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Rockwood classes offered by virtual method

October 12, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Rockwood students are using technology to take advanced courses through a virtual learning environment. The experience is made possible with online meeting software or videoconferencing equipment that allows students to attend class and ask questions using an online chat feature.

At Eureka High School and Lafayette High School, students are using this technology to take calculus II through Wildwood Community College. Next semester, they will have the opportunity to enroll in calculus III.

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Downtown elementary school principal inflated attendance figures, audit finds

September 28, 2011 By Leave a Comment

The principal, Esperansa Veal, was placed on administrative leave in May. Superintendent Kelvin Adams Jr. told reporters after Schweich released the report at the auditor’s office downtown that Veal is being paid while on leave. He said she would remain on such status until a hearing into her situation is conducted; he could not give an estimate on when that may take place. Her annual salary is $76,823, the school district said.

Schweich (right) said the attendance changes may have helped Patrick Henry meet progress requirements under the No Child Left Behind act and could have resulted in the school receiving extra money.

In a low-key response to the findings, Adams said that “the data speaks for itself.” He said the district has done internal audits on schools for attendance and test scores and not found any other examples of such manipulation of the figures.

Asked if he was surprised to find out about what was going on at Patrick Henry, he replied:

“What surprised me is that we weren’t aware of it.”

Adams said that academic achievement had been rising at the school and because such improvement often is the result of higher attendance, he did not realize the figures had been inflated. He also said that the school had had some virtual classes, and he thought that some increase in attendance could be attributed to that component.

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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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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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Senate Hears Differing Opinions On School Choice Plans

March 13, 2011 By Leave a Comment

“When we declare a district unaccredited, it is beyond failing,” Cunningham said. “It is abject failure because not one academic standard is met.”

The first bill proposed by Cunningham would clarify what schools are eligible to receive students from unaccredited schools, including a provision that would allow transfer students to remain in their chosen district until an unaccredited district has been able to regain and maintain accreditation for five straight years.

The second bill aims to put into statute the other key component of the Turner decision, establishing scholarship amounts that schools must provide to resident students who wish to attend another school, including a charter, private or virtual school. The amount the district would have to pay would be the cost of attendance at the receiving school, or two-thirds of the sending district’s per pupil expenditure, whichever is less.

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State panel sets education goals for Missouri in 2020

December 19, 2010 By Leave a Comment

On specific issues, Pearce said that he has filed legislation to study how teachers are compensated. Specifically, he said, it might be time to ask teachers if they are willing to be paid on a merit basis if they would give up the protections of tenure at the same time. “If we’re going to do this,” he said, “it would have to be voluntary for schools as well as for teachers. If teachers want to go on merit-based, performance-based reimbursement, they would have to give up tenure. We need to take a look at that, perhaps beginning with districts that are provisionally accredited or unaccredited. “Tenure is something that for the most part doesn’t resonate well in the state of Missouri. Education is the only place where people have tenure,” continued Pearce. “People outside the system don’t necessarily support it or appreciate it, and now may be a good time to do some tradeoffs, like tying it to merit pay.” Pearce noted that online learning, one area that the committee mentioned, was successful a couple of years ago, with 1,000 slots for students quickly filled, but the budget couldn’t sustain it. “You can learn online more cheaply than in a bricks-and-mortar school,” he said, “so there are possible cost savings down the road, even though it might take a big investment upfront. Online learning is here to stay. It’s not a fad.” The report said that the committee “operated under the guiding principle that education is the foundation for Missouri’s success in a global society. To that end, the committee was intent on developing a comprehensive, yet focused, strategic plan to identify and prioritize reform initiatives that will shape Missouri’s education system through 2020 and beyond.”

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Online course expansion aims to meet needs of new-age students

July 7, 2010 By Leave a Comment

COLUMBIA — Students are not the same as they were 20 years ago.

Today they blog, tweet, text, listen to iTunes and write a paper all at once. They are technology addicts who are constantly multitasking — in and out of the classroom.

Many traditional classrooms have failed to meet the needs of this new student generation. That’s why the University of Missouri System aims to address the ever-changing student learning styles by spending $482,000 to develop 124 new online courses.

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Missouri has online high schools site

January 24, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Welcome to yet another state-specific website for online high schools. Brought to you by Best Online High Schools, this gives you information on all that is going on in your state with online high schools.

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