SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) — Indiana’s second virtual charter school is taking applications for students in first through eighth grades.

Spokeswoman Pat Laystrom says Indiana Connections Academy Virtual Pilot School will serve about 280 students from around the state.

Students receive personalized learning plans but do their work from home. A certified teacher will work with them in live, online classrooms and by phone.

The school also will offer extracurricular activities and electives, including online chess clubs, a student newspaper and science clubs. The program is free and is financed with state education money.

Indiana’s first virtual charter was Hoosier Academies, a combination virtual and bricks and mortar school that opened in 2008-09.

Posted 7/19/2010