Eighth-grader Mark Guereque has a principal, homeroom teacher and a Spanish teacher. But he's never met any of them, except through the telephone and regular e-mail correspondence.

Mark, 14, is one of about 360 students at Colorado Connections Academy, a public cyberschool based in Littleton that serves kindergarten through ninth grade.

He and his classmates are a part of a growing trend in families who choose to keep their children at home and learning online. In just the past school year, the number of Colorado students logged into cyberschools has increased by about 48 percent, growing from 6,201 students to 9,161 students in the 2006-2007 fiscal year, according to the Colorado Department of Education.

Mark's mother, Paula Guereque of Grand Junction, said she learned of Connections Academy by searching for schools on the Internet while he was attending Bookcliff Middle School. She said by that time, she was desperate.

"I did not want to send him back to school for him to fail," she said. "He was getting F's before and now he's on the A/B honor roll at Connections Academy. He's a bright kid."

Like other public schools, Connections Academy is taxpayer-funded.

Although parents may be pleased with the quality of online public education, state officials are not. Months after the state auditor issued a harsh performance report of 12 online schools in December, the Senate Education Committee on March 22 voted to send a bill for greater oversight of cyberschools to the Senate Appropriations Committee.

Senate Bill 215 would create a nine-member oversight committee for cyberschools that would operate under the State Board of Education. But to fund that committee, the state would take away 1 percent of per-pupil funding from each Colorado cyberschool student.

Sen. Josh Penry, R-Fruita, said lawmakers aren't through tweaking the bill, adding the 1 percent per-pupil funding cut may be reduced by half.

"My No. 1 consideration is giving kids in failing schools options," Penry said. "There's been a lot of give and take in this ... and I think we can figure out a way to get this done."

The state auditor's report cited deficiencies including a lack of teaching standards, accreditation standards, low performance on Colorado Student Assessment Program tests and high repeater and dropout rates.

Kelly Weist of the Denver-based Colorado Coalition of Cyberschool Families said parents in her group aren't opposed to having increased oversight of their schools to ensure educational quality, but they are opposed to the state taking away funding from students.

"We are already receiving the minimum per-pupil funding, and to take more away from that is unfair and, we think, unconstitutional," Weist said. According to the cyberschool coalition, 23 online schools exist in Colorado.

The bill also proposes increasing access to public online schools by removing a provision that prevents students who attend a private school or are home-schooled from receiving public education funds for online schooling.

A child must first attend a traditional "brick and mortar" public school for at least one semester before he or she enrolls in an online program, Weist said.

"We've always maintained that that is unfair," Weist said, adding that parents shouldn't have to jump through hoops to get the education of choice for their children.

For Guereque, having that choice is important for kids who don't necessarily excel in the traditional classroom. She described her teenage son as a "little skateboarder kid" whose mode of thinking is geared toward the Internet.

"Public schools today are simply outdated for these kids. They're used to a certain way of getting information, and that way isn't by lecturing to them," she said.

Although Mark was scoring well on assessment tests during his time at Bookcliff Middle School, he wasn't getting good grades. Guereque said her son got "too easily distracted" in the traditional classroom environment.

Now, he works more efficiently by himself and follows structured lesson plans he gets online.

For about 45 minutes each day, Mark sits in front of the computer listening to 15-minute-long video lessons and reviews them as necessary. For the rest of the day, he either sits on the couch with a book or does worksheet assignments.

Guereque said her presence is necessary during the school day.

"I am his learning coach, I take attendance for him, review his completed work and answer any questions he may have," she said.

According to Connections Academy's parent directory, 22 families in Grand Junction have enrolled their children in the program.

Colorado Connections Academy Principal Sarah Ault said one of the main benefits in online schooling is the ability to individualize curriculum.

"In a traditional school with 30 kids in a classroom, teachers can do their absolute best, but they'll always be teaching to the middle," Ault said, adding that a certain level of independence also characterizes students at Connections Academy.

From an office building in Littleton, Ault oversees 11 teachers and 360 students in kindergarten through ninth grade, working mainly through her computer and fielding questions and phone calls from parents.

She said her students come from a variety of personal and academic backgrounds. Some are kids who have health problems, and many have parents who aren't satisfied with traditional public schools.

This semester, Mark is taking pre-algebra, social studies, literature, science, Spanish, a course in technology literacy and a study session for the Colorado Student Assessment Program test.

To fulfill his physical education requirement, he attends a karate class three times a week, along with an online class component that addresses health and fitness topics.

Mark has even met some of his classmates on field trips this year to the Mesa County Sheriff's Department and a local television station.

He said he's happy his grades are much better now and that missing his friends at school isn't that bad.

"I can still see them on the weekends. We can still hang out," he said.

Kylene Kiang can be reached via e-mail at kkiang@gjds.com.

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