Texas Virtual Academy comes to DFW

Testing results of virtual academy on par with other area schools.

Just as the Pegasus, on-line community, reader-supported news site gives Belo Corp the shivers; just as Dallas Morning News, Channel 8, D-Magazine and the Observer all tremble at the growth of online media; so too does the new century media challenge another entrenched info-market. This month, DFW's traditional public schools, state charter schools, church/parochial schools, private/secular schools, and a gaggle of home schools all face a new competitor in the education market. The TEA now debuts in DFW the Texas Virtual Academy, an on-line, private-subscription, self-paced charter school. The 21st Century classroom has arrived.

It's been a while getting here. In 2001, the Texas Legislature passed Senate Bill SB975 directing the Texas Commissioner of Education to develop information on electronic courses and virtual learning. To implement the new law the TEA established "Virtual School Pilot" (VSP) program for the 2001-02 school year. Twelve independent school districts (ISDs), nine charter schools, and various consortia of charter and public ISD participated in the pilot. Nearly 2,200 students enrolled in 357 courses including math, science, social studies, and English language arts.

By 2003 backlash mobilized against virtual schools. Critics asserted that efforts to extend schooling beyond the bricks-and-mortar model were a mask to allow "parents--primarily fundamentalist and evangelical Christian parents--the means to educate their children using a Christian curriculum at state expense." In particular, attacks against the commercially-developed "K12.COM" offerings singled out former U.S. Secretary of Education William Bennett. It was charged virtual schools would "pander to fundamentalist and evangelical Christians who believe in creationism rather than evolution. Bennett's virtual home school curriculum is explicitly based on Judeo-Christian traditions, and today that is a code-phrase for diminishing or distorting evolution."

Apparently, to whatever extent the criticisms were taken at face value, the State Board of Education's reaction was, "That's not a bug, that's a feature." A broad number of optional courses were established within the core curriculum, and parents began picking and choosing among menus of school subjects.

In March 2006, the TEA issued a charter to the first fully online public school program: The Texas Virtual Academy at Southwest, in Houston. Enrollment was recorded at 171. Eligibility for the school was restricted to those in Texas Education Service Center Region 3. TXVA was established as a full-time public school program. The students of TXVA meet the state’s academic and attendance requirements, like any other public school students in Texas. TXVA students all take assessment tests, including the TAKS test. The school chose the commercial on-line curriculum, K12, to provide a comprehensive, "research based" program. TAKS/AEIS results report no dramatic difference between the virtual charter and more traditional facilities. The TXVA "district" (TEA assigned number 101838) earned an "Academically Unacceptable" rating the first year. This is, as in many districts, failures to accomplish comparable progress among all demographic groups. However, results on particular tests showed comparable, if not better, performance than area schools readers may be familiar with.

AEIS accountability Data

                                Virtual    Dallas    Lancaster ISD
                                Pct         Pct      Pct
Performance             Met       Met       Met
Results                     Std        Std        Std

Reading/ELA
All Students             74%     78%      73%
African Amer         81%       77%      73%
Hispanic                  73%        77%      71%
White                      75%        92%      84%
Econ Disadv            69%        76%      71%

Writing
All Students             79%        82%      79%
African Amer            *            83%      81%
Hispanic                  75%        81%      77%
White                        *           94%      62%
Econ Disadv            75%        82%      79%

Social Studies
All Students             73%        81%      66%
African Amer           88%        79%      67%
Hispanic                   69%        80%      57%
White                      *            93%    81%
Econ Disadv             70%       79%      62%

Mathematics
All Students              47%        65%     50%
African Amer            55%        57%     48%
Hispanic                 45%        67%      54%
White                       71%        83%      61%
Econ Disadv             48%        65%      49%

Science
All Students              36%        58%      39%
African Amer            47%        54%      37%
Hispanic                    29%        58%     43%
White                          *           84%      55%
Econ Disadv              36%        56%     36%

The results were sufficiently good that TEA authorized the Virtual Schools to expand beyond the Houston/ESCC 3 region. This year, Dallas/Fort Worth area students in grades 3-8, served by Regions 10 and 11, are eligible for the Virtual Academy. Placement testing will confirm students are in the appropriate grade as they transfer into the online classes. The organizers promise all the lesson plans and materials needed for grades three through eight and that many parents find it easy to enroll multiple children in the program. Each family will be loaned a computer system (including computer, printer, software, and Internet connection) to support the learning process. These computer systems are instructional property and must be returned when the student leaves TXVA@Southwest. The school will arrange for technical support and troubleshooting for these systems. However, it is the teaching adult who needs to have at least basic computer skills. Use of the computer is an important part of the program, but in the early grades it is mostly the parent (or other responsible adult) who interacts with the computer.

Program materials argue that students will spend no more than 20-25 percent of their time on the computer in the early grades. TXVA believes in a balanced approach toward education. Computers help provide effective assessment, planning, and time-management tools. And computers also act as powerful teaching tools that can motivate, stimulate, and inform children about the world around them. They do not, however, replace a solid education. So, throughout the year, students are invited to participate in school outings, field trips (e.g., to historical sites, museums, zoos), picnics, and other social events. TXVA supports local clusters of students and parents to get together on a regular basis in their areas. The school also explores new ways to interact socially using the powerful reach of the Internet. With online discussions and forums, new types of communities can be formed that are based not on geography and place but on shared interests.

Information about virtual schools in Texas can be obtained directly from the TEA Education Service Centers. The contact at Region 10 is Diane Wilcox, 972.348.1514, 400 E. Spring Valley, Richardson, Texas 75083-1300, Diane.Wilcox@Region10.org.

For Region 11 the expert is Connie Swiderski, 817.740.7611, 3001 North Freeway, Fort Worth, Texas 76106-6596, cswiderski@esc11.net.

Or, parents may decide to attend "Parent Information Sessions" to see a curriculum display and presentation about virtual schools, and take the opportunity to have questions answered by a school representative.

Dates:

Mesquite: Tuesday, October 2

Dallas: Wednesday, October 3

Irving: Thursday, October 4

Fort Worth: Tuesday, October 9

Bedford: Wednesday, October 10

Arlington: Thursday, October 11

Plano: Monday, October 15

Frisco: Tuesday, October 16

Lewisville: Wednesday, October 17

Denton: Thursday, October 18

More detail