This week I had a phone conference with my host teacher and another teacher of the virtual school and they provided me with background information into the virtual school chain of command and set-up. The virtual school is set up more like a corporate intity than a traditional school. Everyone reports ultimately to the CEO but the school is broken up into learning communities (such as humanities, career, math/science, etc) and each learning community has a leader. Under the learning community leader is the instructional leader to whom the teachers directly report to. If a problem or concern arises, the teachers are to talk with an instructional leader and work up the chain of command.
One of the things that I found interesting was the basis for school's funding. The teachers informed me that the virtual school is funded by the state based on the number of students who complete the course. For example, if 200 students start a course and only 125 complete the course then the school is only funded for the 125 students that finished the course. Each of the courses has a goal number of students to complete the course. Thus, the school is funded based on success which causes a "customer service" model where teachers continuation in the position depends both on the number of students to complete their courses and on data from surveys that students complete. Another difference from the traditional classroom is that none of the teachers on continuing contract but everyone is on an annual contract.
As I was searching for information I found that many virtual schools are set up in this fashion which can serve as a benefit to students. Since the traditional public school receives a large portion of funding from property taxes, students in wealthier areas have an advantage over those from poorer areas which leads to the learning gap. A book review of "Costs, Funding and the Provision of Online Education," by Linda Cavalluzzo , states that virtual schooling can benefit students because "the web-based classroom can cross geographic lines, it means a high-quality teacher and curriculum will be available to all students, regardless of their economic status." Yet another win for virtual schools being able to level the playing field!
I am definitely going to order this book and check out what all the author has to say!
http://www.cna.org/news/releases/WebFeature-050629.aspx
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3 comments:
The book looks like an interesting resource. Thank you for posting the link.
Wendy
THIS COMMENT WAS TO GO WITH YOUR CUSTOMER SERVICE POSTING:
How interesting that the school is set up in a corporate fashion, and that it is set up in a "customer service" model. My host teacher shared very similar information about the number of credits each teacher is expected to teach in a school year-120. I did not know that teachers were on annual contracts, though.
Here are some thoughts on funding, diversity of schools, and the learning gap. I do agree that virtual schools allow students to bridge the gap, since funding is not based on area economics. There could still be a gap, though, and that would be possibly based on socio-economic status, or family situations. What about the student who wants to attend a virtual school, but does not have a computer or internet access at home? What if the family is not able or willing to join in the partnership with the school and the student? For science, what if the student cannot afford to purchase lab materials required by some courses? My host teacher and I were discussing this last question today. She told me that the middle school science courses require students to purchase materials and do labs at home. Sometimes a parent confides that they cannot afford or find the materials. The teacher would have to make the call on what to do in that situation.
March 24, 2008 11:48 AM
I beleive virtual schools can help bridge gaps, but from what I see locally that is not happening. The issue isn't varying access at home, but selective access at school. Students are selected to take virtual courses for credit recovery. The students have set times some during and some after the regular school day. The number of students given the opportunity to take virtual classes is small. For some of the courses students do not have the option of working on the program at home. I spoke with some of the students participating and found that many still feel like they are in a classroom/lab and the attitudes and some distractions from the regular classroom still exist.classroom
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