Chicago parents criticize ‘confusing and chaotic’ virtual academy process

Chicago Public Schools will offer a limited Virtual Academy for students with specific medical needs this fall, but so far plans are fuzzy, signups are tepid, and parents have been left pressing each other for details. District spokespeople say they can’t provide information about the Virtual Academy until more students have enrolled, but parents say they won’t enroll their children until they feel more familiar with the online school’s design.

Still others are locked out of the process of applying for the Virtual Academy entirely, leaving them to look for more creative alternatives as the delta variant causes a spike in cases.

As of early last week, only 150 students – out of 3,000 the district determined to be eligible – had applied for the Virtual Academy, and the district was only anticipating a few hundred more applications, a spokesperson told the Chicago Tribune.

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