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Brighton moves to launch online learning academy

March 18, 2012 By Leave a Comment

The Brighton Area Schools district plans to launch a program providing online courses free of charge to homeschooled students.

District officials said it’s part of their ongoing effort to reach out to every student who lives in the area, specifically those who are learning outside the traditional classroom setting.

 

The academy would create some new revenue for the district. The district would receive a portion or all of the state per-pupil funding for students enrolled in the academy; the amount would depend on how many classes the student is taking. Each full-time student brings $7,300 to the district.

 

“We’re just looking at the needs of the community,” said Laura Surrey, assistant superintendent of curriculum. Surrey said the district wants to “meet all the needs of the learners in the area.”

 

Last week, the Brighton Area Schools Board of Education approved creating the Brighton Virtual Academy. The district plans to start it in September. The academy would offer Michigan Merit Curriculum online courses for grades 9-12. The academy would be operated by Michigan Virtual High School.

 

Each course would be taught by a certified teacher, and each student would have a mentor. Ken Hamman, a longtime Brighton principal who retired last year, is helping with the academy and will serve as a mentor to the first 25 students.

 

Surrey said some homeschooled parents decide to send their children to high school when the required curriculum becomes too challenging.

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Brighton Schools Will Launch Virtual Academy This Fall

March 13, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Brighton Area Schools will launch its Virtual Academy starting this September.

Board of Education members voted unanimously to create the online learning program that will provide Michigan Merit Curriculum (MME) online courses to resident and non-resident home schooled students in grades 9 through 12 through the use of Michigan Virtual High School and GenNet.

Laura Surrey, Assistant Superintendent of Instruction, said the program would aim to develop strong college and career readiness skills in the home schooled student population.

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Bradley Board of Education Approves Virtual School

March 10, 2012 By Leave a Comment

The Bradley County Board of Education has approved a Virtual School program that even home schoolers could use, said Director of Schools, Johnny McDaniel.

Board member Vicki Beaty asked how student achievement would be monitored and how school officials will use the data to improve the program. Mr. McDaniel said there will be certified teachers involved with a lot of written work and face to face time. He said he does not believe it will meet the needs of all students.

Zoe Renfro, Reach Adult High School principal, said, “We will pull staff to look at the data to determine where we are, where we fall short and what we need to add.”

Mr. McDaniel said he recommended approval of the program and establishment of a line item for funding for the 2012-2013 school year. It was unanimously approved.

Angie Lyon of the architectural firm Kaatz, Binkley, Jones and Morris gave an update on the construction at Michigan Avenue Elementary and the demolition bids for Waterville Elementary, both damaged in the April 2011 tornadoes. Ms. Lyon said bids for the bleachers and athletic equipment for Michigan Avenue were received and the job has been awarded to Southern Facility Sales and Service for $74,767.

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Termination of Schoolcraft High School principal reflects shifting priorities in K-12 education (Julie Mack blog)

March 7, 2012 By Leave a Comment

SCHOOLCRAFT — By all accounts, John Kolassa was a dedicated, hard-working principal at Schoolcraft High School, well-liked by many of his staff and students.

He was known for keeping order in the hallways, his introduction of virtual education classes, his ubiquitous presence at high school events.

For the rest of the article, go to Termination of Schoolcraft High School principal reflects shifting priorities in K-12 education (Julie Mack blog)

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Michigan ‘weak’ in lobbying oversight

March 6, 2012 By Leave a Comment

The one effort, a big expansion in virtual K-12 learning by private companies, is succeeding, so far. The other, allowing motorists to buy less-than-unlimited medical coverage in their auto policies, is not. But since just about anyone with a stake in the outcome of what goes on in the Capitol has a lobbyist, grabbing wins and taking losses are all part of how the game is played.

Lobbying has been going on in the Capitol’s hallways forever — and business is flourishing. Reported lobbying expenditures in 2011 totaled $35.3 million, according to Michigan Secretary of State summations. That’s up 86 percent from 2001. The 2,890 business, association, labor and multi-client lobbyists that registered with the state are up 30 percent in number compared to a decade ago.

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“Cyber-Schools” Legislation Clears Another Hurdle in MI

February 21, 2012 By Leave a Comment

LANSING, Mich. – More virtual schools could soon be reality in Michigan if a bill moving through the legislature clears one final hurdle. Senate Bill 619 would allow an unlimited number of full-time, for-profit online or cyber schools in the state. From the state board of education to Michigan’s two largest teachers’ unions, education advocates oppose the bill, although it has cleared committees in both the Senate and House and is now up for a House vote.

Michigan Education Association President Steven Cook says there is simply no reliable research to indicate that online schools produce results. In fact, he says, most studies show the opposite.

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COMMENTARY — Cyber schools: Show me the data

February 20, 2012 By Leave a Comment

The evidence is clear that educational management organizations are making a substantial profit. K12 Inc., one of the largest providers of virtual schools, had revenue of $522 million according to securities filings. Its net income after a series of acquisitions was $12.8 million and its CEO, Ronald J. Packard, earned $2.6 million in total compensation.

The fact that companies have figured out a way into public education as a way of making a profit wouldn’t disturb me if evidence showed they outperform traditional public schools. Instead, we see the national expansion of virtual schools with more than 200,000 students enrolled despite the absence of data on their effectiveness.

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Letters: Online schools offer options to students, parents

February 16, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Michigan’s charter schools and online public schools are governed by independent, nonprofit school boards and are authorized by state-approved bodies. These schools are held to the same academic, fiscal, and accountability standards as other public schools, yet receive less in total taxpayer funds than traditional schools. Students are required to meet state accountability requirements and participate in state assessment tests just like their peers in traditional schools. For example, students at the school I lead, the Michigan Virtual Charter Academy (MVCA), participate in state tests annually proctored by our school’s state-certified teachers. Last year, students at MVCA scored 3% higher than their peer school districts.

The online school enrollment cap right now is keeping thousands of children trapped on waiting lists, unable to access these innovative public schools. Many of these children are dealing with serious situations, like bullying or special needs. Some are falling behind in their traditional school, while others feel held back. The qualities of online public schools — individualized learning, flexibility and self-pacing, one-on-one support from teachers, safe environments — is exactly the type of school some children need.

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Online Charter School Spending Trends

February 15, 2012 By Leave a Comment

A bill to increase the cap on the number of Michigan public school students who can participate in full-time, online charter “cyber schools” is now pending in the state House of Representatives. Based on committee hearings, some legislators seem particularly interested in how these schools spend their money.

It appears that most online charter dollars go for the same things as conventional brick-and-mortar schools. In both, instruction tops the list. The current budget for the Michigan Virtual Charter Academy devotes about 61 percent to instruction, compared to around 60 percent at conventional schools, according to the state Department of Education.

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Debate on cyber charter schools heats up as bill moves forward

February 12, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Patricia and Frankie Girardot say they like the flexibility that comes with online learning.

The Franklin siblings can take their classes when they want and advance to the next level when they’re ready — not when the rest of the class is ready.

“The learning is centered around kids and not around the teacher and how they want to run their classroom,” said Frankie, 12, a seventh-grader at Michigan Virtual Charter Academy (MVCA), one of two cyber charter schools in Michigan where students take all of their classes online.

A battle is heating up in Lansing over a proposal that would allow more students like the Girardots to enroll in cyber charter schools and allow far more of the schools to open in Michigan. State law enacted in 2010 allows only two cyber charters to exist and limits enrollment to 400 in the first year of operation and a maximum of 1,000 in subsequent years.

For the rest of the article, go to Debate on cyber charter schools heats up as bill moves forward

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