District to start virtual academy
July 7, 2010
By Laura Geggel
This past school year, 104 elementary, middle and high school students in Snoqualmie Valley opted to take online classes.
Because Snoqualmie Valley does not offer online courses, those 104 students enrolled in virtual classes offered by other school districts, meaning Snoqualmie Valley schools lost a total of about $523,000 in per pupil funding from the state, assuming the students were enrolled full time.
Starting this fall, those students will have the choice to attend the Snoqualmie Valley Virtual Academy, a new online classroom the district is launching for high school students.
The virtual academy would likely be made available to middle school students by 2011-12, District Technology Director Jeff Hogan said.
“The traditional setting is not right for all kids, and neither is the online setting, but we would be fulfilling a need out there for students,” he said.
Hogan said his work on the virtual academy coincided with a law recently passed by the state Legislature that requires all school districts to develop policies and procedures for student access to online learning opportunities.
The state Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction began providing information about online programs in 2009, educating students, their families and educators about the quality of available online courses, providers, programs, resources and training.
The Snoqualmie Valley Virtual Academy would get its curriculum from an OSPI approved vendor, Hogan said, adding that he is working with Snoqualmie Valley administrators and teachers — for example, Two Rivers School Principal Tom Athanases — to find appropriate curriculum.
Students with free periods at Mount Si High School or Two Rivers are invited to take virtual academy classes free of charge, schools spokeswoman Carolyn Malcolm said. Students who have full schedules would have to pay course fees for any additional virtual classes.
The program would also provide a social aspect. Students in the program would meet each other through local mentoring and meetings.
“In addition to having good curriculum, good instructors, we want to have a good network of support for them,” Hogan said.
The school board will have to approve any curriculum before it is implemented at the virtual academy. It unanimously approved a motion for moving forward with the academy at its June 24 meeting.
The online classes would help both struggling and excelling students, because they provide learning options for both English language learners and highly capable students with low social skills, allowing them to focus on areas challenging to them, Hogan said.
High school students who still need to pass middle school classes might also be able to catch up on credits using the virtual academy.
Initial funding for the academy would come from the $9.9 million technology levy voters passed in February 2008, though Hogan said that if between 15 and 20 students enrolled in the academy, it could be self-supporting by the 2011-12 school year. Part of the costs would include the salary of a part-time virtual academy coordinator, who would begin working this fall.
School Board Vice President Dan Popp said a virtual academy could help his son, who had wanted to take a math class that was not offered at Mount Si High School.
“We’ll be looking closely at that,” Popp said.
Laura Geggel: 392-6434, ext. 221, or lgeggel@snovalleystar.com. Comment at www.snovalleystar.com.
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