Comparative Analysis: Successes and Failures of St. Louis Public Schools' Virtual Learning

The St. Louis School District (SLSD) provided its students with a virtual education program (VEP) but abandoned it following a cut in federal funding, omitting an alternative pathway for students to complete their education. The problem addressed in this study was the effect of technology and management's decision to discontinue the VEP. The purpose of this qualitative study was to determine management's role and the effect of the technology in discontinuing the VEP. Dewey's theory of education and Koskela and Howell's theory of management established the theoretical foundation for the study. A purposeful sampling selection approach was used to recruit 8 administrator and teacher participants who were knowledgeable about the VEP and who worked in their respective districts. An interview questionnaire was created and used to collect data. The data were processed and analyzed using the thematic analysis approach. The results revealed that technology was not a problem for the 3 school districts, but the SLSD did not prioritize the VEP in its budget. The results of this study might help other institutions keep their online program intact in the event a similar situation occurs. The implications for social change could be that securing a VEP could contribute in producing more well-educated citizens to work in higher-level jobs, drive business development, and contribute to community development in society.