MILWAUKEE, Aug. 1 (UPI) -- Virtual schools that blur the line between home and public schools are gaining in popularity.
In Wisconsin, the rise of online charter schools, which allow students to complete coursework at home through a computer, has coincided with a decrease in the number of students enrolled in home schooling, the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reported Monday.
The state Department of Public Instruction said home school enrollment fell 2.6 percent between 2002 and 2004.
While still taught at home, students enrolled in virtual school programs are considered public school students by the state.
An administrator for a suburban Milwaukee school district estimates that 1,500 to 2,000 students are enrolled in virtual schools statewide.
The decrease in home schooling is also attributed to an increase of two-income families and an overall decline in the elementary-school-age population.
"In order for someone to home school, someone who may have been working previously is able to stay home and teach," said DPI's Tony Evers, "and when the economy slows, some people who might be home schooling have to go to work."
