Virtual School Consultant Project

Tennille Wilkens

Due: November 25, 2014

Professor: Allen Grant

Introduction

Hello my name is Tennille Wilkens. I am a consultant of DeKalb County Public School System in Atlanta, GA. I would like for the school district to consider the factual

information provided so that the proper execution of a virtual program is underway. Below I will develop recommendations for the structure and implementation of a new virtual

school as well as the current standing of online schools in the United States.

About Virtual Schools in the U.S.

Virtual education is quickly becoming a favorable option for many students across the United States. See below a mapping of the schools that are favorable to online education. Many feel that this is a great way to improve the effectiveness of education. Those that are in favor of this style of education believe that it allows each student to have individualized opportunities. Hence, the No Child Left Behind Act “learning anytime, anywhere”. Virtual schooling can be in the form of an extension to the physical location by offering online courses to supplement the classes at the school, blended, or an option for an auxiliary full-time program. Blended learning provides virtual and in-class instruction, while an auxiliary full-time program student’s will work independently. I will examine the important criteria that must be considered when implementing a virtual school: Funding, authenticity, recommended model, mission, policies, implementation, course development, and Administration.

Below I would like to include factual information of the prevalence of online schools across country according to Parents for Choice in Education.

How to obtain funding?

Obtaining funding for these schools have been different from that of a brick and mortar school. Barbour states that, “In the United States, public K-12 education is funded primarily through local property taxes, along with a variety of federal and state-level funding. These various sources of money result in a base per student amount that schools receive primarily based on student enrollment”. That means that schools that are operated by the State will receive money based on the attendance of the students. Other funding is obtained via grants or foundations while some schools use barter methods by trading teacher led courses to obtain students. Connections Learning makes an eye opening point, “The sources of funding for your program may change as your offering evolves and grows. Many districts and schools just starting out apply for grants and one-time funds to finance a part-time program. Full-time online charter schools are typically state-funded, but of course require charter authorization. For full-time programs starting from scratch, a good rule of thumb is that they will not fiscally break even for 3 to 5 years.” The exact costs associated with operating an online school have yet to come to an exact figure. There isn’t a definite comparison that shows the link between the actual expenses and the funding allocated to the schools. I have included the following diagram as a brief description of the differences between Brick and Mortar and Virtual Schools.

How authentic are virtual schools?

Virtual schools house the same accreditation as a Brick and Mortar Schools. In fact, virtual schools provide the same credits, courses, and grade level placements. Accreditation ensures that the curriculum meets the national standards and is respected by the community as well as other schools and colleges. Schools that decide to be participating members of K – 12 incorporated, opt into an “AdvancED-accredited corporation meeting the highest standards of educational management. AdvancED is the parent organization of the North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement (NCA CASI) and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Council on Accreditation and School Improvement (SACS CASI). AdvancED is dedicated to advancing excellence in education worldwide through accreditation, research, and professional services. AdvancED is the world's largest education community, engaging 27,000 public and private schools and districts across the United States and in 65 countries worldwide and educating 15 million students.”

Recommended Model for DeKalb County Public Schools

I would like to implement an online school that supports the No Child Left Behind Act, whose sole purpose is to close achievement gaps of the students. In creating the structure of an online school in DeKalb County, I have closely examined the virtual online campus of Gwinnett County, also located in Atlanta, GA. This county has for the past fourteen years helped their students meet exceptional educational goals for students in grades 4 – 12. I have not been successful at finding if this district supports the No Child Left Behind Act. Therefore, I would like to ensure the model and structure for this school district does in fact support all students K- 12. Also, I have noticed that most of the virtual schools support middle and high school students. Alternatively, I would like to embark on a new program that supports elementary school students. In preparation for anticipated hurdles, perhaps we can enlist sample elementary schools to participate since there are low findings to support the success for elementary students. According to research, Florida Virtual Academy is one of the schools that definitely provide virtual school for elementary students. Each student is to have their own computer, free internet, supplies, and books. Students are performing very well too, “In 2013-2014, students performed higher than the state average on all four End-of-Course exams (Algebra I – 20%; Biology – 3%; Geometry – 24%; U.S. History – 17%)”.

Mission

Commit to provide a Supplemental Program that provides exceptional education to the students of DeKalb County. This program will extend services to students K – 12 students by providing advanced coursework and supplementary services. We value professionalism and the highest attempt to satisfy all students with a blended learning environment.

Policies

On a State and District level, all schools have to adhere to policies even as an online school. The Georgia Department of Education develops rules and guidelines for school systems to become virtually approved.

Here is a link to the important policies as it pertains to virtual schools of Georgia.

Below is a graph showing the areas that are monitored by districts nationwide.

Center for Public Education

Program Implementation

According to Parents for Choice in Education, many supplemental programs are continuously growing around the United States. See below for interesting figures.

In order for the implementation to be a success, the district has 1 of 2 options. Create a public virtual school built from bottom up or the district could operate under a charter contract. In fact, Georgia does support charter schools according to Ballotpedia, “The Georgia Charter Schools Amendment appeared on the November 6, 2012 ballot in Georgia as a legislatively-referred constitutional amendment, where it was approved. The measure gave the state legislature the right to create special schools”. Both will require a substantial investment of funding and time. Starting a virtual school from ground up would require many resources and State support. In the case of implementing a charter school, the process would be less extensive since the processes are already in place via Gwinnett County Public Schools of Georgia. The only difference in what the goals are for the school I would like to implement for our district is the service for kindergarten through twelfth grade. The request for proposals will have this slight difference and a plan and justification will be provided to support our plan. I feel that the district can start by assessing the people of the community and learn of their demand of the option of supplemental learning for elementary students.

In order for this program to be successful we must meet important deadlines and brainstorm about the following questions before moving forward:

- Which courses are needed?- What is the expected performance outcome?- Will we lease or create courses?- How will we fund the courses?- Will the students have to pay for courses outside of their regular classes?- Should the state be involved in the efforts of the school districts?- Will we hire teacher’s abroad, in-state, out of state?- How skilled should our educators be?- Are we comfortable as a charter school?- Should we invite non-profits, Universities, or other potential investors to fund this

school?

***A full evaluation of the program will be underway, tentatively, upon decisions regarding the program***

Course Development

According to Center for Public Education, Online learning comes from many different sources. Some examples:

For-profits produce everything from out-of-the-box courseware to a full, planned curriculum with teachers, tutors, proctored exams – literally, a “virtual school.”

Non-profit company’s offer online learning, often with different philanthropic aims in mind, such as helping at-risk students graduate.

Some state departments of education offer their own courses. For example, Florida Virtual School offers courses to both Florida students (who do not have to pay) and others outside the state (who does pay tuition).

Individual districts may buy online software and create their own blended-learning approaches; they may also develop online coursework of their own.

Depending on the type of school that this district opts into using, the next phase will be determining the types of courses to provide each of the students. In Georgia, virtual schools are required to provide all instructional materials necessary for all participating students and teachers, except those in local teacher-led virtual courses. I feel that our district should provide all of the instructional materials through their programs. Also, another great point is that online schools have the option of creating or leasing courses for their students. Interesting options and all have the possibly of meeting each student’s academic needs. I think that for the sake of research this district should lease previously used lessons and compare data to determine this districts level of performance.

Administration & Teachers

Having dedicated and quality staff members are very important for any educational program. Virtual education is not the exception to having a less than quality team. With the shortage of quality teachers for certain subjects, we must be open to outsourcing if need be. Professional development is an ongoing inclusion of education. With the waves of technology constantly being introduced, it is important that many of the staff members are up to date with the many types of advances available. I would recommend that all staff members be evaluated for effectiveness. Although we can take the same approach as we would in a traditional classroom setting, feedback is important to help with the ways to adjust for the future. It is important for educators and other staff members to know that if they are being evaluated, and that their performance is contingent upon employment. Obviously, professional development will be offered but we must start holding teachers accountable. Also, investments in infrastructure will all be of importance to provide a meaningful academically sound education to our students.

Conclusion

Virtual schools would be a great option for this district. We have neighboring counties that have been actively using this form of education and has proven to be successful. The only difference is that I would like for us to offer something that has never been done in Georgia, elementary online schooling. Virtual schools are a great way to provide an asynchronous or synchronous learning environment that supports all types of students and does not pose a threat to the No Child Left Behind Act. Research has proven that online schools can provide a great quality of education for students no matter the demographical circumstances. Although research is still very fresh and new, it has proven to work, and I suggest that we get involved in conducting our own success story. If this district does indeed decide to use the ideas of my plan, this district would allow the students the opportunities to experience education that allows students to engage “anytime, anywhere”.

References

Ballotpedia. (2014). Retrieved from: http://ballotpedia.org/Georgia_Charter_Schools,_Amendment_1_%282012%29

Barbour, M. K. (2012). Virtual schools are more cost-effective compared to traditional, brick-and-mortar schools? In K. P. Brady (Ed.), Technology in Schools: Debating Issues in American Education (pp. 84-90). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Center for Public Education. (2014). Retrieved from: http://www.centerforpubliceducation.org/Searching-for-the-reality-of-virtual-schools

Connections Learning. Starting your Virtual School. (2014). Retrieved from: http://www.connectionslearning.com/Libraries/Connections_Learning_PDFs/Virtual_School_Primer.pdf

Florida Virtual School. (2014). Retrieved from: http://www.flvs.net/Parents/Pages/which-option.aspx

Gwinnett Online Campus. (2014). Retrieved from: http://www.gwinnettonlinecampus.com/

K – 12 Inc. (2014). Retrieved from: http://www.k12.com/what-is-k12/accreditation#.VHZMKck-emE

Parents for Choice in Education. (2014). Retrieved from: http://www.choiceineducation.org/policy-and-innovations/innovations-across-the-us/636-virtualonline-schools