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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.

For the rest of the article, go to Lottery sales up in Missouri, across nation

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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.

For the rest of the article, go to Notes from the ‘Education in the Digital Age’ conference

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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.

For the rest of the article, go to ‘No Magic Bullet’ Will Solve Concerns Over Turner v. Clayton School District

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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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Dropout rate drops at Carthage High School

February 28, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Coleman went on to talk about some of the programs the district uses to reach out to students who are not doing as well in school as they could.

She touted programs such as the Virtual Learning Center and the Missouri Options Program.

“Last year we reached 318 students (in the Virtual Learning Center) and served almost a quarter of the graduating class. I think those numbers speak for themselves,” Coleman said. “When we’re reaching 40 percent of those who are graduating I think we’re doing a fairly good job.

For the rest of the article, go to Dropout rate drops at Carthage High School

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Virtual classrooms stay open even in worst weather

February 23, 2011 By Leave a Comment

She wasn’t the only MICDS teacher keeping class going online.

“It most often happened with AP classes, but Chinese and English classes had discussions online and teachers used a variety of ways to keep students connected to school work, from minimal assignments to full, virtual classrooms,” she said.

Jenni Highfill, Spanish teacher at Eureka High School in the Rockwood District, is another educator who uses her website to connect with students outside of class,

For the rest of the article, go to Virtual classrooms stay open even in worst weather

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Virtual High School expands opportunities for Columbia students

February 12, 2011 By Leave a Comment

COLUMBIA — Tavair Tapp needed to fulfill half an English credit.

The senior at Rock Bridge High School loves writing poetry, but he couldn’t study it because the school did not offer any courses in the subject.

He found one through another program — Virtual High School.

Virtual High School, a global consortium program based in Massachusetts, is part of the Columbia Public School District’s efforts to increase technology use in education.

The district began using the program in September 2009. This year, they doubled the number of available slots for students.

Through Virtual High School, students can choose from a selection of more than 200 courses, including creative writing, forensic science, American popular music and Mandarin Chinese. Advanced Placement, or AP, is available for year-long courses. Enrollment is free.

For the rest of the article, go to Virtual High School expands opportunities for Columbia students

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Panel looks to tweak formula

January 13, 2011 By Leave a Comment

The issue is not just money, Cunningham said. Only half of Missouri students are testing as proficient in core subjects, she said, and 40 percent of college students need remedial help. She suggested that rural districts could become charter districts, allowing them to escape teacher tenure rules. More flexible attendance rules to overcome district boundaries set decades ago also could help, she said.

Cunningham questioned the decision to cut funding for the on-line Virtual School, calling it “a move away from the delivery system of the future.”

For the rest of the article, go to Panel looks to tweak formula

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NEW Walla Walla connects with online school

January 9, 2011 By Leave a Comment

WALLA WALLA – Walla Walla Public Schools has partnered with a St. Louis-based online learning firm to offer online courses to local students.

The district began offering classes through Greenways Academy at the start of this school year, following an initial trial run with some students over the summer. Any student – even those not in Walla Walla schools – can elect to take one or more classes to supplement coursework, to make up classes, or simply as an alternative to traditional schooling.

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