Finding the Customers: Challenges and Experiences Marketing K-12 Full-time Virtual Schools

Full-time virtual schooling is a growing alternative to traditional schools, although it is an option still unknown to many students. The ability to inform students through marketing is thus foundational to the success of virtual schools. Using a qualitative case study methodology, this article examines marketing patterns for nonprofit virtual schools, including how students find out about virtual schools; the ways in which school leaders market their schools; and changes reported in schools' marketing and recruitment needs and strategies. This analysis suggests that students find out about virtual schools in many ways, including being referred, rejected, and urged by their local schools. Implications include issues around socioeconomic equity, especially in terms of school access, funding, and educational quality.