Accountability Hearing Finds East Tennessee Virtual School Isn’t Taking Daily Attendance

Stock image of a student taking part in virtual learning (Photo by Pexels/Katerina Holmes)

State law requires public school employees to track students' daily attendance, but Carter County School leaders say attendance is recorded only weekly at the district’s Carter County Online Academy.

The virtual school has received two consecutive “F” letter grades from the state, including last year, when less than 5 percent of middle and high school students scored proficient in math, and less than 15 percent of middle schoolers were proficient in English language arts.

The State Board of Education held an accountability hearing last week to review the virtual school’s low performance, and Board Member Bob Eby expressed surprise that the school requires only a weekly check-in on assignments completed.

“So there’s no guarantee that this student is listening to the lecture, whether it’s being done by your teacher or by the Edmentum (curriculum) teacher or something like that?” asked Evy. “All that you have is the student says they were there, and they’re sending in their documentation, and right now, that completed work is basically a failing grade.”

Challenges Running a Rural Virtual School

Superintendent Dr. Brandon Carpenter told board members that his district is in the process of building a location for physical check-ins with students to track their progress, but he conceded that some parents might choose to homeschool their children if regular check-ins are required.

Providing accountability isn’t the only challenge the virtual school faces, either.

The school is currently seeking a new principal, and rural Carter County faces internet challenges that can be particularly problematic for a growing virtual school. That was especially true following the 2024 Hurricane Helene.

“If we don’t have internet at that home, it’s not doing that kid any good. We had 14 kids that were part of the virtual school (that) we were driving to a local church in one of the communities and trying to get as many of them there as we could,” said Carpenter.

Corrective Action Recommended

The three board members who participated in the accountability hearing voted to recommend that the full State Board of Education implement a corrective action plan for the virtual school. The board could vote on that plan at its May meeting.

“Our responsibility is to ensure that the student is academically successful, and just because the parent wants it to be virtual, if it’s not succeeding, then I think we need to challenge the academy,” said Eby.

Closure Possible in the Future

In the future, virtual schools with multiple years of underperformance could face much harsher penalties.

Under proposed legislation advancing in the General Assembly, virtual schools that make the state’s priority list or fall “significantly below expectations” for three consecutive years under the Tennessee Value-Added Assessment System (TVAAS) criteria that measure student growth would be mandated to close.

That legislation passed the Senate last month and the House version sponsored by Rep. Mark White, R-Memphis, is headed to the House floor after passing that chamber’s Education Committee on Wednesday.