online high schools

2011 Was an Inflection Point for Digital Learning

December 26, 2011 By admin Leave a Comment

In November 2010, in his most important speech, Arne Duncan called for more productivity during this ‘new normal’ period of lower revenue. As our second ‘new normal’ year draws to a close, the challenges are numerous but the inflection is clear — the shift to personal digital learning is on and innovations in learning are accelerating! Eleven trends marked 2011:

1. Poverty. The level of challenge was ratcheted up this year as most U.S. schools faced a double whammy of budget cuts and more kids in poverty. Despite heroic efforts, we lost a little ground on the equity front this year.

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Utah could be national education leader

October 16, 2011 By admin Leave a Comment

Utah was listed as having achieved 49 out of the 72 policy metrics tracked by the scorecard. That made it No. 1, in a tie with Wyoming, for the most policy metrics reached by any state. The Beehive State also got credit for partially reaching nine other goals.
Our state is now a national leader i online education. It must maintain and extend that lead.
Many credit the Statewide Online Education Program — passed in the last session and sponsored by Sen. Howard Stephenson and Rep. Brad Daw — for this advance.
But this is no time to get complacent. Education officials and lawmakers need to press forward in 2012 and build on this lead in online learning.
Let’s face it, Utah won’t be able to really catch up to other states with more money and fewer children. What Utah can do is use the foundation of the Statewide Online Education Program to improve, while increasing efficiency and thus cutting costs.
The obvious fact is that education is about transmitting information. And the Internet is incredibly effective and efficient in doing so. Utah must embrace this world-changing technology, and continue to expand online learning. If our leaders and educators display vision, courage and commitment, Utah can, for once, leave other states in the dust in the race to have the nation’s best educational system.

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News Minute: Here is the latest Utah news from The Associated Press

September 13, 2011 By admin Leave a Comment

SANDY, Utah (AP) – The Canyons School District says students statewide have more options now that they have launched a virtual high school that offers 64 online classes. The Salt Lake Tribune reports students will be able to take two credits online this year thanks to Utah Senate Bill 65. That number will increase to six credits by 2016-2017. Murray, Granite and Jordan are among others Utah districts offering online courses.

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Canyons district launches virtual high school

September 12, 2011 By admin Leave a Comment

SANDY, Utah (AP) — Katelyn Krueger is like a lot of other high school students these days — busy.

The Brighton High senior has a full course load, is a competitive snowboarder, captain of her school’s dance company and an intern at a clothing business.

Students like Krueger figure to benefit the most now that Canyons School District has launched the Canyons Virtual High School, according to the Salt Lake Tribune (http://bit.ly/naoohq ).

By taking two of her classes online this year, the 17-year-old will have more time to hit the slopes and prepare to attend the Art Institute of Portland next spring.

Canyons, which opens its virtual doors this fall, is now one of several Utah public school districts — including Murray City, Granite and Jordan — that offer similar online classes.

Canyons will offer 64 classes online.

Karen Sterling, Canyons director of federal and state programs, said online schooling is the future of education.

“There’s been some research out that within the next four years, 40 percent of all high-school credits will be provided online; it is emerging,” Sterling told the Tribune. “A lot of our kids will go on to college. Many of their basic courses in college are online classes, so this is a good way to get them ready for that.”

Utah Senate Bill 65, which passed the 2011 state Legislature, allows online courses to provide students with more options.

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Canyons District offers online high school

September 7, 2011 By admin Leave a Comment

Brighton High senior Katelyn Krueger, like a lot of modern teens, doesn’t have much time on her hands. In addition to taking a full class load, the future fashion designer is a competitive snowboarder, captain of her school’s dance company and an intern at a clothing business.

She’s exactly the type of student Canyons School District had in mind when it launched the Canyons Virtual High School (CVHS), which opens its doors (not real, but figurative ones) this fall.

By taking two of her classes online this year (health and language arts), Krueger will only have to take three classes in each of her final two trimesters within the brick-and-mortar walls of Brighton High School, leaving her time to hit the snowboarding slopes.

She’ll also get to avoid fraternizing with mere 10th-graders.

“I’m way excited, because health is all full of sophomores, and since I’m a senior, this was one reason I really wanted to take it online,” said the Holladay 17-year-old, who plans to attend the Art Institute of Portland after she graduates next spring.

Canyons is one of several public school districts (Murray City, Granite and Jordan are among the others) that will now offer online classes to students in grades 9-12 thanks to Utah Senate Bill 65, which the 2011 Legislature made law to provide students with more options.

Canyons will offer 64 classes online this year, including 13 Advanced Placement courses. This year and next, students will be able to take two credits online; the number of credits will be increased by one each year until 2016-17, when students will be allowed to take six credits online during a school year. CVHS classes are available to students throughout the state, not just those who live in district boundaries.

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Virtual classroom attracts thousands of Utah students

September 7, 2011 By admin Leave a Comment

In the last legislative session Utah lawmakers limited the number of courses that can be taken through Utah’s electronic high school options to no more than two credits a year. Students can also earn no more credits than they would if they were taking a full course load at their local high school. By July of 2012, students who had been using ESH to make up courses that they failed will no longer have the option to do so.

The new law does allow students to utilize online classes being offered in state school districts outside of their home area. The new law does not apply to third party virtual schools, online college courses, or online options the student pays for. To find out more about EHS, the changes created by the new law, and how to look for an accredited online program go you can visit the following websites.

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Online course offerings explode for Utah students

September 6, 2011 By admin Leave a Comment

Through the consortium, which is run by the Salt Lake district, students can choose from more than 120 classes provided by the Utah Electronic High School, online education provider K12, Apex Learning, Brigham Young University or the Florida Virtual School.

The electronic high school classes are free to districts because they’re already funded by the state. The other classes cost districts money, but not $727. The consortium was able to negotiate prices with those vendors, getting the classes for about $500 a credit or less.

The second consortium, Utah Students Connect, also arose from those initial discussions, Grover said. The districts in that consortium — Nebo, Granite, Park City, Davis, Tooele, Jordan and Murray — share resources and won’t lose the $727 when a student takes a class throughConnect.

“We’re trying to provide the most high-quality classes for students but also stop the bleeding, unfortunately, which SB65 does,” said Patrick Colclough, Granite online credit coordinator.

Also, consortia leaders note, students who take online classes offered by their home districts or the electronic high school can take those classes on top of their regular schedules. But if they take online classes from outside providers through SB65, they have to take those classes in lieu of some regular school-day classes. It’s a limit included in the law to keep costs down, Stephenson said.

Though students have, in some cases, only a few more days to register for the online classes by going to their counselors, demand has been mixed.

Grover said Friday about 112 students had signed up through the Utah Education Online Consortium. Counts vary by district in the other consortium with, for example, about 300 students signed up in Granite.

Statewide, as of Thursday, students had signed up for about 136 courses offered by providers outside their districts and charter schools under the state program created by SB65, said Sean Thomas, audit and finance specialist at the state Office of Education.

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Outsourcing education: The rise of virtual schools

August 31, 2011 By admin Leave a Comment

Obama’s Education Secretary Arne Duncan has made no secret of the relationship between cuts and “reforms,” urging school districts to “do more with less.” [2]

In a speech last November 2010 Duncan hailed the example of virtual school Utah Open High School. He stated, “Technology can play a huge role in increasing educational productivity,” adding, “the military calls it a force multiplier.” Urging “better use of online learning, virtual schools, and other smart uses of technology,” he said that educational success requires schools to reduce “wasted time, energy, and money.”

Doing more with less—at least the latter is true. A survey on 20 virtual charters in 14 states indicates the cost of online learning is “roughly half that of traditional public schools” or about $4300, according to a Brookings Institute study. [3]

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Virtual school is a cloudy vision

August 15, 2011 By admin Leave a Comment

If offered through a charter school the education would be publicly funded, as is the case with any charter school. All charter schools are independently run public schools open to any interested students.

Various other parents spoke of their children’s learning disabilities, some disabilities recognized in the school system and others not. They said a virtual school would allow their children to learn at an appropriate pace and in a fitting setting.

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