| Oregon Connections Academy | |
|---|---|
| Address | |
| 38761 N Main Street Scio, Oregon, Linn County, 97374 United States |
|
| Information | |
| Type | Public |
| Opened | 2005[1] |
| School district | Scio School District |
| Principal | Jerry Wilks[2] |
| Grades | K-12[2][3] |
| Number of students | 1473[4] |
| Student to teacher ratio | 38:1[5] |
| Accreditation(s) | NAAS (provisional)[6] |
| Website | http://www.connectionsacademy.com/oregon-school/ |
Oregon Connections Academy (ORCA), is a virtual charter school affiliated with the Scio School District in Scio, Oregon, United States.[7] The district contracts operation to Apollo Management, a Baltimore, Maryland company operating similar Connections Academies in other states.[7][8][9][10]
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As of 2007, the school was the only virtual school (of 80) in Oregon to not be associated with a traditional school.[11]
The school has been provisionally accredited by the Northwest Association of Accredited Schools since 2006.[6]
The academic record of Connections Academy in other states was called "spotty" by The Oregonian in 2005,[7] comparing the 1:50 teacher:student ratio to the 1:20 ratio of the Clackamas Web Academy.[7]
Of the eight high school students in 2008, three dropped out and five are still in high school.[12][13] (There were no graduates that year as the 12th grade was not added until 2009.[4][2])
Each student enrolled at the school is worth $5800[1] in tax money; 5% of this goes to the school district,[7][11] with the remaining 95% going to Oregon Connections Academy.[11] In 2009, 99% of the school's students were from outside the district.[14]
The school opened before the Oregon Legislature's law regulating virtual schools to draw at least 50% of its students from the home district came into effect.[7][11] This home rule law, effective September 2, 2005,[15][16] was intended to prevent the school district (in this case, Scio School District) from "poaching" students from their local district. The school was grandfathered in, becoming a de facto monopoly.[7][11] The school's contract expires June 30, 2010, and the school would then be responsible for meeting the "home rule" law;[1] an ORCA spokesman indicated he "believed the school was permanently exempt" from the law. The school was given a waiver following a 2008 Oregon Administrative Rule.[16][17]
In 2006, the school was informed by the Oregon Department of Education that it would not receive state funding due to requiring parents to serve as learning coaches, and for failing to use a lottery system for student admission.[10] The parent involvement requirement was not allowed as a condition for enrollment, as the only charter school enrollment requirements allowed are age or grade level.[10] State Representative Linda Flores, then Chair of the House Education Committee, called the denial "heavy-handed tactics".[10] The school complied by changing the "parent involvement requirement" to a "parent involvement recommendation."
In 2009, Oregon Senate Bill 767 was passed, capping the enrollment of virtual schools at their May 2009 levels.[18]
The academy is located in a small office between a retail hardware store and a restaurant in central Scio, across from the post office. Since the school is conducted in cyberspace, the physical location is largely a matter of formality, and does not reflect the physical location of the school's servers, instructors, etc. The school lists the location as its administrative office.[22]