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School Districts Team Up on Virtual Ed. Initiatives

March 13, 2012 By Leave a Comment

As school districts begin to tackle the overwhelming task of starting a virtual school, many of them are looking to their neighbors for support.

Banding together in multidistrict virtual learning collaborations helps member districts pool resources, increase purchasing power, and share best practices as they launch and support online learning for their students.

“Why re-create the wheel?” asks John Jacobs, the director of online learning for the Wisconsin eSchool Network, based in Webster village. The network, which began in 2002 as a collaboration between two districts—the Appleton and Kiel school districts—in the state, now serves 12 districts and has become its own nonprofit organization.

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Enrollment drops by 65 at Two Rivers schools

October 18, 2011 By Leave a Comment

The most notable change in this year’s enrollment is the increase in Two Rivers students attending virtual schools through open enrollment, Fredrikson said. That number increased from 26 in 2010-11 to 31 this year, a 19 percent increase.

Because of that increase, the district is looking into providing virtual learning through Cooperative Educational Service Agency 9, possibly as early as second semester of this school year, in an attempt to keep more students enrolled in the district, according to Fredrikson.

A total of 65 residents of the Two Rivers district are attending school elsewhere through open enrollment, while 52 students from other districts are enrolled in Two Rivers schools, according to the chart. That compares with 51 residents who attended elsewhere last year and 63 students who came to Two Rivers from other districts.

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Community Partners Come Together to Inspire More Reading

October 2, 2011 By Leave a Comment

ABOUT FAMILY LITERACY OF RACINE

Family Literacy of Racine is a social service/education non-profit providing multiple programs/services for City of Racine families. Its mission is: “Investing in Family and Community: Read, Lead, Learn, Succeed!” Its family literacy program provides English as a 2nd Language classes, Pre-GED, and GED classes for adults; afterschool programming for children 6-14, and a preschool for children 0-6. Through the Family Smart/Kid Friendly Collaboration, home visitation/parenting education are available to at-risk families, as well as parent education classes to high risk families. A third program, Girls Inc., provides empowerment classes to girls 6-18 years old, through afterschool programming at 5 RUSD grade schools and 2 middle schools. Family Literacy’s goal is to break the cycle of intergenerational poverty through comprehensive, integrated family education services.

ABOUT GIRLS INC.

Girls Incorporated is a national non-profit youth organization dedicated to inspiring all girls to be strong, smart, and bold. With roots dating to 1864, Girls Inc. has provided vital educational programs to millions of American girls, particularly those in high-risk, under-served areas. Today, innovative programs help girls confront subtle societal messages about their value and potential, and prepare them to lead successful, independent, and fulfilling lives.

ABOUT RACINE LITERACY COUNCIL

The Racine Literacy Council is a volunteer-based organization that provides adult literacy programs in Racine County and works to bring awareness to the community about the importance and impact of literacy. Their primary focus is working with adults who want to learn English as a second language and/or to improve literacy skills.

ABOUT RACINE UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT

With approximately 21,000 students, Racine Unified School District (RUSD) is the fourth largest school district in the state of Wisconsin. RUSD has 21 elementary schools including three magnet elementary schools, seven middle schools including two magnet and one charter middle school, and six high schools including one magnet and one charter high school. RUSD provides students rigorous academics and strong programming in the fine arts, foreign language, school-to-career, physical education, technology and other electives. The District also offers virtual learning opportunities for middle and high school students. The District is proud of the success that it creates for all of the students they serve, and proud of its mission to educate every student to succeed.

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State officials call Oshkosh charter school a model for other districts

September 25, 2011 By Leave a Comment

“I want to express how important J. Shapiro Lab School has been in our efforts to start and sustain high functioning charter schools of which I consider Shapiro to be near the top of the list of some 237 charter schools in the state,” Barry Golden, charter school consultant with the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, wrote in a recent letter to the school’s leaders.

The recognition comes at a time when cash-strapped school districts, including Oshkosh, are racing to brand themselves as destination places for students and families looking for the best education in an arena made increasingly competitive by open enrollment, charter schools, virtual learning and voucher programs.

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Wisconsin students benefit from state’s only public high school Hebrew classes

May 2, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Unlike more popular language choices, Nicolet’s Hebrew classes don’t offer the ability to learn a language spoken by residents of emerging financial markets. They’re not studying a language that is gaining dominance in the United States or the world.

Still, because of the rarity of the language that they study — the only other public high school to offer Hebrew, Northern Ozaukee’s Wisconsin Virtual Learning, enrolled no students in the course this year — Nicolet’s students say they receive special treatment.

“I think, for one thing, it’s a really unique language to learn — it’s so different,” said Sarah Rosenthal, a 14-year-old freshman.

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Parents add more ideas for Merrill School Board

February 13, 2011 By Leave a Comment

“I know that there will have to be some cuts,” said Stevenson, “but I want to minimize those cuts and we can do that but we have to be creative about how we’re going to do it.”

Some of their ideas include moving the administrative building into one of the other schools, so the building can be used for storage, and consolidating training equipment for the middle and high schools. They also want the board to consider virtual learning options,. where teachers could split time between nearby districts.

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New Legislature may mean new options for local schools

January 19, 2011 By Leave a Comment

More choices

Sen. Luther Olsen, R-Ripon, and Rep. Steve Kestell, R-Elkhart Lake, the new chairmen of the Legislature’s education committees, want to remove the cap on virtual charter school enrollment. Olsen also wants to expand virtual learning opportunities within brick-and-mortar schools to let students progress at their own pace.

“We want to give students more choices to be successful,” Olsen said. “If they can get done faster than the old model, let’s let them move on.” The leaders also want to look at expanding Milwaukee Parental Choice, the state’s only private school voucher program, which Vos and Darling said last week they support.

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Virtual school advocates call for removal of enrollment cap

December 3, 2010 By Leave a Comment

An virtual learning advocacy group thinks the enrollment cap for virtual schools restricts school choice and says the open enrollment period is too short, according to a statement from the group released Thursday.

The Wisconsin Coalition of Virtual School Families is calling for a change to those policies in early 2011, before the open enrollment period in February.

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Virtual virtuosos

October 15, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Teaching without being able to see a student’s puzzled face or immediately answer a question can be a challenge even for a veteran of the education profession.

And, when that environment is a virtual school, tackling the technological proficiency requirements can be a hurdle, as well.

“You have to be very creative with the technology and your lesson presentation,” said Trina Michalsen, who teaches language arts and math to middle schoolers at the Northern Ozaukee School District’s Wisconsin Virtual Learning school.

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Group’s ideas for Durand schools opposed

July 23, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Phase two centered mostly around switching as much coursework as possible to online, and possibly using an online provider such as K-12 Inc. to integrate such a program.

Optional early graduation for students deemed qualified by parents and staff was another suggestion to trim costs.

Ann Oberding, a high school art teacher in Durand, said she understands the value of virtual learning – as her school does offer online classes – but maintained the citizens group proposal was just an attempt to cut teachers. “Everything comes down to finances, and that is the wrong approach.”

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