Education Guide: Local News
The World Wide Classroom Massachusetts' First Virtual School
Tools
Story Updated: Sep 7, 2011
Josh Heffner's favorite school lesson in recent memory didn't involve using a book or sitting at a desk. Instead, he was dressed up in an oversized button-down shirt, his hair styled all wild and crazy. He was a mad scientist, working with his mom in his family's kitchen-turned-lab.
"I did a little experiment with super hot water and super cold water, to see which dissolved salt," the 7-year-old from Greenfield explains. "That's pretty cool, isn't it?" Josh's mom says he happily did science projects for most of the day and then completed a lab sheet about them - on the Internet.
"Cool" is a good place to be for a second-grader who had his share of struggles, including frequent disciplining, during more than three years of traditional school. Josh has Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, or ADHD, and is now one of 300 students enrolled in Massachusetts Virtual Academy at Greenfield. It is the Commonwealth's first school run entirely on the World Wide Web, with no traditional classrooms. Josh's mother, Cindy Heffner, says virtual schooling is a great education solution for her son, since it allows her to "work with him and his personality and his learning style." To keep his attention, she gets him away from the computer for lessons where windows and dry erase markers take the place of a black board and chalk. "It's not learning; it's 'Oh, we get to role play and have fun,' and he's getting the information in the background, not in your face." Still, they must complete necessary Online lessons for the accredited program, and Josh's progress is monitored via the Internet by a teacher to whom he is assigned.
VIRTUAL INNOVATION
Greenfield, in western Massachusetts, began exploring the idea of starting a virtual school during the 2008-2009 school year. When the commissioner of the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, Mitchell Chester, learned of Greenfield's interest, he informed school leaders that state law did not allow for the creation of virtual schools. Some districts were offering certain courses on line, but not entire curriculums. The state created an advisory group to explore the issue, and that led to passage of a law authorizing "virtual innovation schools" last January.
"I think it has a place," says Chester, adding that virtual schooling "has the potential to serve a population that traditional schools are not successful with." The commissioner expresses concern, however, about students missing out on the social aspects of a traditional education. "It's a qualitatively different experience than face-to-face interaction," Chester says. "At its core, learning is a social enterprise." Massachusetts Virtual Academy at Greenfield - nicknamed MAVA@Greenfield - is open to any student, but the superintendent says the district identified certain groups it particularly wanted to serve. Those include kids with severe medical conditions; students with developmental or social-emotional needs that impact their classroom learning; those who have safety concerns stemming from bullying; students out of school due to pregnancy or parenting; and kids in training for competitive sports or the performing arts. Some students might even seek a more advanced course program than their school offers.
"There never was any intention with the school to A, compete with the regular brick-and-mortar schools, or B, to harvest children from the schools," explains Susan Hollins, Greenfield's school superintendent. Hollins says each family has to undergo a "risk assessment" to make sure parents aren't pushing virtual schooling on an unwilling child. And the school works to build a "sense of community." Josh Heffner's mom approached school leaders about the Online schooling option. A few months in, young Josh still expresses concern about the social drawbacks. "I don't really get to see much friends. That's the problem," he says when first asked a general question about his schooling. His mother says she counters that concern with frequent social activities. "He doesn't need to be in the same classroom with the same 15 kids every day to be socialized," she comments.
WORLD WIDE CLASSROOM
Students can enroll in Greenfield's virtual school from any other Massachusetts district, or from out of state. If a student comes from another Massachusetts community, that home district pays approximately $5,000 to cover education costs, as with the traditional School Choice program. Students from a wide range of districts including Abington, Beverly, Hopkinton, Lawrence, Lexington, Mashpee, Monson, Needham and Worcester are getting their schooling through MAVA@Greenfield. Those kids are in grades kindergarten through eighth, as the program is currently accepting high school students from Greenfield only.
The school uses the curriculum of K12, a Virginia company that started selling its course offerings nine years ago. Several other companies produce their own versions of Internet-based elementary and secondary school classes and curriculums. About 100,000 students around the U.S. and some foreign countries use the company's courses, the majority of them through full-time virtual schools like Greenfield's operating in 27 states and the District of Columbia.
It's "an exceptional way for some students to be able to achieve," says Jeff Kwitowski, K12's vice president for public affairs. "It's about providing a highly-interactive and personal learning experience for the students." Industry advocates estimate 175,000 to 200,000 kindergarten through 12th-grade students in the U.S. are enrolled in full-time online schools. Several hundred thousand more are taking individual Online courses. The International Association for K-12 Online Learning says the $300 million industry that produces the coursework is growing at about 30% per year.
In Greenfield, K12 is also providing academic support, handling everything from enrollment to overseeing teachers and accreditation compliance. The virtual academy has eight teachers, all employed by the town, who either work solely with the virtual school or split their time between the Online school and traditional classrooms. The teachers communicate with their students via e-mail, phone conversations and face-to-face meetings. Kwitowski says though students have to complete courses from required subject areas and take the state's standardized MCAS tests, the goal is to "customize programs so they meet the needs of every child better." Some students may use the program for a time and eventually return to traditional school.
ON HIS OWN TIME
Sixteen-year-old Keenan Cochrane of Boston says he's done with bricks-and-mortar schools until college. Following in his father's footsteps as a professional actor, he says he's finally found the perfect stage for his education. A high school junior, he "attends" the Internet-based Laurel Springs School in Ojai, California. He takes his classes in the comfort of his bedroom, and can bring them along or leave them behind when he goes to New York for an audition or travels with his family.
"Here the classes are really, really good. They're highly accredited," Keenan says of Laurel Springs, adding, "I'm learning a lot." He says he wasn't learning much at his previous school, a charter school where he claims students ran rampant and undisciplined. Until he started virtual schooling his sophomore year, all of his education was traditional - including 7th and 8th grade at the prestigious Boston Latin. Keenan's father, Doug Cochrane, says testing has shown why virtual schooling works so well for his son, who also has Attention Deficit Disorder. "He likes to learn in chunks," Doug says, adding that if Keenan is "kind of grooving" on a subject, "he likes to just get up and go on that." He might spend a couple months focusing on two subjects, like Math and French, then finish one or both and dive into English Literature. Each of Keenan's classes is divided up into 36 one-week lessons. But he prefers to complete an entire lesson in one day, thereby focusing on one subject. Some classes have textbooks in addition to Online work. In certain subjects, he can re-take a test if he wants to bring up the grade. "They realize it's not about the grade. It's about learning (the material)," Keenan says of his teachers, who live in Georgia, California and Connecticut. He frequently exchanges e-mails with them and has phone conferences with them and his parents.
"They're very big into communication - keeping the lines of communication open," Keenan's dad says. Asked about any drawbacks of virtual schooling, the Boston teen says he still battles the "temptation to do something else" like get on YouTube or Facebook, and he occasionally wishes he were having the "high school experience." But he has learned to discipline himself - following his parents' rule of getting up by 9 a.m. and beginning his schoolwork within an hour. He takes frequent breaks in order to stay focused. He reminds himself of all the high school conflicts, crises and drama he's not getting caught up in and thereby distracted - important for him in concentrating on his goal of getting into UCLA. Students from Laurel Springs go on to colleges around the country, including the Ivy Leagues. What does Keenan like most about virtual schooling? He controls the timing.
"I know if I crank now, I'll be able to end school sooner," he explains. "I want to have school vacation start in May this year."
BIG AND BOLD
Cindy Heffner has to work with her son's timing. Sometimes Josh is wired and can't sleep in the middle of the night, and that becomes the perfect time for the markers-on-the-window teaching technique. Off-beat scheduling is a much better alternative, she says, to their attempt at medication so he could adapt to traditional school, which she says left him with "no personality" and looking "like a zombie." When not medicated, Josh was often disciplined and isolated because he couldn't sit still, according to his mother.
"So what's better," Heffner asks. "Do I work with his energy level? Do I get him excited about learning, or let him be punished?" Josh clearly prefers the hands-on lessons to the computer-based components of his classes. He energetically relays his plans for his next science project. "I'm going to be working on a volcano," he says. "I've never done it in my life! But I'm thinking I have the perfect way to do it." As his school district makes a bold foray into the world of virtual education, Josh and his mom are going along for the ride. "For him to stay focused and on task," Heffner says, "it has to be big, bold and 'Wow, this is cool!'" Lynn Jolicoeur is an award-winning journalist and the mother of kindergarten twins. She's worked extensively as a television reporter - most recently in Boston. She makes her home in Shrewsbury.
"Cool" is a good place to be for a second-grader who had his share of struggles, including frequent disciplining, during more than three years of traditional school. Josh has Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, or ADHD, and is now one of 300 students enrolled in Massachusetts Virtual Academy at Greenfield. It is the Commonwealth's first school run entirely on the World Wide Web, with no traditional classrooms. Josh's mother, Cindy Heffner, says virtual schooling is a great education solution for her son, since it allows her to "work with him and his personality and his learning style." To keep his attention, she gets him away from the computer for lessons where windows and dry erase markers take the place of a black board and chalk. "It's not learning; it's 'Oh, we get to role play and have fun,' and he's getting the information in the background, not in your face." Still, they must complete necessary Online lessons for the accredited program, and Josh's progress is monitored via the Internet by a teacher to whom he is assigned.
VIRTUAL INNOVATION
Greenfield, in western Massachusetts, began exploring the idea of starting a virtual school during the 2008-2009 school year. When the commissioner of the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, Mitchell Chester, learned of Greenfield's interest, he informed school leaders that state law did not allow for the creation of virtual schools. Some districts were offering certain courses on line, but not entire curriculums. The state created an advisory group to explore the issue, and that led to passage of a law authorizing "virtual innovation schools" last January.
"I think it has a place," says Chester, adding that virtual schooling "has the potential to serve a population that traditional schools are not successful with." The commissioner expresses concern, however, about students missing out on the social aspects of a traditional education. "It's a qualitatively different experience than face-to-face interaction," Chester says. "At its core, learning is a social enterprise." Massachusetts Virtual Academy at Greenfield - nicknamed MAVA@Greenfield - is open to any student, but the superintendent says the district identified certain groups it particularly wanted to serve. Those include kids with severe medical conditions; students with developmental or social-emotional needs that impact their classroom learning; those who have safety concerns stemming from bullying; students out of school due to pregnancy or parenting; and kids in training for competitive sports or the performing arts. Some students might even seek a more advanced course program than their school offers.
"There never was any intention with the school to A, compete with the regular brick-and-mortar schools, or B, to harvest children from the schools," explains Susan Hollins, Greenfield's school superintendent. Hollins says each family has to undergo a "risk assessment" to make sure parents aren't pushing virtual schooling on an unwilling child. And the school works to build a "sense of community." Josh Heffner's mom approached school leaders about the Online schooling option. A few months in, young Josh still expresses concern about the social drawbacks. "I don't really get to see much friends. That's the problem," he says when first asked a general question about his schooling. His mother says she counters that concern with frequent social activities. "He doesn't need to be in the same classroom with the same 15 kids every day to be socialized," she comments.
WORLD WIDE CLASSROOM
Students can enroll in Greenfield's virtual school from any other Massachusetts district, or from out of state. If a student comes from another Massachusetts community, that home district pays approximately $5,000 to cover education costs, as with the traditional School Choice program. Students from a wide range of districts including Abington, Beverly, Hopkinton, Lawrence, Lexington, Mashpee, Monson, Needham and Worcester are getting their schooling through MAVA@Greenfield. Those kids are in grades kindergarten through eighth, as the program is currently accepting high school students from Greenfield only.
The school uses the curriculum of K12, a Virginia company that started selling its course offerings nine years ago. Several other companies produce their own versions of Internet-based elementary and secondary school classes and curriculums. About 100,000 students around the U.S. and some foreign countries use the company's courses, the majority of them through full-time virtual schools like Greenfield's operating in 27 states and the District of Columbia.
It's "an exceptional way for some students to be able to achieve," says Jeff Kwitowski, K12's vice president for public affairs. "It's about providing a highly-interactive and personal learning experience for the students." Industry advocates estimate 175,000 to 200,000 kindergarten through 12th-grade students in the U.S. are enrolled in full-time online schools. Several hundred thousand more are taking individual Online courses. The International Association for K-12 Online Learning says the $300 million industry that produces the coursework is growing at about 30% per year.
In Greenfield, K12 is also providing academic support, handling everything from enrollment to overseeing teachers and accreditation compliance. The virtual academy has eight teachers, all employed by the town, who either work solely with the virtual school or split their time between the Online school and traditional classrooms. The teachers communicate with their students via e-mail, phone conversations and face-to-face meetings. Kwitowski says though students have to complete courses from required subject areas and take the state's standardized MCAS tests, the goal is to "customize programs so they meet the needs of every child better." Some students may use the program for a time and eventually return to traditional school.
ON HIS OWN TIME
Sixteen-year-old Keenan Cochrane of Boston says he's done with bricks-and-mortar schools until college. Following in his father's footsteps as a professional actor, he says he's finally found the perfect stage for his education. A high school junior, he "attends" the Internet-based Laurel Springs School in Ojai, California. He takes his classes in the comfort of his bedroom, and can bring them along or leave them behind when he goes to New York for an audition or travels with his family.
"Here the classes are really, really good. They're highly accredited," Keenan says of Laurel Springs, adding, "I'm learning a lot." He says he wasn't learning much at his previous school, a charter school where he claims students ran rampant and undisciplined. Until he started virtual schooling his sophomore year, all of his education was traditional - including 7th and 8th grade at the prestigious Boston Latin. Keenan's father, Doug Cochrane, says testing has shown why virtual schooling works so well for his son, who also has Attention Deficit Disorder. "He likes to learn in chunks," Doug says, adding that if Keenan is "kind of grooving" on a subject, "he likes to just get up and go on that." He might spend a couple months focusing on two subjects, like Math and French, then finish one or both and dive into English Literature. Each of Keenan's classes is divided up into 36 one-week lessons. But he prefers to complete an entire lesson in one day, thereby focusing on one subject. Some classes have textbooks in addition to Online work. In certain subjects, he can re-take a test if he wants to bring up the grade. "They realize it's not about the grade. It's about learning (the material)," Keenan says of his teachers, who live in Georgia, California and Connecticut. He frequently exchanges e-mails with them and has phone conferences with them and his parents.
"They're very big into communication - keeping the lines of communication open," Keenan's dad says. Asked about any drawbacks of virtual schooling, the Boston teen says he still battles the "temptation to do something else" like get on YouTube or Facebook, and he occasionally wishes he were having the "high school experience." But he has learned to discipline himself - following his parents' rule of getting up by 9 a.m. and beginning his schoolwork within an hour. He takes frequent breaks in order to stay focused. He reminds himself of all the high school conflicts, crises and drama he's not getting caught up in and thereby distracted - important for him in concentrating on his goal of getting into UCLA. Students from Laurel Springs go on to colleges around the country, including the Ivy Leagues. What does Keenan like most about virtual schooling? He controls the timing.
"I know if I crank now, I'll be able to end school sooner," he explains. "I want to have school vacation start in May this year."
BIG AND BOLD
Cindy Heffner has to work with her son's timing. Sometimes Josh is wired and can't sleep in the middle of the night, and that becomes the perfect time for the markers-on-the-window teaching technique. Off-beat scheduling is a much better alternative, she says, to their attempt at medication so he could adapt to traditional school, which she says left him with "no personality" and looking "like a zombie." When not medicated, Josh was often disciplined and isolated because he couldn't sit still, according to his mother.
"So what's better," Heffner asks. "Do I work with his energy level? Do I get him excited about learning, or let him be punished?" Josh clearly prefers the hands-on lessons to the computer-based components of his classes. He energetically relays his plans for his next science project. "I'm going to be working on a volcano," he says. "I've never done it in my life! But I'm thinking I have the perfect way to do it." As his school district makes a bold foray into the world of virtual education, Josh and his mom are going along for the ride. "For him to stay focused and on task," Heffner says, "it has to be big, bold and 'Wow, this is cool!'" Lynn Jolicoeur is an award-winning journalist and the mother of kindergarten twins. She's worked extensively as a television reporter - most recently in Boston. She makes her home in Shrewsbury.
