The Arizona Republic has painted a dire picture of virtual education — one riddled with fraud, academic failure, and moral corruption. While there is truth to this unfortunate reality, the suggested solution of “an end to online charter schools” to remedy and prevent the outlined problems and concerns in the virtual education space does no justice to the proven success of high-quality online programs that do exist, and ASU’s digital high school platform, ASU Prep Digital, is one of those programs.
ASU Prep Digital, commissioned by the university in 2016 as a virtual extension of the established brick and mortar ASU Preparatory Academies, models a much different purpose than the profit-driven “flush with cash” online charter schools the article characterizes. ASU Prep Digital’s singular purpose is to be a fulfillment of the ASU Charter in the K-12 space.
With proven academic success in improving education outcomes[1], ASU Prep Digital operates with a fundamental responsibility to deliver best-in-class, equitable education across geography, income, race, and ethnicity.
ASU’s committed drive to advance inclusivity and access, is changing the landscape of Arizona. This effort is centered around eliminating barriers to entry for students and affording every student access to world-class innovative curriculum and instruction.
ASU Prep Digital develops collaborative partnerships with districts that share in this call to action. For example, ASU Prep Digital serves students and offers solutions by filling teacher shortages, augmenting curriculum, and giving students the opportunity to get a jumpstart on college and career pathways into the university.
Omitting the existence of high-quality online programs creates a problematic lack of balance in this article for your readers. ASU has designed a digital high school that collaborates with schools around the state to provide educational opportunities that are resulting in improved educational outcomes for students. ASU Prep Digital is intensely focused on students, not school constructs.
Through ASU Prep Digital, students in Arizona, across the U.S. and around the world can benefit from unprecedented access to college pathways and all that the most innovative university in the nation has to offer to enable their success.
[1] Improved educational outcomes as demonstrated in AZM2 merit testing and ELA, Math, and Science Assessments.
