School Districts Team Up on Virtual Ed. Initiatives

Multidistrict collaborations help schools save money and share best practices about online learning

As school districts begin to tackle the overwhelming task of starting a virtual school, many of them are looking to their neighbors for support.

Banding together in multidistrict virtual learning collaborations helps member districts pool resources, increase purchasing power, and share best practices as they launch and support online learning for their students.

"Why re-create the wheel?" asks John Jacobs, the director of online learning for the Wisconsin eSchool Network , based in Webster village. The network, which began in 2002 as a collaboration between two districts—the Appleton and Kiel school districts—in the state, now serves 12 districts and has become...