No matter how I searched I could not get this article to come up to link to it at The Raton Range website so for now I will include the entire article until I can find a better link. Here is the link to the paper http://www.ratonrange.com/main.asp?SectionID=2 and the article is in audio at the top of this page just click on the title of the article and you can hear it from Americast.
If anyone has stats on how the kids who did take tests this year scored I would love to know them. Also, if anyone has any comments on how they felt that IDEA was run or their experiences within it please email me and I will keep it as anonymous comments but it would really be helpful for future students and their families to know your thoughts.
For now it seems that the distance learning part of the program is safe but it seems they are having a hard time 'proving' to the powers that be that kids are doing their work and thus justifying continuing that aspect of the program. This makes sense coming from the point of view of a school district they need to have justification for their money being spent and be able to prove that the children are learning as reported. Also, the lack of someone knowledgeable in running this type of program seems to be a hindrance. --Tabbi
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Distance learning, 'cyber school' debated
By Bob Morris
Staff writer, The Raton Range
The Individual Distance Education Academy (IDEA) will continue, and the Raton school board is expected to look for a superintendent that will have some knowledge regarding online education.
The Raton school district had received a letter from the state Department of Education regarding concerns the department had about how the district was running IDEA. With current Superintendent Bill Walz leaving the district this month - Walz helped push forward the idea of a "cyber school" and distance education - there was concern from board members as to whether IDEA should continue.
After much discussion at Tuesday's school board meeting, a motion by board President Sheila Castellini to discontinue the "distance education" component of IDEA while retaining the "cyber school" component failed 3-2. No other motions were made regarding IDEA, so the program will continue as it is.
The letter the district received, according to Walz, addressed three issues: that Senate Bill 9, or two-mill levy, funds should not be used for technological purposes "for kids outside of a classroom," that there needed to be "internal controls" regarding accounting of funds to run the program, and that there was not enough "checks and balances in terms of curriculum and attendance" for the distance-education component.
Walz told the board, regarding the Senate Bill 9 monies issue, that he spoke to Al Clemmons, who has given the district advice regarding bonding and mill-levy issues, and that Clemmons believed it was not a problem to use those monies for the laptop computers that are made available for the students enrolled in IDEA. The computers, althoug h they are used by students enrolled in IDEA, are school property and only used by the students for the time they are enrolled in the program. Walz noted Clemmons, in a letter sent to the district last October, indicated that a classroom "must logically include any space used for the purposes of a program" and thus the district could use SB9 monies to buy computers.
Regarding the internal controls, Teresa Barreras, who is assisting the school district as a consultant to wrap up budget issues following the recent resignation of business manager Gary Gabriele, explained to the board that the money to fund IDEA was there, but in an account separate from the general operation fund. Walz told The Range that a budget adjustment resolution was presented to the board previously, but that it "should have been requested earlier to the board" than it was. But Walz said the money has now been transferred and the issue addressed.
As for the distance education component, Walz exp lained that the "cyber school" involves students who take all coursework over the Internet, while the "distance education" component may involve some "pencil and paper" work through correspondence, with an IDEA teacher giving support online. He noted all students must be online at some point for attendance to be taken and to communicate with the teacher, and that some parents may have their children do more work online as they get older and become more computer proficient.
Castellini said, the way she understood the letter, that the state "is saying we have some things to adjust if we continue" the program. She said that with Walz leaving the district, "we need to decide if we want to continue this program."
Walz said the board could opt to discontinue the program entirely, or run the program strictly as a "cyber school."
Castellini noted, with the district needing to hire a new superintendent, that the new person hired may not have the knowledge to run the p rogram. Jansen suggested that was a qualification the board could look for when hiring the new superintendent.
A motion made by Castellini early in the discussion to discontinue the IDEA program died due to lack of a second. Castellini later moved to table the issue for more input and until the next superintendent is hired. Michael Anne Holland seconded the motion, but in further discussion, Walz indicated that the families with students currently enrolled need to be informed in a timely manner if the program is to end, and that there will be time needed to hire personnel again. Walz indicated the part-time teachers who worked for IDEA were non-renewed because he did not know if the board wanted the program to continue.
Castellini later withdrew her motion to table the issue, then suggested the district continue the "cyber school" but discontinue the distance-education component. Board Vice President Art Armijo said he would like to retain both components, because t he additional students could mean additional money to the district.
Walz told the board, in putting together the 2007-2008 fiscal year budget, he did not include the IDEA student numbers in figuring the estimate of revenue to be received from the state. Barreras told the board the budget is built on the actual student enrollment at the physical school buildings. Walz said he did include a "side attachment" indicating, if the IDEA program continued, that "we'd have this many kids enrolled" in the program. For the 2006-2007 school year, 100 students were enrolled.
Castellini's motion to continue the "cyber school" and discontinue the distance-education component failed 3-2, with Castellini and Holland voting in favor, and Jansen, Armijo and Roy Pillmore voting against.
In a related matter, the board approved continuing the Mesa View Academy alternative school program for the 2007-2008 school year. Students enrolled in the alternative program do take some cours ework via the Internet. Walz noted the program had 18 students enrolled this year, with six earning their high school diplomas.
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2 comments:
Hi Tabitha. I participated in IDEA during the 2006-2007 school year. I thought I would give you my feedback about it since you asked for this.
I enrolled my son in IDEA as a compromise with his father. XX has been in longstanding opposition to homeschooling XXX. He agreed to it on a trial basis in August of last year but has never fully embraced the idea. In an effort to appease some of his concerns about standards and benchmarks, computer literacy, and those magical skills certified teachers possess that the rest of us allegedly do not, I introduced the IDEA concept to him when the Worldwide representative came to town. Joining brought accountability with it and some relief for XX from the thought that he was failing in his responsibility to educate his child. It freed me to use more of my energy for the work itself rather than in resisting his efforts to undermine the process. We received the technology in November and $1000 promised for educational materials.
This said, I would rate my satisfaction with the program as poor. My issues are administrative and communications related. We received almost no guidance in writing our ILPs and were not informed about whether they were received and accepted in a timely fashion. This led to incredible delays in ordering our curricula. Some participants were waiting on Calvert materials until January and found themselves trying to cram two or three lessons into a day to prepare for the standardized tests in March. Testing was not an issue for us this year as XXX was only 6. I had purchased what I planned to use for core subjects except math. It wasn't until late December that I obtained my full Math-U-See order after IDEA conceded that, contrary to their belief, I had not already received it. I had to get the superintendent of Raton Public Schools, Bill Walz, involved for this to happen. The IDEA package initially included reimbursement for museum memberships and classes like the ones at Explora or UNM Music Prep School. This never materialized. Our contact teachers appeared on the scene in January or later. Mine seemed to be a pleasant enough guy, but our relationship consisted in my reporting XXX's progress to him once a month. The reports were a good opportunity for me to review for myself what we had covered and to receive praise for it, but they were not instructive in any way because I was not seeking this. Robert requested work samples on a monthly basis and his own hard copies of attendance reports and the ILP. He did not want to use his paper and toner to print out e-mail copies of the latter. When I pointed out that work samples were only required quarterly and that under the existing agreement the ILP and attendance reports belonged to Raton, I never heard from him again. I reported to him once and inquired concerning his whereabouts another time before discontinuing communication. My last order for supplies was placed as soon as I received notice that the fiscal year was coming to a close. Again, I had to involve Bill Walz to ensure that the order was processed on time though it was submitted three weeks before the deadline. Finally, I am appalled by the way the program closed for the academic year! Participants received notice from Hal Roueche that he would be leaving for the summer in two days and further communication ought to be directed to Mr. Walz. He gave us no indication as to the status of the program for next year. Several of us inquired; he responded informally to one parent that the program had been cancelled. We circulated this information amongst ourselves and informed our family representative - a paid IDEA employee - about this new development. Later, we received an incomprehensible letter from Bill Walz that was, I think, trying to state what is outlined in the article below. He indicated that he was relocating to Alaska and basically left us high and dry.
If IDEA becomes exclusively a cyber-school many of us will leave the program. I think that with competent administration under the existing terms it could be a positive addition to educational alternatives available in New Mexico today. It does serve as purpose in each household involved that does not, as my personal story illustrates, necessarily revolve around giving up a little control for perks. The issue of accountability - "checks and balances in terms of curriculum and attendance" - could be a hot button issue if it means much more regulation. I am concerned about this for myself and for the wider homeschooling community here and across the nation. So are the other participants that I know.
I hope this is helpful. You have my permission to quote me if necessary as long as you delete my family members' names
Tabbi, XXX and I are doing the IDEA thang. They had a slow start and we had to wait for several months before we got the stuff we ordered (Oak Meadow Online, athletic classes and NG Kids) but I don't think that is too bad, as they were as new to it as we were. They were flexible about adding providers who were not yet on their provider list. I had an athletic sport added, for example.
I did not mind the accountability because of the accountability, if that makes sense, because it was really no big deal. Very basic attendance sheets, very basic grading and samples of the work, atleast for XXX's grade. But it was nothing too bad or too controling, I thought.
Sometimes the reply from the family reps was slow (or not) and you had to push, but that was the reps, not IDEA itself and the reps were new to it too.
For me, it was overall positive and it gave me the extra financial support that I badly needed to be able to do things that I wanted to do for XXX. I hope they continue as before and I was sad to see Walz go as he was a decent chap and easy to talk to and of all people he was the one who would reply to emails and get things done.
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