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High school offerings in the pipeline

September 27, 2011 By Leave a Comment

The University of Missouri’s College of Education plans to launch a virtual school later this year that will provide online courses aimed to supplement what students take in their traditional high schools.

Eventually, the virtual school is expected to provide online courses to all K-12 students — although that’s likely years in the making.

In its infancy, the school will offer semester-based classes to help traditional students recover course credits, take advanced courses not offered in some districts or provide more options for homebound kids with special needs, said Director Monica Beglau.

It’s unclear how the program will be funded. Beglau is in the process of applying for federal grants and soliciting foundational support to get the school up and running. Then, she envisions funding for operations to come from a variety of sources.

School districts that don’t have the resources to offer Advanced Placement courses, for instance, might contract with the virtual school to provide them. Or, parents who want their children to take a foreign language not offered by their home districts might pay the virtual school to provide them.

The Missouri School Boards Association is in the process of surveying school districts to get a better idea of what courses they need the most. Beglau hopes to have a few of the most in-demand classes ready by January.

The virtual school is not intended to replace or compete with MU High School, which was moved under the helm of the College of Education this summer after the university repackaged two programs previously in MU Extension. The former MU Direct and Center for Distance and Independent Studies previously operated MU’s online and distance programs, including MU High School.

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How I Got the Job | Alison Gromer, 50

September 25, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Lawrence Virtual School is an online, kindergarten-to-grade-11 school sponsored by a charter from Lawrence Public Schools and open to any Kansas resident. With more than 1,200 students, it is the largest virtual school in Kansas, according to the Kansas State Department of Education. Beginning its eighth year of operation this fall, LVS is designed to serve home schooling families, who pay a fee for the curriculum. However, students also include those unable to go to their “brick and mortar” classrooms because of long-term illnesses or other reasons. LVS plans to add a grade 12 curriculum next year.

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Lottery sales up in Missouri, across nation

September 20, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Lottery funds support 14 educational programs, Reardon said, including the A+ program, Virtual Schools, special education, construction of college and university buildings, library acquisitions and educational scholarships.

Missouri lottery sales went from $995 million in fiscal year 2008, the beginning of the last recession, down to $968 million in fiscal year 2009. Then sales went back up to $971 million in fiscal year 2010 before reaching $1 billion in fiscal year 2011.

Missouri lottery officials credit their success to increased marketing efforts, more ticket outlets and more community outreach.

In 2011, the Missouri Legislature allowed the lottery to increase its advertising budget by about 4 percent to $8 million, said May Scheve Reardon, executive director of the Missouri Lottery.

“We were able to do a 12-month campaign. In the past, we really only advertised our holiday Scratchers and maybe one other game. This helps us build momentum and keeps us in front of our players,” Reardon said.

During the past year, new scratchers games also helped boost sales, Reardon said.

One popular new game is a Bass Pro Shop-themed game offering instant winnings of up to $750,000 and hundreds of $500 gift cards as prizes. Another is the Missouri Lottery’s 25th anniversary cruise game in which participants could win up to $75,000 or a one of several seven-night Royal Caribbean International Cruises.

“We have one of the most aggressive prize packages. Our Scratchers are just so fun and exciting. We keep up with trends in the market,” Reardon said.

Lottery proceeds transferred to the state for public education programs totaled $259,424,366 in fiscal year 2011. Monday the Missouri Lottery made its largest monthly proceeds transfer ever, transferring more than $29 million from August ticket sales.

Reardon expects lottery sales to continue to increase through 2012 and hopes to transfer $267 million in proceeds to education this fiscal year.

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For-profit colleges respond to increased scrutiny

August 7, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Eric Schmitt, 36, earned an associate’s degree from Kaplan University’s campus in Cedar Falls, Iowa, and then a bachelor’s degree from its online school three years ago The aspiring paralegal said he has been unable to find a job in the field. He owes nearly $45,000 in student loans and is working a temporary warehouse job to help support his wife and two children.

Schmitt, who testified before Harkin’s committee in June, called the Kaplan Commitment and other industry initiatives “a step in the right direction” but said the gap between education costs and real job prospects could mean “you’re going to keep seeing students thrown under the bus.”

In a statement issued by Kaplan after Schmitt’s testimony, the company said he turned down a paralegal job it helped him line up.

The conversations in Washington and Wall Street mean little to Carl Tabb, a 36-year-old father of 10 who hopes to earn a bachelor’s degree in information technology from the University of Phoenix while continuing to work full-time for the Missouri Department of Mental Health and moonlighting repairing home computers.

“I really was not the best student when I was in school,” he said. “I always thought I wouldn’t make it to college.”

Fitzgerald, a former Price Waterhouse consultant, said nontraditional students such as Tabb deserve just a chance to earn a degree and a shot at better future.

“Yeah, we’re a for-profit. But that doesn’t mean we’re in it for the wrong reasons,” she said. “We want to set up our students for success.”

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Notes from the ‘Education in the Digital Age’ conference

August 1, 2011 By Leave a Comment

This is happening in education as well. State universities are being disrupted by online universities. For K-12 education, online learning looked like it had the same characteristics to disrupt and transform. But it had to plant itself in areas of non-consumption. Those areas include credit recovery, drop outs, tutoring, AP or advanced courses, homeschooled or homebound students.

Substitution follows S-curve pattern. At first, just a few people are using it, followed by rapid adoption and a leveling off when the market gets saturated.

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‘No Magic Bullet’ Will Solve Concerns Over Turner v. Clayton School District

June 20, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Jennifer Clemente, who has two children in the Brentwood School District, agreed that alternatives should be offered. Clemente is enrolled in a program through Southeast Missouri State University that includes many virtual learning opportunities. “In today’s day and age we are virtual,” she said. “Those kids shouldn’t be disrupted from their present environment, nor should our kids.”

Cunningham said virtual schools are an option.

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5 graduate from first class of Virtual Sight school

June 11, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Battle Creek’s first-ever all-virtual school held its first-ever commencement ceremony on Tuesday.

Five students from The Virtual Sight, a Berrien Springs Public Schools virtual school hosted by Summit Pointe in downtown Battle Creek, were graduated in Tuesday’s ceremony at the W.K. Kellogg Foundation headquarters. The students were Danny Bates, Choris Jacobsen, Anna Lucas, Danielle Sanders and Harley Wagner, according to the program for Tuesday’s event.

This is the second commencement ceremony for the students. They also walked during the Berrien Springs Alternative Education Program ceremony last month and received Berrien Springs diplomas.

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Summer school scaled back this year

June 6, 2011 By Leave a Comment

“It’s quite easy to go into the red,” said Danielle S. Tormala, associate superintendent for curriculum and instruction for St. Charles.

Tormala and Dozier say students who want to make up credits still have several options:

  • Repeat the classes next school year. The high school schedule allows students to earn up to eight credits a year, for a total of up to 32 credits. The graduation requirement is a minimum of 26 credits.
  • Attend summer school in another district. But fewer school districts this year are opening their programs to students from other districts, Tormala said.
  • Take Missouri Virtual Instruction Programs online through the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education or correspondence courses. Tormala said St. Charles students can attend “OOPS” after-school classes through the district’s alternative school, the Success Campus.

Other school districts’ summer school programs largely will focus on credit recovery for high school students and helping middle and elementary school students with math and reading skills. Year-round enrollment will continue for some special needs children.

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Could the Internet spell the end of snow days?

May 27, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Virtual learning, which has been widely used by colleges and universities for years, is becoming more viable for younger students as teachers and administrators grow comfortable with the technology. Online learning also saves money because districts don’t have to pay for transportation, electricity and custodians.

But there are obstacles, too. Many families don’t have Internet access with speeds that would support complex classroom-style work, especially in rural areas and impoverished inner cities. Families with multiple children — without multiple computers — could be hard-pressed to keep up.

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District seeks to attract home-schoolers with ‘virtual classroom’

May 26, 2011 By Leave a Comment

He might not be selling ice to Alaskans, but Mark Catalana’s job is no easy task.

He’s trying to convince parents of home-schooled children to send their kids to the Mehlville School District.

Not the most amenable audience, perhaps. Educating your child at home is a major task that requires serious motivation. And many home-schoolers opt out for religious or cultural reasons.

But Catalana’s offering something a little different: the ability to attend Mehlville without leaving home.

It’s called the Virtual Program.

“It’s distance learning with an online curriculum,” said Catalana, director of alternate programs for the Mehlville School District.

The program started two years ago for students who don’t fit well in a classroom setting.

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