BOISE, Idaho
The state’s newest virtual charter school is expected to go online this fall, but only after a strategic campaign to recruit Hispanics and teenagers at risk of quitting or getting kicked out of public high schools.
Cliff Green, executive director of the iSucceed Virtual High School, has spent the past two months stumping in juvenile correctional facilities, cities with significant Hispanic populations and community programs aimed at getting kids off the streets.
The nonprofit online charter school is part of Insight Schools, a Portland-based company that operates one of the largest networks of virtual high schools in the country. With schools in Oregon, California, Washington and Wisconsin, Insight plans to open more this fall in Idaho, Minnesota and Kansas.
If the Idaho school opens in September as scheduled, Green wants to maintain a Hispanic student population of at least 20 percent. As part of their recruiting strategy, administrators bought ads on Spanish radio stations, advertised classes with bilingual brochures and drafted Hispanic community leaders to serve on its board of directors.
When Green learned a large portion of the St. Mary's Catholic Church congregation in downtown Boise was Latino, he wrangled an appointment to speak after Sunday services.
"If there was any way to get me to go to mass," said Green, who is not Catholic, "this would be it."
Born out of gaps in traditional education, online schools have historically targeted advanced students who learn at a faster pace, or those who struggle adhering to a normal class schedule, such as young athletes. But recently, many of these virtual schools nationwide have shifted focus to at-risk students, said Susan Patrick, president of the Virginia-based North American Council for Online Learning.
