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The Hamilton City School District is moving its summer school program to an online platform this year, officials said.
The district has piloted a new system of online classes this year through software by Edgenuity, Inc. for students enrolled in HOPE, a credit recovery program, said Nancy Hulshult, assistant principal of Hamilton Freshman School.
A recent study reveals more than 1.2 million students fail to graduate from their high school class each year — costing around $1.8 billion in lost tax revenue annually, an AP article stated.
Lufkin ISD has been working to actively improve test scores and dropout rates through online and blended learning solutions. Through an interactive, online educational program called Edgenuity, Lufkin ISD was able to help more of its at-risk students pass the TAKS Mathematics Test, graduate with their class and stay in school.
Edgenuity, a leading provider of online and blended learning solutions, today announced a new set of middle school courses specifically designed to prepare middle school students for academic and career success. Available this summer for the 2013-2014 school year, the new offering includes Mathematics and English Language Arts (ELA) courses that support the instructional shifts required by the adoption of Common Core State Standards, which emphasize an increased focus on problem-solving and analysis. The Career Explorations course, also part of the new suite, helps students consider potential careers so they can -- with intent -- choose the most appropriate academic path to reach their goal.
More details emerged Thursday about the East Baton Rouge Parish School System's plans for new "Superintendent's Academies," which are alternative schools and programs aimed at students who are behind grade level, have disciplinary problems, or don't learn well in a traditional setting. The academies will include a heavy emphasis on online courses, as well as time with teachers in the classroom.
All of the programs will put a big focus on technology and online learning through systems like Edgenuity. But Brister and Taylor emphasized that doesn't mean the programs will be "teacherless." Brister described it as a "50-50 blend" of in-person instruction time and technology.
Online learning, and massive open online courses (MOOCs) in particular, stand to reshape the landscape in higher ed—perhaps even save it. But what about K-12 schools?
While public education in the U.S. continues to lag behind the world's best educated countries, many administrators, teachers and parents are left to wonder if technology has left them behind. If answers come via online learning, then so be it, but schools are looking for solutions.
Henrico County Public Schools recently was named the grand prize winner in a nationwide video contest sponsored by Edgenuity, a leading provider of online and blended learning solutions. The school district will receive a $5,000 technology grant to extend online and blended learning solution capabilities to additional students.
Henrico County’s winning video (http://www.edgenuity.com/2020visionwinners) addresses the way that technology is driving personalized learning and tailored instruction that bolsters student performance and understanding.
As Southwood High School Principal Jeff Roberts sat next to his fellow principals for a virtual school sales pitch three years ago, he said he couldn’t sign up for the program fast enough. “I remember most of the people in the room being pretty skeptical, but I couldn’t help but get excited about it,” Roberts said of the presentation.
That speaker was a representative from E2020, an online school program used by more than half a million students nationwide. The Scottsdale, Arizona-based company in 2002 and has become the leading provider of online courses for many of the nation’s school districts.
They've built tremendous credibility with their school partners under the E2020 brand, but they've also evolved a great deal from their start as a company that provided video instruction for special student populations - those who had dropped out or literally couldn't make it to school. They wanted a vibrant identity that signaled their aspirations and direction as an organization.
If you want to learn first-hand the way a bill comes about, you go to the Roundhouse in Santa Fe. If you want to see how a movie is produced and directed, you’d go to Hollywood. And if you want to learn how an effective online education is delivered in the second decade of the 21st century, the Rio Rancho Cyber Academy might be the best place to start.
If not, then why would almost three-dozen schools and districts from around the state, plus some from Utah and Arizona, spend two days at the Jackie Road school in the City of Vision? "We’re the venue," Cyber Academy Principal Elaine Manicke said. "We did all the work in New Mexico for Edgenuity."
Online learning provider Edgenuity (formerly E2020) will boost its summer school program by enhancing 185 courses on its roster of Common Core and state standards-aligned curricula. The program, which includes courses covering core curriculum, credit recovery, electives, and state-certified online teaching services, is designed to help schools and districts develop cost-effective summer education programs that meet the needs of students who wish to take advantage of the summer season to catch up or accelerate their academic learning.
DALLAS, OR -- When Dallas School District decided to expand its online class offerings this school year, administrators weren't sure how many students would be interested. With 200 students taking 479 classes, enrollment is one of the many upsides to the new program.
The program, offered through a contract with online school e2020, provides required and elective classes to students in grades 6-12. Classes are taught by certified teachers with a Dallas High teacher assigned to oversee the program, review work and advise students. Those taking e2020 courses have the option of accessing classes at DHS's computer lab or working at home.
"One of the really nice things about this program is that it is really a virtual classroom, where the lessons -- even though they are taped -- actual teachers give them," said Brian Green, an assistant principal at DHS. "We felt it had academic rigor that was comparable to taking an actual class (at a school)."
As online education matures, its audience continues to get younger. One Scottsdale company is at the forefront of that trend, producing Web-based learning tools for students in Grades 6-12, as well as for college students in need of remedial help.
The company, which changed its name last week from e2020 Inc. to Edgenuity Inc., has grown its customer base to more than 7,000 schools nationwide, including those in the Higley and Phoenix Union High School districts.
E2020 has changed its name to Edgenuity and is releasing a new platform for its online and blended-learning programs. The platform, which provides content for core curriculum, elective, advanced placement, credit recovery, and career and technical courses, will be available in the fall.
With tight budgets, it is becoming more difficult to offer a wide variety of courses in schools. Online courses can be an efficient and engaging way to expose students to world languages, career and technical education, Advanced Placement courses, and other electives.
E2020, a provider of online learning solutions, has launched a new career and technical education (CTE) curriculum, Career Pathways, which is a suite of interactive online courses to help high school students gain practical career training leading to industry-recognized certifications in business, health sciences, and information technology.
For the first time in generations, students are finding themselves with an education but without a job. As our schools try to readjust to set students up for life-long success, it’s time we re-thought the role – and the subject matter – of Career and Technical Education (CTE).
Scottsdale, AZ – November 15, 2012 – E2020 Inc., one of the fastest-growing providers of online learning solutions hosted the first-ever Arizona Blended Learning Summit last week, a daylong interactive event designed to elevate the dialogue around online learning in and beyond the state of Arizona.
Scottsdale, AZ – October 30, 2012 – E2020 Inc., one of the fastest-growing providers of online learning solutions, is challenging all middle and high schools that use e2020’s online curriculum to submit their best stories demonstrating how e-learning has improved academic outcomes for their students, teachers, schools or districts. Video entries will be evaluated by a jury panel and a $5,000 technology grant will be awarded to the school or district’s video entry deemed most compelling by the judges. Two runners up will each receive five complimentary individual student licenses of e2020 software, enabling the schools to extend e-learning capabilities to additional students.
Students attending Carpe Diem Collegiate High School and Middle School in Yuma, Ariz., attend class in a blended-learning environment in which they spend half of their time sitting in office-like cubicles, receiving instruction online in their core subject areas. The rest of the time, they are working in small groups in workshops led by subject-specific teachers. Students, who attend school four days a week, have performed better on the Arizona Instrument to Measure Standards exam since 2005, when the school switched to a blended model
A Yuma charter school looks a lot more like an office than a classroom. According to The Hechinger Report, Carpe Diem Collegiate High School and Middle School has 226 pupils who sit a a cubicle with a computer when they go to school and are permitted to move at their own pace. "We're going against hundreds of years of ‘That's the way it's always been done,' " says Chet Crain, the school's dean of students.
The East Baton Rouge Parish School Board on Wednesday gave the green light to an estimated $14.3 million worth of construction work at six of its schools. The board also agreed to selection of E2020, a Scottsdale, Ariz., online company to offer online courses to students who are behind or who are trying to get additional course credits. The board on Wednesday also, without discussion, recommended hiring E2020 to offer middle and high school students select courses online.
In response to the less-than-stellar numbers that have plagued the education system, the Obama administration has set a U.S. college graduation rate goal of 60% by 2020. According to e2020 CEO Sari Factor, there needs to be the consideration of all educational options if that percentage rate is to be reached. “We’ve got to discard the one-size-fits-all mentality in favor of solutions that acknowledge students as individuals,” said Factor.
Through the online courses, "we've really made a dent in the drop-out rate across the county," Franklin said. School districts use the online curriculum from the selected vendor - Education2020 - and their own teachers to form district-specific virtual programs, Franklin said. At the start, about 500 students completed up to 2,000 courses through the network. Last year, more than 7,000 students accessed and completed at least 20,000 courses, he said.
8/3/2012, By Hiten Samtani, New York Times - "School Book" blog
Federal officials have promoted the widespread adoption of Common Core curriculum standards with the claim that its focus on critical thinking will benefit students. While that remains to be seen, one area that is certain to benefit from more uniform educational standards is the online learning industry. "Technology is a great way to implement the Common Core," said Sari Factor, the chief executive of Education2020, an Arizona-based e-learning company.
Farmerville High School has increased its numbers of graduating seniors by implementing Education 2020, a new computer program that allows students to receive credits online. "E 2020 has really been a great program for us," said school librarian Bridget Fulton. "It has given hope to kids that were struggling with passing all their courses because it allows them to work on their own time."
An online video of Carpe Diem Collegiate High School in Yuma, Ariz., shows more than 200 young people sitting in a large room in cubicles, in front of computers, with many wearing headphones. The computers aren't for fun; they're key tools for teaching math, literature, science and other subjects. Students there engage in independent learning, with a handful of teachers ready to interact with them one-on-one.
An Arizona charter school operator serving middle and high school students has filed plans to build a two-story school at Meridian and 22nd streets. Carpe Diem Schools hopes to open the 18,600-square-foot building with nine classrooms, administrative offices and 300 "technology booths" by August, in time for the next school year. But first the proposal must clear city zoning and design hurdles. A rezoning hearing is scheduled for May 16, and a regional center design review is set for June 14.
The people behind e2020 recognized early on that there was a substantial and largely unmet opportunity for technology as a means for inspiring learning and improving academic achievement. "Technology has had a tremendous impact on the way we live, and has tremendous potential for the way we educate students," says Sari Factor, CEO of e2020, a core and elective instruction provider in virtual and blended learning environments for students in grades 6-12.
