Officials respond to changes in No Child Left Behind

WOOSTER DISTRICT — David Estrop was startled to receive an ultimatum from the Ohio Department of Education.

In his third year as superintendent of Springfield City Schools, Estrop is a former Wooster City Schools’ superintendent.

The news he made in Springfield about just what academic improvement means took him all the way to the White House, where he personally heard about modifications being made to federal No Child Left Behind requirements — not to relax them, but to make them more responsive to schools showing progress.

Estrop and the Springfield district had celebrated “all 15 of our schools improving on one state metric or another,” he said, and moving as a district from continuous improvement to a ranking of Effective.

The district’s value-added measurement put it in the top three percent of all of the districts in the state.

“We were feeling pretty good about our progress,” Estrop said.

But under federal law, because the district was missing the mark for adequate yearly progress for all but one of its elementary schools, the district’s 4,400 elementary school students gained the right to attend Snowhill Elementary, the only district making AYP, or to attend neighboring districts or virtual schools, according to Estrop.

Just four or five weeks into the 2011-12 school year, the Springfield district had two weeks to comply with the provisions of NCLB, Estrop said, which also included the option of building new schools or sending children to Snowhill in shifts.

Along with the letter required to be sent out to elementary school parents, Estrop attached one asking them to forego alternative education options.

“We have made good progress,” Estrop said he told them, adding, “We have fought the good fight; we are fighting it.”

“I’m pleased to tell you only 12 students moved into Snowhill; no one selected the digital academy; all the rest stayed where they were.”

Estrop’s story came to the attention of the U.

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21 students apply to transfer to Snowhill

Estrop spoke out last week, telling parents that all the schools were making progress and students wouldn’t be better served by overcrowding Snowhill or attending a virtual school recommended by the Ohio Department of Education.

“Twenty-one (students) will not put a significant burden on Snowhill,” Estrop said Monday. “We likely will see an increase in some classes but it won’t be substantial.”

Meanwhile, Estrop says he will continue to advocate for a change in NCLB.

“This is not a Springfield problem and as the federal standards for the next two years move up to 100 percent of the students, including students with disabilities, being 100 percent proficient 100 percent of the time then there’s going to be many, many, many more schools and school districts in the same position we are,” said Estrop.

Kristi Shaw, who has one child in kindergarten at Snowhill, echoed Estrop’s sentiments about No Child Left Behind.

“It feels like the law is broken,” she said. “It seems like there could be a better way to fix it. It seems like it’s going to hurt everyone in the long run.”

Another parent, Tom Heaphey, said he would keep his first-grader at Snowhill but if the school became overcrowded, he would look at the other Springfield elementary schools.

“Maybe if it got really crowded, I’d transfer her to one of the other (Springfield) schools,” he said.

In addition to speaking to parents and local media, Estrop has written letters to politicians representing Springfield in Congress and U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, who has been critical of No Child Left Behind in the past.

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Leading Virtual School, Connections Academy, Launches Blog

Connections Academy, a leading national operator of K-12 virtual public schools, announced today the launch of a new blog geared toward families interested in K-12 virtual education and school from home. The blog is called Virtual Learning Connections and will offer insightful commentary about virtual school and learning from home, helpful tips for parents, celebrity guest bloggers, and more. Connections Academy presently operates fifteen public virtual schools in fourteen states as well as a national private virtual school.

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Say Hello to Colin Goodwin and His Portable Classroom

Colin Goodwin is going to be a senior next year, he has a respectable GPA and is currently eying colleges, but you won’t find him at Lakewood High School.

That’s because Goodwin – like a growing number of teens – decided to enroll in a virtual school called Ohio Connections Academy in order to receive his high school diploma.

Goodwin is one of more than 2,700 students enrolled at OCA, and statewide, he’s one of more than 32,000, virtual classroom consultant Heidi Mays said.

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Rutland family taking part in virtual school demonstration

RUTLAND — A Rutland family will travel to the Ohio Statehouse this week to participate in an Ohio Connections Academy (OCA) demonstration of a typical day of learning for students attending a virtual school.

Going from here to take part in the demonstration for Ohio Legislators will be Matthew Shiflet who is in the eighth grade and attends school on-line. He is the son of Jeff and Teresa Shiflet of Rutland. Mrs. Shiflet will accompany her son to Columbus for their day of virtual school at the Statehouse on Tuesday, Feb. 1.

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Wapak’s virtual school

Wapakoneta City Schools Board of Education members are expected to hear a proposal for a virtual school during Tuesday’s regular meeting.
Wapakoneta High School Principal Aaron Rex plans to present the proposal during the meeting scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. at Wapakoneta High School. “This is something we’ve been considering for a while,” Superintendent Keith Horner said.
He said approximately 45 of the district’s students are attending some type of virtual school outside of the district.

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Wapak’s virtual school

Wapakoneta City Schools Board of Education members are expected to hear a proposal for a virtual school during Tuesday’s regular meeting.

Wapakoneta High School Principal Aaron Rex plans to present the proposal during the meeting scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. at Wapakoneta High School. “This is something we’ve been considering for a while,” Superintendent Keith Horner said.

For the rest of the article, go to Wapak’s virtual school

Toledo teen ballerina finds balance in virtual school

TOLEDO, OH — Every day students across Northwest Ohio wake up and go to school.

Meredith Garrison is no different… but her school is.

Meredith attends Ohio Connections Academy: a program featured as part of NBC’s “Education Nation” for its alternative, virtual approach to learning.

Meredith is a talented ballerina. Often she spends hours a day practicing and rehearsing.

“My friends will be like, ‘Why do you dance?’ and I’m like that’s basically asking me why I breathe, eat, sleep because it’s just my life and I love it,” said Meredith.

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Winton Woods meeting set Sept. 14

Letters were recently sent to families with students at schools identified as “in need of improvement.”

The law allows students to attend a similar publicly funded school, charter school, community school or virtual school that has entered into a cooperative agreement with Winton Woods to accept students.

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Winton Woods Superintendent Addresses District’s Future

Letters were recently sent to families with students at schools in the district which have been identified as “in need of improvement.” The law allows students to attend a similar publicly-funded school, charter school, community school or virtual school that has entered into a cooperative agreement with Winton Woods to accept students and is not in “School Improvement.” Since Winton Woods has no mutual cooperative agreements with publicly-funded school options for the 2010-2011 school year, parents were provided with a list of virtual schools in Ohio that are not in School Improvement. Additionally, students who have not met proficiency in reading and math are given first priority for Title I-funded tutoring services, or “supplemental educational services.”

AYP is an accountability feature of the No Child Left Behind Act which requires all schools, districts and states to show that students are making adequate yearly progress in reading and mathematics. The act requires states to establish annual performance targets that will result in all students scoring at the proficient level on the state’s assessment by 2014.

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