Welcome to the Virtual Education Wiki ~ Open Education Wiki
Mercury Online Academy of Arizona
The Mercury Online Academy (Mercury) is a tuition-free public online charter school for students in kindergarten through 12th grade, located in the US state of Arizona. Students from anywhere in the state may attend.
Mercury offers a completely online program for homeschoolers; a 4+1 model in which students attend classes online 4 days per week and attend a Mercury Centre 1 day per week; or a "blended program" for younger students in grades K-2. Centres are staffed with "an instructional facilitator".
Mercury was founded in 2010, and uses the Mosaica Education Paragon Curriculum. Each students receives a free laptop.
The Mercury Online Academy web site is at http://mercuryaz.org/
More Details
Unusually, students are required to log in every day at the time their classes start. They are required to be "in school" from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. every day and follow a teacher-led schedule.
References
- "A National Primer on K-12 Online Learning", iNACOL, October 2010, http://www.inacol.org/research/docs/national_report.pdf
- "Keeping Pace With Online Learning: An Annual Review of Policy and Practice", Evergreen Education Group, 2010, http://kpk12.com/reports/
- Mercury Online Academy web site, http://mercuryaz.org/