Idaho Teacher Says Online Learning Is ‘Higher Level of Learning’

Rick Berrett, a history teacher at South Fremont High School, demonstrated how a blended online course can be high-quality and engaging during the Senate Education Committee hearing today. He made the demonstration via the Idaho Education Network.

Berrett has been a teacher for 30 years. He said online learning is “a higher level of learning” because it teachers not only the course content but also important skills like problem-solving, critical thinking, time management, how to collect and analyze data.

“There is collaboration within the school and outside the school,” Berrett said. “You learn effective communication skills.”

In addition, he said students who participate in online learning master skills they need to go on to postsecondary education, and “they learn skills that are very valuable in the workforce.”

Through the blended learning model he has created, “students have an equal opportunity to be successful,” he told the Senate Education Committee on Thursday. He can individualize lessons for students who struggle as well as for students who excel.

“It is challenging, it’s innovative, and basically the sky is the limit,” Berrett said of his online learning model.

Right now, about 20 percent of the students in his school take this form of learning. “The only thing that is holding us back is computer access. Otherwise, we’d like to do it for all of the U.S. History students.”

South Fremont High School has submitted a letter of interest to participate in the first one-third of high schools that receive laptop devices for all students in Fall 2013. The state will complete a one-to-one ratio of students and staff to devices in every high school by 2015.

~ Melissa M.

174 HIGH SCHOOLS SIGN UP TO PARTICIPATE IN FIRST ONE-TO-ONE ROLLOUT

More than 170 high schools representing about 84 percent of Idaho’s high school students signed up to participate in the first one-third of schools receiving laptops in the state’s one-to-one initiative in 2013.

“We are overwhelmed by the support from Idaho’s schools and educators,” Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Luna said. “Through the Students Come First laws, we now are on the path to provide equal access and opportunity to all students in Idaho – no matter where they live. It is clear that parents, teachers, school leaders and students are demanding this technology and want it in their classrooms as soon as possible to help raise academic achievement and prepare every student to go on to postsecondary education and the workforce.”

Under the Students Come First reform laws, the state is transforming every classroom into a 21st Century Classroom by investing $9 million a year in state-of-the-art technology in grades K-12 and implementing a one-to-one ratio of students and teachers to laptops in every public high school.

Teachers, principals and other certified staff in every high school will receive laptop devices in Fall 2012 as well as a year of intensive professional development on how to integrate this technology in the classroom curriculum. The state is funding $4 million a year in ongoing professional development.

Based on a recommendation of a statewide technology task force, the state will deploy laptop devices to high schools statewide over the next three years, beginning in Fall 2013. In the 2013-2014 school year, one-third of Idaho’s high schools will be equipped with laptop devices and the necessary software, maintenance, security and support to reach a one-to-one ratio in the school. By 2015, the state will complete this one-to-one ratio in every Idaho high school.

The state will cover the costs of these devices as well as the repair, maintenance, software and security. The state also is working to make every Idaho high school a wireless environment in the next year.

To determine which schools would participate in the first round of deployment, the State Department of Education asked schools to submit a letter of interest by February 17, signed by the district superintendent or school board chair. The Department received 99 letters of interest representing 174 different high schools and nearly 68,000 students statewide. This makes up an estimated 84 percent of Idaho’s high school students, which is far more than the one-third of students the state will be able to deploy to beginning in 2013.

The Department will develop a rubric to determine which schools are most ready to benefit and should participate in the first deployment of one-to-one devices for students in 2013. The Department anticipates selecting schools by the end of the current school year.

To see the full list of schools and districts that signed up to participate, visit http://www.studentscomefirst.org/mobiledevices.htm and click on the “Letters of Interest” list.

State Board Approves Change in Online Course Requirement

The State Board of Education approved a change today to allow more flexibility and local decision making for students graduating in 2016 who will be required to take two online courses. A pending rule will be presented to the legislature in 2013, and if approved, the change will become permanent.

Students entering the 9th grade in the fall of 2012 will still be required to take two online learning credits to graduate from high school, but if the rule is approved, the credits can both be earned through a synchronous or blended class. The previous rule required that at least one of the two credits be earned from an asynchronous online class.

An asynchronous online class is one in which students move at their own pace and at varying times with at least 80 percent of the content delivered through the use of technology. A synchronous class is one in which a student and teacher are online together at a specific time. A blended course can include elements of both synchronous and asynchronous instruction as long as technology is used to deliver at least 50 percent of the course content.

The change allows local districts additional flexibility in helping students earn the two credits required.

To learn more about the Idaho State Board of Education, please visit http://www.boardofed.idaho.gov/.

STATE BOARD APPROVES IDAHO’S APPLICATION FOR NEW ACCOUNTABILITY SYSTEM

The Idaho State Board of Education today voted unanimously to approve Idaho’s move toward a new system of increased accountability, which focuses on academic growth.

Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Luna and staff at the Idaho State Department of Education worked with educational stakeholders to create a new accountability plan as part of the state’s application for more flexibility under No Child Left Behind.

With the State Board’s approval, the Department will now submit its application to the U.S. Department of Education before the deadline on February 21.

“Because of the Students Come First laws Idaho passed last year, we are able to create this new, higher level of accountability that gives local school districts the flexibility they need to make sure every student in Idaho is growing academically every year,” Superintendent Luna said.

Idaho has taken a lead role in building the next generation of accountability systems. By passing the Students Come First reform laws in 2011, the state has moved toward an education system based on academic growth and better preparing students for the world that awaits them after high school.

Superintendent Luna worked with other states to develop key principles for new accountability systems through his role as President-Elect (and now current President) of the Council of Chief State School Officers. In June, Superintendent Luna sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, informing him that Idaho would begin moving toward a new system of increased accountability since Congress has not reauthorized No Child Left Behind. The new system would include more flexibility for school districts and a new accountability system that measures growth.

Under the current No Child Left Behind law, states only measure school success based on proficiency – or how many students pass the test. The federal law, which originally passed in 2001, was supposed to be reauthorized four years ago so states could include academic growth, or how much progress a student makes in a given year.

While Congress has been considering some pieces of legislation, it has yet to take action on reauthorization.

Superintendent Luna was in Washington, D.C. today testifying before the U.S. House Education and the Workforce Committee, encouraging them to act on legislation to reauthorize No Child Left Behind in full. He called into the State Board of Education meeting.

With a waiver to certain parts of the No Child Left Behind law, Idaho is able to create its new system of increased accountability based on higher standards, academic growth, and improved performance evaluations for educators – all key components of the Students Come First reform laws. These laws have positioned Idaho well to implement its new system of increased accountability.

Under the new accountability plan, schools will no longer receive an Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) ranking. Instead, schools will be rated based on a Five-Star scale.

A Five-Star School is performing excellent in key areas – proficiency, academic growth, and postsecondary and career-ready metrics. A One-Star School, on the other hand, is struggling to meet the state’s goals in these areas and will receive additional technical assistance from the state.

Representatives of educational stakeholder groups and members of the public helped to shape Idaho’s new accountability system. The Department held focus groups with parents, legislators, classroom teachers, principals, superintendent and school board trustees in October. The public could read and comment on a draft of the Idaho’s waiver application throughout the month of January.

The Department made about a dozen changes to its application based on this feedback.

Visit http://www.sde.idaho.gov/site/assessment/FederalReq/ to read Idaho’s new accountability plan in full or to see an executive summary.

Superintendent Luna Calls on Congress to Reauthorize ESEA in Testimony Before House Committee

Idaho Superintendent of Public Instruction and President of the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) Tom Luna testified Thursday, February 16 before the U.S. House Education and the Workforce Committee hearing on two bills to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA).

The House Education and the Workforce Committee is currently considering proposals introduced by committee Chairman John Kline to reauthorize ESEA, The Student Success Act and the Encouraging Innovation and Effective Teachers Act.

In his testimony, Superintendent Luna explicitly called for immediate ESEA reauthorization, and said that “…for the last 10 years, American schools have lived under a law that is akin to the classic Clint Eastwood movie, “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. First the good: No Child Left Behind has placed a spotlight on student achievement in America, especially among disadvantaged students, and it has established grade level proficiency as the target for every child.  But while No Child Left Behind has focused America’s schools upon improving learning for every child, it also has many bad parts. Notably, current law doesn’t recognize student growth, so schools have numerous ways to fail but few avenues to demonstrate success.  And now the ugly: because the law has not been reauthorized in a timely manner, its rigid accountability system has become a stumbling block to state and local education reforms.”  

In the absence of federal action, Luna described what he calls the “renaissance” of education reform that states have led in recent years. “More than 30 states last year passed some form of comprehensive education reform legislation. States across the nation are addressing antiquated labor practices, improving student access to technology, engaging in system redesign, adopting clear and high academic standards, and developing data systems that support targeted student interventions and improved program evaluation.”    

Superintendent Luna emphasized the importance of a federal law that promotes state flexibility. “We do not need the federal government to dictate the specific terms of state and local reforms, because we are situated best to develop and implement state, local, and national initiatives that benefit students in our state,” he said, and commended Chairman Kline for offering a bill that “acknowledges and respects that it is state and local leaders who are driving education reform.” He also reiterates CCSSO’s support for added provisions to the bill that will “strengthen the ability of states to deliver on their commitments to stronger accountability systems rooted in the ultimate goal of college and career readiness for all students.”

Please view Superintendent Luna’s prepared remarks, including recommended modifications of the proposals here.

More Teachers Are Choosing to Stay in Idaho

Based on a public records request, the State Department of Education pulled statistics this week on the number of certified teachers in Idaho, including how many have come from out of state, how many are joining the teaching profession, and how many are choosing to leave the teaching profession for the past four years.

Here are some of the highlights:

• Currently, 18,684 individuals are currently certified to teach in Idaho. This is down from 3.7 percent from the 2007-2008 school year when 19,367 individuals were certified.
• But Idaho teachers are not leaving the state to teach elsewhere, as some have surmised. In fact, the number of teachers leaving Idaho to teach in another school or district has declined significantly in recent years. In 2008-2009, 215 teachers left the state to teach at another educational institution. In the 2010-2011 school year, just 48 teachers left the state to teach elsewhere.
• More teachers are choosing to stay in the district in which they currently work as well. In 2007-2008, 510 teachers moved to teach in a new Idaho school district. In 2010-2011, just 82 teachers moved to a new school district in the state of Idaho.
• We have not seen mass layoffs in Idaho school districts, as some predicted. In 2009-2010, districts reported 83 teachers left the profession due to a reduction in force. Eighty-five teachers reported this in 2010-2011.
• We continue to see teachers choose to leave the teaching profession for personal reasons. “Personal reasons” can mean a variety of things, from seeking a new profession to moving out of state with a spouse to deciding to stay at home with children for a few years. In any case, in 2007-2008, 342 teachers reported leaving the profession for personal reasons. In 2010-2011, 697 reported leaving the profession for personal reasons.

We recognize this turnover rate seems high. It is likely a result of the economy; however, we must continue to improve the school system by implementing pay-for-performance for teachers, offering additional professional development and increasing technology tools for teachers and students in the classroom. We want to keep our great teachers in the classroom and attract more of the best and the brightest to teach in Idaho schools.

Based on the above numbers, it is clear that more teachers are actually choosing to stay in Idaho and not leave the state of Idaho. This is positive news, and we will continue our work in this direction.

Superintendent Luna to Testify Before Congress Thursday

Idaho Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Luna will testify Thursday before the U.S. House Education and the Workforce Committee hearing on two bills to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA).

The House Education and the Workforce Committee is currently considering legislation to reauthorize ESEA, more commonly referred to as the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. 

As Idaho’s State Superintendent and President of the Council of Chief State School Officers, Superintendent Luna has played a critical role in encouraging Congress to reauthorize No Child Left Behind and in shaping reauthorization legislation. He testified before the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee in November.

Superintendent Luna will testify before the U.S. House Education and the Workforce Committee at 10 a.m. ET (8 a.m. MT) on Thursday, February 16 during the Committee’s hearing on the “Student Success Act” and “Encouraging Innovation and Effective Teachers Act,” two bills to reauthorize No Child Left Behind. The hearing will be streamed live online.

Idaho is still applying for a waiver from certain provisions of No Child Left Behind. Until Congress takes action and reauthorizes the full law, the state will use a waiver to implement a new system of increased accountability that uses multiple measures to rate school performance, including academic growth.

Idaho’s waiver application will go before the Idaho State Board of Education on Wednesday and then be submitted to the U.S. Department of Education before February 21.