Branson School Online is an accredited, diploma-granting, K -12 public school. We operate within a school district in the State of Colorado, just like the school district you happen to live in. We are a local governmental agency governed by a locally elected Board of Education, which is empowered by Colorado Revised Statutes.

A few years ago, we installed an electronic K-12 curriculum on the server at our school. Our students were able to access this courseware for several purposes. If they missed school, they could use the courseware as a way to get caught up. If they were really bright and motivated, they could work ahead in a course or even take an additional course. And if they had problems in a particular subject, they could remediate and review at their own pace.

That was all well and good. But the question kept nagging at us: "Shouldn't students be able to do the same things from home?" To make a long story short, we were led to launch Branson School Online for the 2001-2002 school year as an alternative program for students who wished to pursue their public school education from home (or some other setting of their choosing).

We had a very strong desire to bridge what is called in education, the "Digital Divide," a term meant to describe the gap between the have's and have-not's when it comes to computers and Internet access. So we set about designing a "turnkey" package, a complete package that would have all the components the student would need to work successfully from home.

Specifically:

• Once an applicant has been accepted into Branson School Online, we loan him or her a computer.
• We reimburse the student up to $45 per month during the 9 month school year for his or her Internet connection and for miscellaneous educational expenses such as printer paper, ink cartridges, etc.
• We assign the student a teacher to work with throughout the school year. The teacher will work with the student and his or her family to develop a personalized education plan. Regular communication is conducted by phone, fax, and email.
• Students access all of their classes via the Internet.

There would still be a Digital Divide if such a program were available only to those who could afford it. For that reason, we established that this online alternative program would be available as a true public school program, at no cost to students and their families.