To: Michael Green
From: Asha Riley
Date: May 20, 20011
Regarding: Online Academy Update
Recent developments regarding the possibility of opening an online academy have been promising. As you are aware we recently surveyed home-study families within our boundary to evaluate their level of interest in an online academy here in Woodland. Presently we have roughly 80 families with 183 students within our boundary who home-study. This includes both home school students and online academy students. Of those 80 families 21 participated in our survey. After talking with a few of these families over the phone I realized that participation in the survey may have been low due to the fact our invitations to participate were likely unopened, as most mail from the school district is dismissed as irrelevant to home-study families.
I have included below the complete results of the survey. I would like to highlight two pieces of information gathered from the survey. Students of all grades, K-12, are interested, and at least 38 students would participate in our online academy if we opened one.
Based on the FTE funding for Alternative Education outlined in the projected state budgets we estimate that we would need 24 students in order to operate an online academy at a break-even cost. In light of the survey results (in which only 21 of the 80 families participated), registering 24 students appears achievable. With more marketing and communication targeted at the other 60 home-study families (who are probably still unaware of this possible option) it is a realistic possibility we could exceed that break-even number.
Our next step is to meet with home-study families to listen to their thoughts regarding an online academy in Woodland and what they hope that partnership would include. At this meeting we will also briefly share the results of the survey and some of our ideas regarding curriculum and possible structures for the academy. At the end of the meeting we will request interested families leave us their contact information and indicate their level of interest in the district establishing an online academy.
At this time, before we take and further action you may wish to have the board weigh the benefits and risks of opening an online academy so that we dont get too far down the road on a program that they may not support. The benefits of having an online academy here in Woodland include reconnecting with students and families to serve their students learning. We would be able to offer them many of the same benefits full time students benefit from, such as elective courses, IEP services, and most importantly becoming part of our school community. The primary risk in making this decision is the possibility of not achieving the necessary enrollment to operate at break-even cost.
If the board supports having an online academy I would like to present steps well take to open an online academy here in Woodland at the June 6th board meeting.
Online Academy Parent Survey.
21 responses
On a scale of 1-5 how interested would you be in participating in an online academy hosted here in Woodland?
1
2
10%
3
14%
4
7
33%
5
How many students in your home would you have participate in the academy?
1 student
19%
2 students
12
57%
3 students
4 students
5%
5 students
0
0%
6 students
More
What grades would you like the academy to serve? (Check all that apply)
K
8
42%
9
47%
13
68%
10
53%
63%
6
11
58%
14
74%
15
79%
17
89%
16
84%
People may select more than one checkbox, so percentages may add up to more than 100%.
Please rank each of the subject/content areas below on a scale of highest priority to lowest priority. - Art
Very High
29%
High
Medium
24%
Low
Very Low
Please rank each of the subject/content areas below on a scale of highest priority to lowest priority. - Electrives
38%
Please rank each of the subject/content areas below on a scale of highest priority to lowest priority. - Health and Fitness
Please rank each of the subject/content areas below on a scale of highest priority to lowest priority. - Mathematics
76%
Please rank each of the subject/content areas below on a scale of highest priority to lowest priority. - Music
Please rank each of the subject/content areas below on a scale of highest priority to lowest priority. - Reading
67%
Please rank each of the subject/content areas below on a scale of highest priority to lowest priority. - Science
Please rank each of the subject/content areas below on a scale of highest priority to lowest priority. - Social Studies
52%
Please rank each of the subject/content areas below on a scale of highest priority to lowest priority. - Writing
62%
What services would you prefer to see provided by the academy?
Tutoring
Parent coop similar to Homelink
Organized field trips
83%
Other
28%