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November 5, 2009 - Military to Debut Virtual School A new online curriculum is in the works to ease school transitions for itinerant members' children
By Zach Miners, U.S. News and World Report

When new assignments force members of the armed forces to move, it often means children need to switch schools. In some military families, children change schools multiple times during the course of their academic lives. The Department of Defense says that the disruptions can produce setbacks in students' schooling, but department officials are working to fix that: They're developing the military's first online virtual high school, to be open in time for the 2010 -2011 school year.

The online curriculum is being developed in collaboration with experts at the University of Nevada -Las Vegas under a $6.2 million contract from the Department of Defense Education Activity program. The coursework is meant not to replace or compete with face -to -face schools but to supplement them.

DoDEA, which is responsible for the education of military members' children, has offered distance -learning programs since the early 1980s. Until now, the majority of distance -learning courses offered by the agency have been classes to supplement the core curriculum, such as Advanced Placement courses. The new virtual school is a bit different: It's meant to offer a complete curriculum of courses necessary to graduate from high school.