When the school began in 1997 there were 77 students enrolled and by 2002 there were 8200 students enrolled ( Florida Virtual School: The Future of Learning, 2002). The article asserts that the school was created to give students a high quality alternative and works especially well for home schooled students (Florida Virtual School: The Future of Learning, 2002). In addition, the schools have proven effective for students that do not have access to quality classes because they live in rural areas. .

             The article explains that although this virtual school has been successful there are some challenges that virtual schools will face in the future. The article asserts that in the future the courses will have to be reformulated because it is not enough to put a face-to-face lesson on the internet. The article also contends .

             ¡§Another challenge, given that students from multiple states may enroll in a particular virtual school, is aligning curriculum with content standards, which vary from state to state. It is also likely that the Florida legislature will eventually modify the current grant-based funding mechanism of the school, posing the challenge of how to fund the school in coming years. In summary, FLVS has come a long way since its founding; however, additional challenges remain and the school must continue to evolve if it is to meet them (Florida Virtual School: The Future of Learning, 2002).¡.

             Indeed, as the number of students being home schooled continues to grow, there will also be an increase in the number of students that will rely on virtual schools (Florida Virtual School: The Future of Learning, 2002). For this reason, the article contends that colleges and universities must begin training teachers on how to conduct virtual classrooms. Currently there is a slight learning curve because teachers are learning how to teach virtual classrooms on the job (Florida Virtual School: The Future of Learning, 2002).