North American Council for Online Learning © 2008 North American Council for Online Learning All rights reserved. Lessons Learned: The Virtual High School Global Consortium Model Liz Pape Virtual High School Global Consortium

© 2008 North American Council for Online Learning All rights reserved. North American Council for Online Learning About VHS: Overview and History A non profit global consortium of over 500 high schools offering innovative online courses Currently in 12th year of online course delivery Originally funded by the Federal DOE through a 7.8M tech. grant – five years of research & development,

© 2008 North American Council for Online Learning All rights reserved. North American Council for Online Learning About VHS zIn 30 stateszAnd 39 countries

© 2008 North American Council for Online Learning All rights reserved. North American Council for Online Learning VHS Leadership & Recognition Accredited by Middle States Commission USDLA 21 st Century Best Practices Award 2005, 2007 and 2008 USDLA Best Practices K-12 Course 2005 and 2008 Blackboard Course Content Award 2005 & 2007 NCTET Community Builder Award 2004 Stockholm Challenge 2001 Award

© 2008 North American Council for Online Learning All rights reserved. North American Council for Online Learning The VHS Model zVHS’s global consortium model – partnership with high school in online education ycooperate, not compete ySupplement, not supplant zPreparing classroom teachers to teach online &/or develop online courses yMember school classroom teachers in TLC/NIM yOnline design standards and online delivery standards z21 st century skills development yTeaching skills for both classroom and online yLearning skills through virtual global classrooms zAccountability – hard data points and survey input

© 2008 North American Council for Online Learning All rights reserved. North American Council for Online Learning What VHS students learn Content/curriculum Access to courses not otherwise available Information literacy skills Online collaboration Online teams and group projects Multimedia presentation skills Critical thinking, project-based learning Global citizenship skills Extending the learning experience beyond the classroom walls Online discussions with students of different cultures

© 2008 North American Council for Online Learning All rights reserved. North American Council for Online Learning Lessons Learned: A Critical Funding Model Transition Grant funding ended : VHS incorporates as non-profit and maintains staff and services Critical mass of remaining grant-funded schools Shorter training and membership cycle through NIM Noyce Foundation funding to support incorporation and development of NIM VHS business model Membership fees-based Schools share in costs of delivering courses through cooperative VHS model Acceptance by teachers unions

© 2008 North American Council for Online Learning All rights reserved. North American Council for Online Learning About VHS: Administration & Policy Cooperative model fosters new models of teacher management Site coordinators as valuable school resources for online students Policy development and implementation supports cooperative model Teacher expectations and probation policies Student discipline and AUPs Registration policies Grading and IEP policies

© 2008 North American Council for Online Learning All rights reserved. North American Council for Online Learning Administration and Policy: VHS Program Evaluation Annual Program Evaluation tied to mission statement and annual goals Review and validation of VHS Quality Program Indicators Review of customer surveys: teachers, site coordinators, students, principals and superintendents Review of school, course and teacher data to identify programmatic issues

© 2008 North American Council for Online Learning All rights reserved. North American Council for Online Learning Quality Program Indicators  Course Quality  Professional Development  Program Services

© 2008 North American Council for Online Learning All rights reserved. North American Council for Online Learning Course Quality Measures zAP pass rates: 66% zAP exam take rates:73% zCourse completion rates: 79% zCredit recovery rate (summer):63% zSatisfaction with VHS course quality: y92% superintendents y100% principals y98% Site Coordinators zCourse features, teacher satisfaction: y92%: engagement in course work y78%: collaborative learning y97%: 21 st century skills development

© 2008 North American Council for Online Learning All rights reserved. North American Council for Online Learning Professional Development Measures zProfessional development grad rate: 91% z1 st -semester teacher success rate: 87% z% of all teachers remaining with mentor: 5% zSatisfied with VHS professional development y99% principals zApplying VHS pedagogy to f2f teaching y79% teachers

© 2008 North American Council for Online Learning All rights reserved. North American Council for Online Learning Program and Services Measures zMembership retention rates: 84%(07/08) 88%(3-yr cumulative) zCourse seat utilization: 85% zSatisfaction with electronic communications: yTeachers: 99%, SCs: 96% zWebsite yTeachers: 97%, SCs: 98% zNewsletter/Annual Report ySuperintendents: 86%/68% yPrincipals: 78%/79% yTeachers: 79%/54% ySCs: 84%/54%

© 2008 North American Council for Online Learning All rights reserved. North American Council for Online Learning VHS Growth Indicators

© 2008 North American Council for Online Learning All rights reserved. North American Council for Online Learning Lessons Learned: Administration and Policy Proactive development of VHS policies Included in VHS teacher and SC training Incorporation into VHS Faculty website Measure and evaluate against mission and goals

© 2008 North American Council for Online Learning All rights reserved. North American Council for Online Learning Outcomes and Lessons Learned Proactive development of VHS policies Included in VHS teacher and SC training Incorporation into VHS Faculty website Measure and evaluate against mission and goals

© 2008 North American Council for Online Learning All rights reserved. North American Council for Online Learning Outcomes and Lessons Learned

© 2008 North American Council for Online Learning All rights reserved. North American Council for Online Learning Outcomes and Lessons Learned

© 2008 North American Council for Online Learning All rights reserved. North American Council for Online Learning Outcomes and Lessons Learned

© 2008 North American Council for Online Learning All rights reserved. North American Council for Online Learning Outcomes and Lessons Learned

© 2008 North American Council for Online Learning All rights reserved. North American Council for Online Learning Outcomes and Lessons Learned

© 2008 North American Council for Online Learning All rights reserved. North American Council for Online Learning Best Practices Focus on online pedagogy, not online tools Focus on standards Model-the-model teacher preparation format Site-based support for online students Partnership with member schools Preparing students for online courses Pre-enrollment survey Student orientation Communications with membership

© 2008 North American Council for Online Learning All rights reserved. North American Council for Online Learning Future Plans Accreditation improvement plan Increased content knowledge and online navigational skills through increases in course completion rates Increased participation in VHS program services and increased satisfaction with VHS program quality

North American Council for Online Learning © 2008 North American Council for Online Learning All rights reserved. Thanks for your interest! Questions or comments? Liz Pape,