Online school in demand

Demand for online-only high school in the state of Washington definitely exceeded expectations, the Seattle Times reports. They were expecting maybe 250 or 300 students and each got about 650, with hundreds wait-listed or in the application pipeline. Washington's "two newest online schools" are Insight High School and Washington Virtual Academy, which is K-8. And who are these applicants? "About one-quarter of Insight School's students previously were home-schooled…. Some had dropped out of high school. Some don't like the high-school social scene. Others want the flexibility of the online schedule so they can hold down jobs, or, in a few cases, because they're elite athletes who have an extensive training and travel schedule." If not the level of interest, the schools did expect these fairly diverse characteristics among their students. About all they have in common is that they or their schedules just don't jive with traditional schooling. Pls see the article for the views of both supporters and critics.