A possible solution for Tennessee Virtual Academy?

As a consultant in the virtual school world, and a strong proponent of the concept of virtual learning, I am fascinated with the debate now going on here in Tennessee -- should Tennessee Virtual Academy (TNVA) be closed due to poor performance, or does it merit more time to demonstrate gains?

Oh sure, the overall issue at hand right now is the furtherance of the virtual school bill authored by Tennessee Sen. Dolores Gresham (R) to extend the Tennessee Virtual Schools Act to 2019. But, make no mistake, the real issue at hand is the fate of TNVA and K12.

The lines have been drawn. On February 15, Tennessee Rep. Joe Pitts (D) penned an editorial Time for Tennessee Virtual Academy to go -- probably guessing you can determine his stance on it.

Then, not to be outdone, on February 26, Cathy Berg, parent leader of the Tennessee chapter of PublicSchoolOptions.org, offered a rebuttal: Pitts is wrong about Virtual Academy.

Rep. Pitts seems to take issue primarily with the idea of a for-profit company running a public school -- ". . ., it is the structure and profit-taking by this company (K12) that is failing." In addition, he states, "Furthermore, there are now some who want to allow for-profit companies to operate charter schools in our state. Not a good idea."

Pitts also lays out the core of what is going on here. If TNVA, which has scored a "1" for the first three years of its existence (on a scale of 1-5 with "1" being worst performing), can score a "3" or higher then they obtain a reprieve for one year. If not, then they may have to close their doors -- barring any special legislative or legal actions to keep them open.

On the other side of the spectrum, Ms. Berg, who has one child in TNVA, says TNVA is actually now "one of the fastest-improving schools in the state." She then proceeds to try and offer additional counterpoints to Pitts' argument for closure.

So far from what I have seen the disputation is a Yes-No offering: Should TNVA be closed? Yes, or No.

My thought is what if a different question was asked? What if the Tennessee Legislature offered an opportunity for TNVA to remain open if they sought out another provider of services, removing K12 from the equation? Just something to consider for those wanting to put the students first.

Or, perhaps TNVA can demonstrate true academic progress by scoring a "3" this year and negating this parley altogether.

More to come on this.

houston@figment-consulting.com

Houston, K12, Inc. has a problem.

A few months ago I suggested that if K12's management agreement with Agora Cyber (PA) was severed their stock would drop into the $12-13 range (if not more). I checked prior to writing this and their stock was $11.34 per share.

K12 has a problem.

I'm not talking about their well-documented academic struggles. Nor am I talking about the fact they struggled last year to increase student enrollments. And, no I am not talking about their ongoing retention issues. Those problems are all symptoms of the core issue.

Sometimes doctors understand if you treat the symptoms the patient will "feel" better even though the core illness remains. Unfortunately companies tend to do the same thing -- let's work on correcting the symptoms. The problem - they tend to ignore the true illness and they wonder why the symptoms continue to occur.

K12's problem is their attention is on the symptoms -- academic struggles, enrollment stagnation, high attrition rates, teacher instability, board relationship issues, revenue generation, etc. -- and they are ignoring the core illness.

Until they turn their attention to the core, these symptoms will continue. Small victories will mask the main issue yet they will convince themselves their efforts are working - if only given more time. As more time passes though, the symptoms will remain, even grow.

houston@figment-consulting.com

Is blended learning the answer?

iNACOL Symposium 2014 begins tomorrow and the schedule appears to be heavy-laden with sessions around the concept of blended learning -- part-time classroom, part-time online (though it actually has multiple definitions and variations).

It appears to be taking the reigns from virtual with projections stating that 50% of all high school courses will be delivered online by 2019.

Is blended learning the answer?

houston@figment-consulting.com

Measuring quality in blended and online learning

A friend passed along a blog to me that shared some initial insights into how educators measure the quality of blended and online learning programs. The blog is published by an online curriculum and services provider.

It was an interesting read, but it did forget to state how the provider and the districts they serve measure up to the standards identified by the educators in this survey. And, I will also bypass the nuance of it being an "annual" survey when the provider itself just launched earlier this year. Instead I want to focus on the results of the survey of educators.

When specifically asked how educators gauge the quality of an online or blended course, following were the top four responses:

·         The student has high attendance and active participation in the course.   

·         The student scores at or above the level of other similar students on end of year standardized tests.

·         The student passes the course.

·         The student re-enrolls in other online courses after completing the current online course.

One of the main issues with the current virtual school model is attendance and participation. Attrition rates approaching 40-50% within the academic year seem to undermine this first response and causes one to wonder how well the virtual schools are measuring up on this one.

Currently, virtual schools are not performing well on state tests compared to their brick-and-mortar counterparts. Simply Google this topic and you will quickly see the results.

Students passing the course is quite difficult to ascertain without inside knowledge on each school. However, retention rates from year-to-year continues to be a struggle for most virtual schools and they must constantly find new students to replace those who have departed.

What this means is, by all accounts, the current model is broken because very few are measuring up to the quality standards identified by educators.

It's time to re-imagine virtual schools. It's time to build something truly remarkable instead of continually attempting to apply a fresh coat of paint to cover up the decay.

It is also time to take a survey of parents and students to determine what their quality standards would be, and determine if current virtual schools are meeting them.

houston@figment-consulting.com

95% satisfaction equals 30-40% attrition rate in virtual schools?

In a 2013 Parent Satisfaction Survey conducted by Connections Academy, the results are as follows:

* 96% of parents agree that the curriculum is of high quality
* 94% of parents agree their children are satisfied with the program
* 95% of parents are satisfied with teachers' helpfulness
* 94% of parents are satisfied with the variety of learning activities
* 92% of parents would recommend Connections Academy to other parents
* 94% of parents agree that our technology tools improve their child's learning experience

Not to be outdone, K12, offers the following:

* 97% of K12 parents say their student has benefited academically from the K12 curriculum
* 96% of K12 parents say their student has benefited academically from attending their K12 school

And yet, with all of these high marks, 30-40% of students leave these schools each year (in some cases the percentage is much higher). For Connections Academy, the overall real numbers are smaller because they serve less students nationally, but the story remains the same - evidently high satisfaction numbers equals high atrrition rates.

The current model is not working. It's time to re-imagine virtual.

houston@figment-consulting.com

An early bird, a worm, and virtual learning

The well-known saying goes, An early bird catches the worm.

And while I know the meaning behind the phrase, I have often wondered about the worm. He too got up early and look what it cost him.

It's about perspective, and it's all relative really in that it is reference dependent. If you are the bird, well, rising early might prove beneficial. However, if you are the worm, perhaps there is validity in sleeping late.

When it comes to virtual schools, too many times we build them from one perspective -- starting inward and looking out. I recently read a blog post titled The Top Five Attributes for Online and Blended Learning that mirrors this inward-outward perspective and provides a glimpse of why virtual learning is falling short of its original promise.

In the post it posits that rigorous and engaging curriculum, tracking student progress, teacher availability for intervention, training and clear expectations for the students, and well-trained instructors able to deliver the online courses are the five most important attributes for success.

It all sounds great, and I am sure Fuel Education has the products for each of these attributes, however they are all from the bird perspective, and they forget about the worm.

Show these to educators and it would be hard not to agree with them. Show them to students and I wonder if the reply would be the same.

Or, perhaps the students would see them as good reasons to sleep late.

It is time to re-imagine virtual.

houston@figment-consulting.com

In virtual education, the teachers still matter most.

I was asked the other day what I thought was an appropriate student/teacher ratio in virtual schools. The short answer is "I do not know." However, I am not sure that is the right question overall, or at least the one we need to focus all of our attention on.

The real issue virtual schools must understand is the vital, the critical role teachers play in the world of virtual education. Irregardless if the teachers are providing the daily instruction or seeing their students face-to-face, that relationship between the student and their teacher(s) is still the most important component.

So, rather than discuss ratios, I suggest we ask questions more related to ways we can equip, support, and empower the teachers to serve the students.

Let's equip the teachers with the tools they need to interact and engage with students in order to develop the types of relationships where students can perform to their best.

Let's support the teachers with the initial and ongoing training required to excel in the world of virtual education. It's a different way of life than brick and mortar, and it should include more than just the normal professional development that one finds in schools. Relating to students and supporting students in a virtual environment is quite different than the traditional counterparts.

And, do not forget the practical support to give them the time to be a teacher.

Let's empower the teachers to fulfill their role. The curriculum, the lessons, the online tools, are all nice and necessary, but let's provide the teachers the authority to guide, to adapt, and to inspire the learning that should occur.

Virtual education has a place, and teachers still matter most.

houston@figment-consulting.com