Turn! Turn! Turn! (To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven)

Educators push for more online options

By LORI HIGGINS FREE PRESS EDUCATION WRITER

   The Michigan Department of Education isn’t waiting for the Legislature to increase online options for students.

   The department released guidelines last month that allow more middle school students to take all classes online and some districts to open more virtual charter schools, among other changes that expand online options.

   The new guidelines are in response to Gov. Rick Snyder’s push for the Legislature to remove rules that cap some online enrollment. Although the MDE has the power to give districts flexibility, the Legislature would need to act to completely remove restrictions. “We agree with the governor that this is a good thing for students,” said Barb Fardell, a manager in the state Office of Educational Improvement and Innovation.

   Online education already is big in the state. The Michigan Virtual High School expanded to nearly 15,000 courses taken from just 100 a decade ago.

   Kimberley McLaren-Kennedy, 17, of West Bloomfield began taking all online classes this year at Avondale Academy in Auburn Hills. She has become a believer in online education.

   “It’ll work for students who have the motivation in themselves and the discipline,” she said. “But if they’re lazy, I don’t think it will work for them.”

KATHLEEN GALLIGAN/Detroit Free Press

   Kimberley McLaren-Kennedy, 17, of West Bloomfield takes all her classes online.

For students in need of options, online is a relief

New class guidelines expected to be a help

By LORI HIGGINS FREE PRESS EDUCATION WRITER

   Allison Williams couldn’t make it through class without having an anxiety attack — a condition so severe she was in danger of dropping out of high school. But two years ago, the Shelby Township teen signed up for a program that allowed her to take her classes online.

   “It was the only way I was able to graduate,” said Williams, 17, who said the cause of the attacks has remained a mystery. The attacks all but disappeared after she began taking classes online from home. This spring, she graduated from Avondale Academy, an alternative school in the Avondale School District.

   The district is one of 171 — out of the 800 districts and charter schools in the state — that already provide expanded options for middle and high school students to take many or all classes online.

   New guidelines are going to make it easier for far more Michigan students to take all or most of their classes online — a response to Gov. Rick Snyder’s push for greater online educational opportunities.

   State law limits students to two online classes a semester, and the districts and charter schools that allow students to take more operate under special waivers from the Michigan Department of Education.

   But those waivers are limited, in most cases only allowing 25% of a school’s population to take all or most classes online. And since 2009, districts that wanted to offer online classes beyond the state limit have had to work through the Genesee Intermediate School District.

   The new guidelines issued July 7 by the MDE allow districts to apply for the waivers. Also new: The state’s 57 intermediate school districts can create virtual charter schools for up to 10% of students who reside in their geographic boundaries. Middle school students would be able to take all or most of their classes online. Districts would be able to offer courses in which 50% of the instruction is online. The process for applying for the waivers would be quicker.

   The MDE already has received a half-dozen applications from districts since the guidelines were issued last month. More applications are on the way, state officials said.

   “We want educators to have the flexibility to reach every student as we reinvent our education system that will allow students to learn any time, any place, any way, and at any pace,” said State Superintendent Mike Flanagan, who, by law, has the authority to issue the waivers.

   In April, Snyder called on the Legislature to remove existing enrollment caps on virtual schools and proposed every child in Michigan who needs — or wants — to take up to two hours of daily online education should be able to receive it.

   Snyder said school districts that embrace online learning, among other alternative methods, make the education system more cost-efficient.

   The Legislature has yet to respond to the proposal, and its action would be necessary to completely remove the existing restrictions and make the waivers unnecessary.

   Michigan falling behind?

   Michigan has a history of leadership in online education, but some people said they fear the state is losing its position as a top player.

   In the late 1990s, the state created the Lansing-based Michigan Virtual University, a nonprofit that runs the Michigan Virtual High School. It hosts online courses for students, teachers and administrators at the K-12 and higher education levels.

   In 2006, graduation requirements were changed to mandate that students take at least one online class or have an online education experience. And in 2009, news laws were enacted allowing for the creation of two K-12 virtual charter schools that teach students from across the state.

   Michael Van Beek, director of education policy at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, a conservative think tank in Midland, said that despite that early leadership, Michigan is slipping behind other states because of the legislative restrictions.

   “It’s based on this old model of how learning happened when a kid was sitting in a particular seat,” said Van Beek, whose policy center issued a report earlier this year on virtual learning. “Students can learn in a variety of different environments.”

   Van Beek said online learning can be a cost-saver for districts , but only in cases where a student is taking a course a district isn’t already offering in a traditional classroom or a course that has been eliminated in the past and is no longer available any other way.

   He said Michigan should be like other states that have more open access to online education.

   Popularity of online programs

   Online programs have been a boon for students across Michigan.

   The Genesee Intermediate School District reports it had 14,447 courses taken in 2010. The ISD works with nine online providers to offer a range of classes for students.

   Some students are gifted and want to take additional coursework. Some students are behind and need to make up credits. In some cases, students take courses not offered by their school or courses that wouldn’t otherwise fit into their schedules. There are students facing pregnancy, illnesses, expulsions or who have difficulty succeeding in a traditional classroom.

   “Any number of real-life situations in children’s lives may cause them to have to be 100% away from the building,” said Beverly Knox-Pipes, assistant superintendent for technology and media services for the Genesee ISD.

   But she said online learning is not the complete answer.

   “Just putting a kid online doesn’t ensure success,” she said.

   The success of the existing programs that operate under state waivers succeed, for the most part, said Barb Fardell, a manager in the state Office of Educational Improvement and Innovation.

   For Kimberley McLaren-Kennedy, 17, a student at Avondale Academy, online classes provide a rare convenience. Not many teachers in a typical classroom will stop and repeat what they’ve said multiple times for students, she said.

   But with online lectures: “You can rewind and listen to what the teacher is saying as many times as you want to.”

   • CONTACT LORI HIGGINS: 313-222-6651 OR LHIGGINS@FREEPRESS.COM  

KATHLEEN GALLIGAN/Detroit Free Press

   Kimberley McLaren-Kennedy, 17, is a student at Avondale Academy, where she takes all her classes online. “You can rewind and listen to what the teacher is saying as many times as you want to,” she said.