"Because interest in virtual learning was low before the school year began, PPS capped the enrollment at around 650 students. Now, after the Delta variant fueled a record-breaking surge in COVID cases in August and students risk being sent home for 10 days with minimal education materials, interest in the online academy has doubled. As of September 14, 648 students are on the waiting list and the district is onboarding teachers to offer more classes."

I'd like to know the source for this information. For one, it doesn't square with what I as a parent remember from this past summer--demand was definitely there and I knew parents who were stressed that the online program wasn't accessible and their only choice was to consider homeschooling their children themselves, which they didn't feel like they had an aptitude for.

And for two, if interest is low you don't need to "cap" something. That's what you do when demand is high and resources aren't available.

There are also plenty of people who haven't bothered to get on the waitlist since it was so obviously a long shot, so I question that as an accurate measurement of demand.