The Oregon Virtual Academy, a new online charter school sponsored by the North Bend School District, soon will be opening an office in the city.

The second virtual school in the state, the academy features curriculum provided by K12, an established Web-based curriculum company in Virginia, and caters to students throughout Oregon.

Todd Thorpe, the interim manager of ORVA, said much is being done to prepare for the academy’s first day of classes on Sept. 3. ORVA will follow the same school calendar as the North Bend School District and will teach kindergarten through eighth grade. Preparations include leasing a set of administrative offices at 1810 Monroe St., which likely will house an academic administrator/ principal, and office administrator who will double as a registrar, and additional clerical positions if necessary.

As of this week, about 50 students have enrolled in the school and another 200 are pursuing enrollment, Thorpe said. The majority of the students are home schooled, private or charter schooled, and the remainder of the applicants hail from approximately 62 Oregon public school districts. Three teachers have been offered positions with the academy, Thorpe said, and more may be added at a later time. Special training will be offered for ORVA educators on Aug. 28, he noted.

“We’ll add teachers as our enrollment increases,” Thorpe said. “We are just trying to get a lot of things finalized.”

 The school is only allowed to accept 600 students under a State Board of Education ruling. When the school reaches that cap, it will likely employ 12 to 15 instructors, Thorpe said.

Prior to his taking his position with ORVA, Thorpe served as the director of operations for the Washington Virtual Academy, another K12 school, he said.

ORVA’s board of directors, who met via a teleconference Monday night to discuss the direction of the school and to approve the lease for the administrative offices, include Martin L. Callery, the director of communications and freight mobility for the Oregon International Port of Coos Bay, as well as individuals from Eugene, Gresham and Beaverton.

Callery said he joined the ORVA board because he believes virtual schools may represent education’s future, especially in rural communities that struggle to provide children with the basics.

“I think the online environment has the ability to (offer) that broader scope of exposure to different knowledge bases,” Callery said.