Tamaqua Area School District hopes a virtual learning environment agreement brings back as many of its students to the district as possible.

With that thought in mind, it was recommended at Tuesday's school board committee meeting that the education committee should enter into an agreement with VLN Partners in Pittsburgh.VLN would supply a virtual learning environment at the cost of $18,750.Superintendent Ray Kinder said the district would contract with VLN to provide a full K-12 online learning option, and the classes will follow a curriculum aligned to PA core standards.Kinder said the program is designed in an effort to bring students back into the district who may be attending outside charter schools.He said the district feels this option can provide the best of both worlds to those students."First, the opportunity to receive their education inside their home environment," Kinder said. "Second, it allows the students to still be associated with our school system, making them eligible for the unique opportunities that are available to our students."Kinder explained to the board that it would be a one-year agreement."The main reason for this agreement is to try and bring those Tamaqua students who have chosen to attend cyber schools outside of our school district back into our system," he said."It allows us to provide a quality online curriculum with the benefits of being a Tamaqua student."Kinder said that while it is unknown the number of students this would affect, it remains "our hope to bring back as many of our students as possible."Officials said the district has about 70 charter students.VLN Partners, LLP is a research-based K-12 education services provider that has developed a revolutionary model for technology-enhanced instruction called the holistic model for blended learning.The group's website states, "We are a quality driven service and consulting organization that works with school districts to help them embrace 21st century learning. What we do that sets us apart from any other company today is we form working partnerships with public school districts (K-12) to help them compete with cyber charter schools and other external education providers."