Page 27 - THE Journal, March 2017

Improving Engagement
The nation’s two largest operators of virtual charter schools, K12 Inc. and Connections Education, say comparisons between the achievement of virtual charter school students and their peers in traditional schools is difficult because of the high mobility rate of online students. They
also say they tend to educate a more challenging population of students, many of whom turn to virtual schools after struggling academically in a traditional classroom setting.
“Students often enroll in our schools
to solve a problem,” said Peter Robinson, senior vice president of school operations for Connections Education, now owned by Pearson. Once the problem is resolved, he said, a student might return to his or her traditional school. Research also suggests the simple act of changing schools can result in a temporary dip in achievement, he said — and this effect is “amplified” by moving from a traditional to a virtual school.
learn from each other.
Both companies also have worked
to improve the on-boarding process for students and parents, so participants know what is expected of them.
For instance, K12 offers both personalized and group on-boarding experiences to make sure students can log in to the software, understand their daily schedule and know how to reach out to their teacher for help. For students who fail to engage, K12 has developed a new intervention program called FAST, which stands for Family and Academic Support Team. It consists of wraparound services provided by support personnel such as advisors and social workers.
“We have developed a plan to get students on track and keep them on track,” said Mary Gifford, senior vice president
of education, policy and external affairs
at K12. The company piloted FAST last year and rolled it out to all K12-run virtual schools this academic year, and Gifford
Mathematica studies. Making matters worse, controversies over the management of some online schools have fueled criticism of the virtual charter school industry.
Just last year, for instance, K12 reached a multimillion-dollar settlement with the California attorney general’s office over allegations that it manipulated attendance records, engaged in false advertising
and overstated the academic progress
of students. (K12 did not admit to any wrongdoing as part of the settlement.) And virtual charter schools in Ohio recently faced scrutiny for allegedly inflating student attendance records to earn more than
$83 million in state funding for students who did not complete enough work to be considered full-time.
Last June, the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, the 50-State Campaign for Achievement Now and the National Association of Charter School Authorizers (NACSA) issued several policy recommendations to help states
When students have had continuity in a virtual school program, Robinson said, they frequently excel. “It’s unfair to lump all virtual school students together in terms of performance,” he noted.
When students have had continuity in
a virtual school program, Robinson said, they frequently excel. “It’s unfair to lump all virtual school students together in terms of performance,” he noted.
Still, Connections Education and K12 both recognize the need for better student engagement in online learning — and the two companies have been taking steps in the last few years to improve in this area.
“One of the most important things we do is make sure students and teachers
have a voice conversation early on in the learning process,” Robinson said. “There is nothing like having a personal relationship with a teacher.” He said Connections has stepped up its training for teachers as well, providing more opportunities for them to
said the program is producing results. “It’s not inexpensive, but it’s definitely worth the investment,” she said.
In addition, both companies rely heavily on data to identify struggling students and get them the extra help they need. “Our schools swim in data,” Robinson said, noting that teachers use this information to understand how — and when — to intervene with more personalized, one-on-one instruction as needed.
Greater Scrutiny
K12 and Connections Education say they have taken these measures as part of an overall focus on continuous improvement. But these changes come amid increased scrutiny in the wake of the CREDO and
hold full-time virtual charter schools more accountable for student results.
Among their recommendations: States should consider establishing
criteria for enrollment in full-time virtual charter schools based on factors proven necessary for success, such as self-motivated students and highly engaged parents.
States should require full-time virtual charter school applicants to propose and justify a price per student in their charter applications, based on the real costs of full- time online instruction.
States should fund full-time virtual charter schools based on some measures of performance.
Greg Richmond, president and CEO of NACSA, also urged authorizers to
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