While reformers hope that the country's fiscal crisis will lead to much needed educational changes, there's at least one move underway to do the exact opposite. Under the guise of budget cuts, the Florida legislature is attempting to severely curtail educational choices available through the state-run Florida Virtual School (see page 12 of bill text).
If the bill, which is making its way through the Florida Senate, passes, students would no longer have the option to take additional credits through the virtual school. Want to extend the school day virtually? Nope. Fail algebra I your freshman year and want to take an extra course online to catch up to the college track? No dice. Want to graduate early (and save the state money)? Not gonna happen. Excited about school and want to take a high school course while in middle school? Way too ambitious. Stuck because you need to pass a course and there is no summer school option? Sit in the same class again next year. [Even though we know what will happen is that it will be much more likely for teachers to just pass kids along.]
The bill would also limit the virtual school's offering to "core curricula courses" only. Forget choice and a market-driven mechanism to allow students options to take AP Art History, Computer Science, or any number of other courses. Elective options are limited to what your bricks and mortar school can offer.
The irony here is too much. Just last week, an entire special edition of Education Week detailed the rise to prominence and potential of virtual schooling. And by all accounts, Florida Virtual School is a national model. Every other state is trying to match Florida's current success. Despite this success, the Florida legislature keeps trying to sabotage the program.
Florida Virtual School is also the most prominent case study for the "disruptive innovation" theory that posits virtual education as a transformational opportunity for greater personalization in education. The seemingly arbitrary nature of a few words inserted into a long amendment make this type of innovation so much more fragile in the public sector.
PS - Before you start pointing your fingers at the nefarious teachers unions, note that this time its the Republican-dominated Florida State Senate that's proposing these changes.
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Its hard to say "by all accounts" Florida system is a model and then back it up by a press release by a governor and an organization that promotes online schools. I have no evidence to the contrary, but do you have evidence you can cite?
We've still got this fundamental problem, and I don't know how you address it in an age of data-DRIVEN accountablity. Virtual schooling has to be a key element in improving schools, but all of the incentives are toward CYA programs where kids just "excercise their right click finger." How do you distinquish, without humans doing the evaluating, the difference between credit recovery programs in NYC, and I'd venture to say in most districts, where they are primarily designed to pad graduation numbers and something designed to improve education?
State testing scores for FLVS students are higher in Florida than non-FLVS students. (I will locate the statistics and add them later.)The Florida model isn't "right-click finger aerobics." Students (and parents) regularly speak with their state certified teachers. There are human teachers doing the evaluating at FLVS. FLVS students get significantly more individualized instruction than they might during the traditional 50 minute broadcast. I'm certain you can find virtual ed programs where students can click their way to credits; the Florida model requires live student and teacher interaction and requires students to delve more deeply into subject matter than they would in traditional schools. Indeed, it is a shift in thinking to imagine virtual teaching as being a good alternative to traditional models. Considering the current issues public education is facing, a progressive approach is a probably a good thing. Virtual education may not be the ideal forum for many students. Virtual education (as implemented in the Florida model) serves many students whose needs and learning styles are not served well in the traditional schools. Certainly innovative thinking creates skeptics. I believe it's better to innovate and assess the results rather persevere with a system that has not yielded good results. (The NY drop out rate is a glaring symptom of a system that does not work.)
See what Florida Tax Watch said about FLVS in this 2007 assessment.
http://www.floridataxwatch.org/resources/pdf/110507FinalReportFLVS.pdf
It saves $1000 per student vs. traditional schools, higher AP scores, higher test scores in math and reading, the list goes on and on.
Non-core curricula is a huge chunk of FLVS course offerings. Many are courses students must have to graduate. Personal Fitness has the largest enrollment of any course in the school. Non-core, but required to graduate. And that's 75 teachers jobs gone, just for that one course if the bill becomes law.
If what you say about Florida is true, and I have no reason to doubt it, then that's good news. Its also good news when peole acknowledge the other side of the argument. If NYC could do that, Klein and company would have less motivation to manioulate data.
And yeah, we need to innovate and online tools have got to be part of the solution. So, what about the basic point? Can we have enough honest innovation in an environment of data-driven accountability?
As a parent of a FLVS student who had completed 3 years of HS courses online, I have nothing but positive things to say about Florida Virtual School.
It is an outstanding education option, and the quality of education surpasses the experience our child has had in the traditional public school classroom.
"Before you start pointing your fingers at the nefarious teachers unions, note that this time its the Republican-dominated Florida State Senate that's proposing these changes."
Behind every "great" politician - Republican or Democrat - there is usually a great teacher's union. Just ask Congress and our President.
But what about socialization? Schools aren't necessarily for teaching academics. How will kids learn to cooperate in groups or get along with people of different races if they never leave home, living like a hermit.
Dear Anonymous, you are assuming that all children and teenagers get positive socialization while many do not. Students that have health issues, disfigurement, panic attacks, depression, unpopular sexual orientations, and have been victims of bullying (just to name a few) are not receiving the "ideal" that you possibly did. Yes, diversity is to be celebrated but for many, it is a painful reminder that they are drastically different at a critical time in their life. FLVS teachers cannot see who is "the pretty one" and who is "best dressed" they only see the work and hear the voice of the student that they are teaching, 1 at a time. It is not going to replace traditional school but it is an important option for many.
I am a current FLVS student who does all academics online, while doing things such as JROTC at my local high school. I get all the education I need and do not lose the high school experience.
Our daughter is currently taking several on-line courses with FLVS so she can graduate early with full high school credits. This was her only tool to make her dream a reality. She has already been accepted into college. This would have been impossible without FLVS. Thank you for having a wonderful challenging program to supplement the traditional classroom studies. The teachers have been in touch with us every step of the way. Thank you again. DPK
Budget cuts, budget cuts! at the expense of our children's education. FL is backwards in their thinking on virtual education. Many states have public virtual schools in place for all grade levels. My children have all excelled with virtual education. I can promise you they are not undersocialized because they school at home on their computer. On the contrary, this educational choice has freed them up to percsue jobs, hobbies, volenteer work and time with friends. While virtual education is not for everyone, it offers a GREAT option for many.
why are you trying to make a desicion that we will affect the future
FLVS has been a boon to thousands of students and hundreds of teachers and it's restriction is completely illogical. Trying to stuff a successful model back "into the bottle" is futile and so luckily this and any other legislation will not be able to quell such a good idea/solution forever. Those who fear that children will not be able to socialize must not have talked to one of these students or spent much time engaged in online education themselves. The increased control over pace and inquiry allows learners to spend less hours "waiting on others" to reach learning outcomes and can instead spend those hours socializing through sports and after-school programs, recreational programs, jobs, and social groups like scouts, a dance troupe, or a chess team. In other words, virtual education will be the majority model in one form or another by (and hopefully long before) the end of this Century. FLVS is just a pioneer.
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