Using Online Courses to Meet Student Needs Presenters: Jill Gurtner - 21st Century eSchool and Clark Street Community School Principal Kim Gauen- 21st Century eSchool Counselor (K-12)

MCPASD Online Program Background Individual online courses offered to Middleton High School students as credit recovery options and/or as supplements to their building schedule Full-time K-12 online school (21st Century eSchool) started in Fall 2010 to keep families from open enrolling to other programs and provide an alternative to homeschooling In Fall 2014, hired a full-time K-8 blended learning teacher and began incorporating more blended options at all grade levels for both full-time and part-time online students

Important Terms Full-time online students: Taking the majority of their courses online with up to two brick and mortar classes Part-time online students: Enrolled full-time at a brick and mortar school and taking up to two online courses Blended learning: Face-to-face learning opportunities for students in online classes

MCPASD Current Online Options Full-time online enrollment in grades K-12 through 21st Century eSchool Students can take up to two classes in a district brick and mortar school, space available Open classroom staffed all-day, everyday for students to come work on their online courses, access content support (typically serves grades 6-12) K-8 enrichment classes taught by blended learning teacher Face-to-face access to most online teachers for additional academic support Part-time online enrollment through MCPASD brick and mortar schedule Any high school student can take up to two online courses as part or in addition to their schedule K-8 students approved for online courses on a case by case basis; typically used to address medical, IEP-related or enrichment needs K-8 Blended learning teacher provides additional support/programming as needed

Examples of Blended Programming 4th graders needing 6th grade math using the CPM curriculum and connecting across buildings Weekly Science and Writing enrichment for full-time online students grades 1-6 Transitioning non-attending, high-anxiety students back into a building Intervention/Additional support for students falling behind in online classes “Boot Camp” course for students to recover freshman credit for graduation Math content taught through combination of online and face-to-face

Advantages More opportunities for differentiation and personalized learning Increased student and family engagement Provides additional options to address systemic inequities Ability to pilot on a smaller scale before large scale implementation; utilize inspiration and expertise of interested educators right away Continued incorporation of proven blended learning techniques into regular classroom settings

Challenges in District-Wide Expansion Student:teacher ratio for full-time program much lower than brick and mortar classrooms State-mandated instructional time and curriculum standards Staff understanding of online options/programming/curriculum; consistent language and messaging Staffing and space logistics Incorporating additional flexibility for some students while maintaining equitable expectations

Our Responses to Barriers Barrier: Implementation with higher staff/student ratios Start small with teachers who are excited about the work and give them the permission to try things, knowing that there will be some struggle Barrier: State-mandated instructional time and curriculum standards Understand which policies are state-mandated versus local to see where there may be some flexibility Barrier: Staff Awareness and consistent messaging Establish a clear vision and/or goal(s) related to how blended learning options will be used to encourage student success Ensure school leadership is involved and/or aware of this conversation and in addition, establish a person/space/team interested staff can contact for ideas and support Barrier: Equity and flexibility within a larger, structured setting Have intentional conversations at both a district and local level about student access to nontraditional blended options, especially when decisions are case-by-case

Lessons Learned Online classes require stronger skills than brick and mortar classes in areas such as time management, self-advocacy, self-motivation and problem solving Foreshadow with students/families, provide structured opportunities for access to support, plan for consistent progress monitoring Create initial guidelines in order to make informed exceptions Determine the purpose for providing this option to students (find initial success, meet medical need, student-selected enrichment, etc). If students do not meet published expectations, how are exceptions made within the spirit of the initial purpose? Establish a system/process that ensures exceptions and denied exceptions are equitable. Some projects and attempts at a new blended option will flourish but many will crumble. This is normal and a crucial part of the process. Teachers/staff need to feel “safe” in order to take meaningful risks.

Contact Information Jill Gurtner- Principal Kim Gauen- Counselor Wendy Ripp- Teacher