New program could help raise enrollment, funding at local
schools
It’s the daydream of many tech-savvy teens sitting in class: take your classes from the comfort of home, attend class when you want and get credit for it.
And it soon may be an option for some Morgan Hill School District students.
“Here’s an opportunity for students to take classes on the Web; it’s good for all kinds of academic issues,” Superintendent Alan Nishino told school district trustees during a meeting Monday. “This would be valuable for home schooling programs, to give students more opportunities to take the classes they need…. And it’s an alternative, it is not made for everybody, just as traditional education is not. One thing I’ve learned… there is no silver bullet. We need to find different ways to reach different kids so that we can reach every kid.”
The program also would encourage more students to return to the district from private and home school programs, Nishino said, and make it easier for students involved in extracurricular activities such as athletics and the arts to take electives during their academic careers.
The online classes would cost the district $350 per class, per student and would be offered to students in grades 7 through 12. The classes would include basic and advanced courses in English, different math disciplines such as algebra, geometry, calculus, science classes and foreign languages. The company which runs the program, Advanced Academics, offers 75 course selections.
The program would also offer students access to teachers online 24-hours a day.
“We have 20 teachers sitting in a cubicle in Oklahoma City working with students one-on-one online, that’s the key separator,” said Tom Davis of Advanced Academics, the company which hosts the program.
The teachers who work with the program all have California teaching certificates, Davis said. The students and their courses would be coordinated through a chosen “lead teacher” from the Morgan Hill School District. Likewise, the program can be customized to meet the district’s specific needs, Davis said.
“Some teachers would like to be able to tweak a platform, would like the opportunity to put their own two cents in, well, they have the capability to do that now,” he said.
If the district decides to offer the program, policies on how to administer the program would need to be created.
“We will have discussions with the principals to determine which schools are interested….,” Nishino said Tuesday. “If there is a high level of interest, we will proceed with implementation.”
Initially, the opportunity to take classes online likely would not be offered to all 7th through 12th graders, but only those who have specific needs for the flexibility or students who are recommended by their teachers or counselors.
If a student participating in extracurricular activities is having difficulty fitting other electives into their schedule, the online program could be helpful.
The online program could also help the estimated 100 seniors who have not passed the Exit Exam with a six-week course designed to prepare students for the test. If seniors do not pass the Exit Exam, they will not graduate.
The program also would allow the district 30 days to substitute other students into the program if the original student wasn’t attending class or performing well.
“We monitor the students closely, and we follow up if they are not progressing,” Davis said. “We can usually tell within the first week or two of the course whether this is going to be a good fit for a student.”
The district would also have to create a system to ensure students do not cheat while taking online exams. One solution could be creating a computer testing station at school sites, Nishino said.
“We’ll have to look at how this would be set up,” Nishino said. “If there is an interest, we can put something together.”
Marilyn Dubil covers education and law enforcement for The Times. Reach her at (408) 779-4106 Ext. 202 or at md****@mo*************.com.
