MCCSC Online starts classes, open to K-12 students across Indiana

Earlier this summer, the Monroe County Community School Corporation (MCCSC) announced a new way for students to enroll in the district—MCCSC Online. Courses in the online school were set to start Monday, Aug. 11.

The virtual school is offered by the district as an alternative to in-person instruction for all grades, but is operating through one of MCCSC’s high schools, the Academy of Science and Entrepreneurship.

MCCSC Online is open not just to students who live in the geographic area of the district—it’s available to all students in Indiana.

The B Square was not able to reach the district by the end of the day Monday to get a first-day enrollment figure for MCCSC Online.

Offering over 300 courses taught by Indiana certified teachers, MCCSC Online runs on a platform called Edmentum EdOptions Academy. The same platform is used by other online schools in Indiana, including La Porte Online School, Franklin Community Virtual School, Cloverdale Distance Learning Academy, and Northwest Indiana Online School. Just like MCCSC’s offering, those online schools are available to all K-12 students in Indiana. There are also five online private schools in the state according to Private School Review.

At a July 8 school board meeting, MCCSC superintendent Markay Winston said that after the 2020-2021 school year, which was impacted by the pandemic, “we received numerous requests to provide robust online experiences for our students.” She continued, “As a result, our curriculum team began researching and evaluating a variety of online options and programs.”

According to the district, MCCSC-area students are currently attending online schools elsewhere. “Many MCCSC Online students are those who previously chose other online options or homeschool,” said Sarah DeWeese, MCCSC director of strategic communications, in an email to The B Square.

MCCSC Online could be a factor in the district’s future financial health. The district is currently six months into a two-year financial plan to address financial unsustainability. The financial strain the district is facing is due in part to the effects of SB 1, which reduces Indiana property tax revenues to all local government units, including school districts. According to the district, MCCSC’s budgeting challenge is also due in part to declining enrollment and rising payroll expenses.

The online school, just like all of MCCSC’s brick and mortar schools, is free for students to attend.

In the budget adopted by the state legislature earlier this year, the base number for the “foundation amount” of funding that goes to each school district is $6,967 per student for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2025. There’s an adjustment downward for districts that have more than 50% of their students attending virtually—based on 85% of the base number for other districts.

According to the district’s contract with Edmentum, a full year costs MCCSC around $2,500-$3,000 per student, depending on grade level, or around $200-$325 per course.

That means any student not currently enrolled in person at MCCSC, who starts attending MCCSC Online, would be a financial net positive for MCCSC. But for just one student who is already enrolled at MCCSC at a bricks-and-mortar school, then switches to MCCSC Online, the immediate impact would be an additional cost to the district. Depending on how many current MCCSC students make the switch, and depending on where they currently attend, that could allow for some cost savings on the bricks-and-mortar side.

In an email to The B Square last week, DeWeese wrote, “The financial impact [of MCCSC Online] on our two-year strategy to achieve financial balance has not yet been determined because student enrollment is ongoing.”

Online class offerings include Advanced Placement (AP) and Career and Technical Education (CTE) courses, live help on-demand each day, and accommodations for Educational Plans (EPs), Individualized Learning Plans (ILPs), and Section 504 accommodations, which are plans that support individual student needs.

While courses are all virtual for MCCSC Online, state-mandated standardized tests have to be taken in-person at an MCCSC school. That’s a requirement included in the Indiana Department of Education Assessments Policy Manual. Tests that have to be taken in-person include IREAD, ILEARN, PSAT, and SAT.

Virtual schools in Indiana have to follow the same state requirements as bricks-and-mortar schools for attendance and instructional time requirements. MCCSC Online’s policies on assessments and attendance are included in the district’s student handbook.

MCCSC Online students also have hybrid options for participating in some activities in-person. Middle and high school sports are available to MCCSC Online students, and they can participate at a school of their choice. Middle and high school students can also participate in special events, such as school dances, at the Academy of Science and Entrepreneurship. Families of Online students who participate in some in-person programming have to provide their own transportation.

MCCSC will provide either an iPad or Windows laptop to enrolled students who live inside MCCSC boundaries. Students outside Monroe County are asked to use their own devices and will be provided a device for onsite assessments.

DeWeese said in an August 7 email that an update regarding MCCSC Online will be given at the next school board meeting on Aug. 26.