Virtual School Consultant Project

Tennille Wilkens
Due: November 25, 2014
Professor: Allen Grant

Introduction

Hello my name is Tennille Wilkens. I am a consultant of DeKalb County Public School

System in Atlanta, GA. I would like for the school district to consider the factual
information provided so that the proper execution of a virtual program is underway. Below
I will develop recommendations for the structure and implementation of a new virtual
school as well as the current standing of online schools in the United States.

About Virtual Schools in the U.S.

Virtual education is quickly becoming a favorable option for many students across the United
States. See below a mapping of the schools that are favorable to online education. Many feel that
this is a great way to improve the effectiveness of education. Those that are in favor of this style
of education believe that it allows each student to have individualized opportunities. Hence, the
No Child Left Behind Act learning anytime, anywhere. Virtual schooling can be in the form of
an extension to the physical location by offering online courses to supplement the classes at the
school, blended, or an option for an auxiliary full-time program. Blended learning provides
virtual and in-class instruction, while an auxiliary full-time program students will work
independently. I will examine the important criteria that must be considered when implementing
a virtual school: Funding, authenticity, recommended model, mission, policies, implementation,
course development, and Administration.
Below I would like to include factual information of the prevalence of online schools across
country according to Parents for Choice in Education.

How to obtain funding?

Obtaining funding for these schools have been different from that of a brick and mortar school.
Barbour states that, In the United States, public K-12 education is funded primarily through
local property taxes, along with a variety of federal and state-level funding. These various
sources of money result in a base per student amount that schools receive primarily based on
student enrollment. That means that schools that are operated by the State will receive money
based on the attendance of the students. Other funding is obtained via grants or foundations
while some schools use barter methods by trading teacher led courses to obtain students.
Connections Learning makes an eye opening point, The sources of funding for your program
may change as your offering evolves and grows. Many districts and schools just starting out
apply for grants and one-time funds to finance a part-time program. Full-time online charter
schools are typically state-funded, but of course require charter authorization. For full-time
programs starting from scratch, a good rule of thumb is that they will not fiscally break even for
3 to 5 years. The exact costs associated with operating an online school have yet to come to an
exact figure. There isnt a definite comparison that shows the link between the actual expenses
and the funding allocated to the schools. I have included the following diagram as a brief
description of the differences between Brick and Mortar and Virtual Schools.

How authentic are virtual schools?

Virtual schools house the same accreditation as a Brick and Mortar Schools. In fact, virtual
schools provide the same credits, courses, and grade level placements. Accreditation ensures that
the curriculum meets the national standards and is respected by the community as well as other
schools and colleges. Schools that decide to be participating members of K 12 incorporated,
opt into an AdvancED-accredited corporation meeting the highest standards of educational
management. AdvancED is the parent organization of the North Central Association Commission
on Accreditation and School Improvement (NCA CASI) and the Southern Association of
Colleges and Schools Council on Accreditation and School Improvement (SACS CASI).
AdvancED is dedicated to advancing excellence in education worldwide through accreditation,
research, and professional services. AdvancED is the world's largest education community,
engaging 27,000 public and private schools and districts across the United States and in 65
countries worldwide and educating 15 million students.
Recommended Model for DeKalb County Public Schools
I would like to implement an online school that supports the No Child Left Behind Act, whose
sole purpose is to close achievement gaps of the students. In creating the structure of an online
school in DeKalb County, I have closely examined the virtual online campus of Gwinnett
County, also located in Atlanta, GA. This county has for the past fourteen years helped their
students meet exceptional educational goals for students in grades 4 12. I have not been
successful at finding if this district supports the No Child Left Behind Act. Therefore, I would
like to ensure the model and structure for this school district does in fact support all students K12. Also, I have noticed that most of the virtual schools support middle and high school students.
Alternatively, I would like to embark on a new program that supports elementary school
students. In preparation for anticipated hurdles, perhaps we can enlist sample elementary schools
to participate since there are low findings to support the success for elementary students.
According to research, Florida Virtual Academy is one of the schools that definitely provide
virtual school for elementary students. Each student is to have their own computer, free internet,
supplies, and books. Students are performing very well too, In 2013-2014, students performed
higher than the state average on all four End-of-Course exams (Algebra I 20%; Biology 3%;
Geometry 24%; U.S. History 17%).

Mission
Commit to provide a Supplemental Program that provides exceptional education to the students
of DeKalb County. This program will extend services to students K 12 students by providing
advanced coursework and supplementary services. We value professionalism and the highest
attempt to satisfy all students with a blended learning environment.
Policies
On a State and District level, all schools have to adhere to policies even as an online school. The
Georgia Department of Education develops rules and guidelines for school systems to become
virtually approved.
Here is a link to the important policies as it pertains to virtual schools of Georgia.
Below is a graph showing the areas that are monitored by districts nationwide.
Center for Public Education

Program Implementation
According to Parents for Choice in Education, many supplemental programs are continuously
growing around the United States. See below for interesting figures.

In order for the implementation to be a success, the district has 1 of 2 options. Create a public
virtual school built from bottom up or the district could operate under a charter contract. In fact,
Georgia does support charter schools according to Ballotpedia, The Georgia Charter Schools
Amendment appeared on the November 6, 2012 ballot in Georgia as a legislatively-referred
constitutional amendment, where it was approved. The measure gave the state legislature the
right to create special schools. Both will require a substantial investment of funding and time.
Starting a virtual school from ground up would require many resources and State support. In the
case of implementing a charter school, the process would be less extensive since the processes
are already in place via Gwinnett County Public Schools of Georgia. The only difference in what
the goals are for the school I would like to implement for our district is the service for
kindergarten through twelfth grade. The request for proposals will have this slight difference and
a plan and justification will be provided to support our plan. I feel that the district can start by
assessing the people of the community and learn of their demand of the option of supplemental
learning for elementary students.
In order for this program to be successful we must meet important deadlines and brainstorm
about the following questions before moving forward:

Which courses are needed?

What is the expected performance outcome?
Will we lease or create courses?
How will we fund the courses?
Will the students have to pay for courses outside of their regular classes?
Should the state be involved in the efforts of the school districts?
Will we hire teachers abroad, in-state, out of state?
How skilled should our educators be?
Are we comfortable as a charter school?
Should we invite non-profits, Universities, or other potential investors to fund this
school?

***A full evaluation of the program will be underway, tentatively, upon decisions regarding the program***

Course Development
According to Center for Public Education, Online learning comes from many different sources.
Some examples:
For-profits produce everything from out-of-the-box courseware to a full, planned curriculum
with teachers, tutors, proctored exams literally, a virtual school.
Non-profit companys offer online learning, often with different philanthropic aims in mind, such
as helping at-risk students graduate.
Some state departments of education offer their own courses. For example, Florida Virtual
School offers courses to both Florida students (who do not have to pay) and others outside the
state (who does pay tuition).
Individual districts may buy online software and create their own blended-learning approaches;
they may also develop online coursework of their own.
Depending on the type of school that this district opts into using, the next phase will be
determining the types of courses to provide each of the students. In Georgia, virtual schools are
required to provide all instructional materials necessary for all participating students and
teachers, except those in local teacher-led virtual courses. I feel that our district should provide
all of the instructional materials through their programs. Also, another great point is that online
schools have the option of creating or leasing courses for their students. Interesting options and
all have the possibly of meeting each students academic needs. I think that for the sake of
research this district should lease previously used lessons and compare data to determine this
districts level of performance.

Administration & Teachers

Having dedicated and quality staff members are very important for any educational program.
Virtual education is not the exception to having a less than quality team. With the shortage of
quality teachers for certain subjects, we must be open to outsourcing if need be. Professional
development is an ongoing inclusion of education. With the waves of technology constantly
being introduced, it is important that many of the staff members are up to date with the many
types of advances available. I would recommend that all staff members be evaluated for
effectiveness. Although we can take the same approach as we would in a traditional classroom
setting, feedback is important to help with the ways to adjust for the future. It is important for
educators and other staff members to know that if they are being evaluated, and that their
performance is contingent upon employment. Obviously, professional development will be
offered but we must start holding teachers accountable. Also, investments in infrastructure will
all be of importance to provide a meaningful academically sound education to our students.
Conclusion
Virtual schools would be a great option for this district. We have neighboring counties that have
been actively using this form of education and has proven to be successful. The only difference is
that I would like for us to offer something that has never been done in Georgia, elementary
online schooling. Virtual schools are a great way to provide an asynchronous or synchronous
learning environment that supports all types of students and does not pose a threat to the No
Child Left Behind Act. Research has proven that online schools can provide a great quality of
education for students no matter the demographical circumstances. Although research is still very
fresh and new, it has proven to work, and I suggest that we get involved in conducting our own
success story. If this district does indeed decide to use the ideas of my plan, this district would
allow the students the opportunities to experience education that allows students to engage
anytime, anywhere.

References
Ballotpedia. (2014). Retrieved from:
http://ballotpedia.org/Georgia_Charter_Schools,_Amendment_1_%282012%29
Barbour, M. K. (2012). Virtual schools are more cost-effective compared to traditional, brickand-mortar schools? In K. P. Brady (Ed.), Technology in Schools: Debating Issues in American
Education (pp. 84-90). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Center for Public Education. (2014). Retrieved from:
http://www.centerforpubliceducation.org/Searching-for-the-reality-of-virtual-schools
Connections Learning. Starting your Virtual School. (2014). Retrieved from:
http://www.connectionslearning.com/Libraries/Connections_Learning_PDFs/Virtual_School_Pri
mer.pdf
Florida Virtual School. (2014). Retrieved from: http://www.flvs.net/Parents/Pages/whichoption.aspx
Gwinnett Online Campus. (2014). Retrieved from: http://www.gwinnettonlinecampus.com/
K 12 Inc. (2014). Retrieved from: http://www.k12.com/what-is-k12/accreditation#.VHZMKckemE
Parents for Choice in Education. (2014). Retrieved from:
http://www.choiceineducation.org/policy-and-innovations/innovations-across-the-us/636virtualonline-schools