the same time," Woodworth said. "The great benefit of this is that he could do both at once."
Woodworth acknowledged the problems the Sisters School District has had in its relationship with AllPrep, which led the district to terminate the charter of the Web academy, although the program is allowed to continue through the school year. In fact, her family experienced one of those problems.
AllPrep told her that her family would be on the hook for early college tuition
payments for last fall and winter terms, which is not legal, according to ODE. ODE is investigating reports from colleges around the state that ALL/Prep's early college program has not been paying tuition for some of its students as required.
Woodworth said she has since been assured by AllPrep that the tuition problem for her children has been fixed.
AlllPrep director Tim King has resigned amid the
controversy.
Woodworth said that if there was wrongdoing or incompetence in administration, that's unacceptable, but she wants the Sisters community to know that the Web academy program has great value, especially to children who do better outside a traditional school campus setting.
"Yes, there are people who misappropriate funds and that's bad and that's wrong," Woodworth said. "But the program itself has been so strong and so successful."
Other parents of Web academy students have echoed Woodworth's sentiments.
She noted that the program is not simply about taking classes on a computer. A qualified teacher is involved in very hands-on manner, the curriculum is thorough and students are able to take field trips and participate in other enrichment
opportunities.
Woodworth worries that many good teachers and counselors are going to be swept up in the turmoil that surrounds the organization.
"There's so many jobs, so many families being affected by one person or two people," she said.
It is not clear whether AllPrep will survive its current crisis and continue operating in other districts. Woodworth hopes that a quality Web education program continues to be available to students.
"It is working and benefitting a lot of students in Oregon," she said.
Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.
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