Worries from the N.C. Department of Public Instruction over whether or not the state will be able to fully fund all the districts using its Virtual High School program this year will not affect the students of Iredell-Statesville Schools.
The state is expecting a $3 million funding shortfall in the virtual program’s budget and has temporarily suspended 15 districts from enrolling any more students in the spring, including Mooresville City Schools, because their enrollment exceeded expectations.
I-SS is not one of the 15, and David Blattner, principal of the Collaborative College for Technology and Leadership and overseer of the district’s virtual program, said I-SS will have no problems funding all its students that want to take online classes.
I-SS actually has about 200 to 300 extra spots available for students to take online classes in the spring before its funding for the program would near critical levels.
The state estimates how many students will enroll in an individual district’s virtual program before the school year and allots a certain amount of money based on that number. The formula is based on the enrollment for the last three years.
I-SS is in its fifth year using the virtual high school. In ’07-08, I-SS students took 715 online courses and in ’08-09, that number dropped slightly to 635. In ’09-10, it nearly doubled to 1,281 classes taken before leveling off last year to 1,056.
The state looked at the rise from 635 to 1,056 in the last three years before this one and estimated that I-SS students would take 1,354 courses this year and used that number when figuring I-SS’ budget number from the state. But, Blattner said, I-SS is going to fall well short of that number.
About 400 classes were taken by I-SS students in the fall semester and spring enrollment is expected to be about 350. Summer and year-round courses will bring the total year’s classes taken to around 1,000. Blattner said he believes the district’s demand for the online classes has leveled off after its initial growth.
The state estimated I-SS students’ participation in the online classes would cost $459,105 this year. About half of that, $225,572, has been used. Blattner said he expects I-SS’ online bill to be about $100,000 short of the state’s estimate. Most courses cost $349 per student.
“[Online classes] allow students to take more classes than they typically would,” Blattner said. “It also frees up their schedule.”
Blattner said that when he was principal at Lake Norman High, scheduling was difficult and students were regularly forced to choose between two classes they wanted to take instead of being able to fit everything in.
He said the online classes eliminate those problems because they can be taken at any time during the day. The teacher of the online class does not have to be logged in at the same time as the students to teach the class. Teachers have office hours where they will be online and also use an instant messaging tool and email to communicate.
“More and more students in college are taking some kind of online class,” Blattner said. “If we don’t have something where students can learn those skills before college, they won’t be as prepared.”
Online classes also serve homebound students.
Email
Facebook
Google
Twitter
Favorites
More
Advertisement