- April 19, 2024
-
-
Loading
Loading
New state standards require incoming freshmen to take at least one online class to graduate.
When Flagler County schools went virtual in 2009 with its iFlagler online learning platform, it was one of 10 districts in the state to franchise through Florida Virtual School. Today, about 60 districts are on board and, by law, one of all 24 credits required for graduation must be earned online.
The law went into effect this year, for all ninth-graders.
“Florida Virtual School grew so quickly that they couldn’t serve all of Florida,” iFlagler Virtual School Director Diane Dyer said, calling Flagler “pioneers” in online learning. “But (iFlagler) is great, because we work with our own Flagler County kids, with Flagler County teachers.”
From core academics to drivers ed, any class offered on Flagler campuses can be taken online, administered by one full-time teacher and 16 part-timers. Whereas Florida Virtual School instructors teach anywhere from 180 to 200 students, iFlagler teachers have groups of 10 to 20.
Dyer said: “iFlagler is a school. We keep saying there are 10 schools in Flagler; there are real-ly 11.”
Every year since the program’s inception, iFlagler has doubled its enrollment. And as this year’s freshmen continue on through high school, Dyer expects that progression to continue. Next year, she estimates, the program will see its greatest enrollment jump yet.
“(The past three years) have been training for the teachers,” she said. “By the time we start getting these masses of students, we’ll be in very good shape.”
Even elementary students have gotten in on iFlagler. Fourth- and fifth-graders who score a 4 or 5 on the FCAT are eligible to take middle school courses online. There are currently about 50 doing so, out of about 200 eligible last year.
In the virtual school structure, students have three chances to redo assignments, should they receive unsatisfactory marks. At Matanzas High School, Dyer said, this option is also available, as part of administration’s “mastering” theory.
“We want (students) to master the material,” Dyer said. “We just don’t let them fail things. We almost force them to take it again.”
Keeping pace is the toughest part of the job for iFlagler teacher/guidance counselor Erin Walker.
“I’m kind of like the bounty hunter around here,” she said, sitting in her office in the Government Services Building.
To her side, a white board is covered in lists of student names. Some are marked with stars, meaning they’re seniors. Others are circled in stoplight red, meaning: “Watch out.”
“It is a program where you have to be highly self-motivated,” Walker said. “And a lot of these students are really young, so they need their teachers — or me — to give them that extra push.”
She calls her students weekly for checkups and also puts time limits on assignments to regulate pacing, offering breathing room without forfeiting structure. The ideal is to work 45 minutes per day online, she said. If students stick to that schedule, they should be able to complete a class in 14 weeks instead of 18.
According to Dyer, it’s possible for student to shave, at maximum, two full years off their high school careers if they work virtually year-round.
Sabrina Rinaldi, 14, started in iFlagler out of necessity; it allowed her and her mother to travel back and forth from New York. But the accelerated pace is a nice perk. She expects to graduate by 11th grade.
“Being tied down to one city,” she said, “limited when we could travel. So when we came across the iFlagler program, it really opened up a lot of doors.”
In her second semester of seventh grade, Rinaldi enrolled in iFlagler full-time. And although sometimes she misses the classroom setting, she says the pros outweigh the cons.
“I don’t miss the drama or the pressure for drugs,” she said, adding that, despite working from home, the program hasn’t isolated her from other students her age. “I met some of my best friends through it.”
Online classes can also be used for “credit recovery,” Dyer added. At both Matanzas and Flagler Palm Coast high schools, labs are available for students to take classes online, with a proctor.
“Some do very well (online),” Dyer said. “Some don’t do well at all.”
That’s why it helps to have several teachers available on campuses for assistance, she said. Three math teachers also volunteer to tutor at the Palm Coast library. There’s a virtual counselor who travels to each school in the district daily. And parents of online students are called monthly for updates.
“There’s a support network.” Dyer said. “In some cases, there’s more contact with the teachers virtually than there is in person. … There’s no escape for these kids.”
At the end of a course, students must come to a physical lab for final exams. Remedial courses are not offered online. Diplomas are not granted through iFlagler, but transferred to students’ home-zone schools.
COST COMPARISON
Although it may seem that a perk of online learning would be a reduced financial burden on district facilities, according to Superintendent Janet Valentine, that’s not the case.
“Even though it might cost a district (less) money to provide education (virtually), we’re being paid less from the state,” she said.
For a full-time regular student, the state grants the district $6,200 per year. For a full-time online student, that number is reduced to $4,800.
Also, if a student fails a course, the district isn’t compensated.
“For us, it’s not about cheaper and faster,” said Diane Dyer, iFlagler director. “It gives kids tremendous opportunities.”
Email [email protected].
