Palmer School Committee supports virtual school

Date: 10/26/2023

PALMER — During its Oct. 18 meeting, the Palmer School Committee approved an investigation into the possibility of opening a single district virtual school for the 2024-25 year.

The investigation was requested by Superintendent Matthew Francis, who explained that a virtual school could bring new students and financial support to Palmer.

“According to the 2022-2023 SIMS report, approximately 350 Palmer school-aged children attended a different education institution,” Francis wrote in his proposal. “This is a potential loss of $7 million of funding.” He emphasized the importance of exploring all options to draw these students to Palmer schools.

Francis explained that a virtual school would make the Palmer school system more accessible by allowing students to study from home. It also would provide greater resources and opportunities to currently homeschooled students in the area. Specifically, he hopes to target high school students.

As full-time enrolled students, attendees could utilize on-campus resources like extra-curricular activities, sports teams and music programs.

While students would still be required to take MCAS statewide testing in person, a virtual school gives more students access to Palmer’s trained teachers, Francis said.

According to the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, there are currently eight single district virtual schools in the state. Each is overseen by its local school committee and has similar requirements to traditional schools such as attendance, adherence to the state curriculum and the number of learning hours.

If opened, online classes would be divided between current Palmer teachers to balance with their in-person classes. As a result, Francis stated that the project’s only cost comes from needed technology, such as cameras and microphones.

The School Committee unanimously supported the proposal with member Sandra Noonan calling the program “exciting” and “innovative.”