The Alliance for Childhood, an advocacy group of parents, teachers and psychologists, warns that too much educational technology is unhealthy for children. Julie Young, executive director of the Florida High School, says her school has had to overcome similar reservations. She works in Orlando on the fifth floor at the county school headquarters, as close as the cyberschool comes to having a single, solid headquarters. The row of teacher's cubicles just down the hall is vacant or sparsely populated most days, because teachers, like students, ordinarily work from home. Courses are free to Florida homeschoolers and any public or private high school student in the state.
Most students are only on the Web part time.
Roughly 70 percent are enrolled in a traditional high school and take online courses in addition to their other studies. They may want to speed up their schooling to graduate early. Others have tight schedules because of jobs, sports or other school activities, or go to smaller schools that don't offer the courses they need. A smaller percentage of students can't attend regular classes because they are on the road with budding careers. Leyla Fayaz of Fort Lauderdale went on tour with the company to China in October.