Happy Holidays from ExcelinEd

And one more season greeting today…

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The Foundation for Excellence in Education (ExcelinEd) is a national leader in education reform. ExcelinEd is a hands-on, how-to policy and advocacy organization that designs and promotes model legislation and supports states with technical expertise, policy development and implementation strategies and public outreach. Connect With Us: Email | Facebook | Twitter | LinkedIn | YouTube  | Donate Copyright © 2022 ExcelinEd | P.O. Box 10691, Tallahassee, FL 32302 | Privacy Policy

Did you see? FLVS Celebrates its 25th Anniversary!

Note this item about the Florida Virtual School (sent by a group of neo-liberals).

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Florida Virtual School Celebrates 25 Years! Florida Virtual School (FLVS) was founded in 1997 as the first statewide, Internet-based public high school in the United States. It started out, 25 years ago, as a state-funded pilot program in two Florida school districts with 77 students and five course offerings. FLVS was soon recognized as its own school district in 2000 and now serves K-12 students in multiple ways: as a Florida school district, as a virtual course provider for other Florida districts and as a content provider nationwide for both in-person and virtual instruction through its FlexPoint program. FLVS has gained accreditation from respected regional accrediting agencies, including the North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement (NCA CASI), Northwest Accreditation Commission (NWAC) and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Council on Accreditation and School Improvement (SACS CASI), a division of Cognia. Its core courses are also approved by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA ). To learn more about FLVS’s history, its successes, challenges and vision moving forward, ExcelinEd spoke with John Winn, who formerly held roles as an education policy advisor to Governor Jeb Bush and Commissioner of Education in Florida, and, ExcelinEd interview with Dr. Louis Algaze, President and CEO of FLVS. READ JOHN WINN’S INTERVIEW READ DR. LOUIS ALGAZE’S INTERVIEW

About the Author Amy Owens, Ph.D., is the Director of Digital Policy at ExcelinEd. You can reach him at Amy@ExcelinEd.org.

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What are Four State-Level Policies To Support Learning Pods?

Given that learning pods came about as a way to better support the remote teaching that was occurring during the pandemic, I wonder if there are lessons for how we formally support full-time K-12 online learning in this report.

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Four State-Level Policies To Support Learning Pods  Here’s the bottom line: Most students, parents and teachers loved the flexibility, autonomy and deeper relationships that accompanied learning pods. Yet most parents in the CRPE study returned to traditional schools. Why? In the past three weeks, the Center on Reinventing Public Education (CRPE) released two reports on learning pods. One study surveys families and teachers, and one study looks at the demand for pods. So many commentators have already written about these studies. See some examples of reporting and commentary at EdWeek, the74, Forbes, Permissionless Education and Twitter. Here’s the bottom line: Most students, parents and teachers loved the flexibility, autonomy and deeper relationships that accompanied learning pods. Yet most parents in the CRPE study returned to traditional schools. Why? One potential reason relates to a lack of policy infrastructure that would have supported parents to continue their efforts. These reports clearly indicate a need for state-level policies that fully support the accessibility and sustainability of the much-loved option. To that end, ExcelinEd believes at least four policies would change the game for parents and teachers… WHAT ARE THE POLICIES?

About the Author Sam Duell is a Policy Director for Education Opportunity at ExcelinEd. Reach him at sam@excelined.org.

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New Survey Results – When And How Are State Leaders Thinking About Reopening Schools?

I normally don’t post things from ExcelinEd – because at one point they got upset with me for posting their items verbatim, and asked that I post summaries and link back to their material (and if I had the time to do that I’d definitely focus on more worthwhile content than ExcelinEd).  But I did want to share this because I thought that the survey might be of interest to some readers.

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Reopening Schools After COVID-19 Closures Considerations for States

It has been two months since the COVID-19 pandemic altered nearly every aspect of our lives. The pandemic has revealed stories of heroism, humanity and innovation, yet also exposed systemic inefficiencies and inequities. As a nation, we have been forced to reflect on the strengths and challenges inherent in the pre-COVID status quo while also anxiously imagining what the “new normal” means for ourselves, our families and our communities. This is especially true in education. State and local education leaders have spent the past two months focused on quickly pivoting to remote and virtual learning and providing students with wraparound supports for the remainder of this school year. However, they have also been considering what education could look like for the 2020-21 school year and beyond. It’s clear that decisions about reopening schools cannot be made in isolation. We learn more every day about the public health considerations of COVID-19 and the role schools might play in increasing or mitigating the impact of the virus on communities and populations within communities. At the same time, when and how schools resume is inextricably linked to efforts to “reopen” state and local economies in terms of parents’ ability to work outside the home. The rate and level of quality of student instruction during the pandemic has varied widely across the nation, states, regions and even from neighborhood to neighborhood; educators and parents are understandably concerned about the short- and long-term impacts of potential learning loss and missing student support. New Resource on Reopening Schools To support state policymakers and education leaders, ExcelinEd has developed Reopening Schools After COVID-19 Closures: Considerations for States, which was created with input and feedback from national, state and local leaders. This resource outlines a variety of approaches and considerations for reopening based on the following questions: When and how should schools reopen? (After it is safe from a health perspective to do so) What could options for school schedules, student placement and educator staffing “look like” when we reopen? How should we provide supports to students, particularly those who are most in need, when schools reopen? The document outlines a variety of options addressing each of these questions without promoting one option over another. Our intent is to share ideas with state leaders and policymakers—all of whom are grappling with some version of these questions. 5 Trends from the State Leader Survey on Reopening Schools During ExcelinEd’s conversations with education leaders, many expressed the desire to learn how other states are approaching the complex and multifaceted process of reopening schools in ways that support student safety, academic progress and whole-child well-being. We invited state education chiefs and governor’s offices in all 50 states to participate in an anonymous survey on reopening schools to capture the current directional thinking of state leaders. Thirty-five state leaders responded, and we’ve published their responses in State Leader Survey on Reopening Schools: Survey Results. (As the survey is anonymous, none of the responses can be attributed to a specific state or state leader.) The results contained five major trends: 1. A majority of state leaders indicated they were going to allow local districts to determine their reopening schedules. However, several respondents are considering reopening school campuses early statewide or requiring a phased-in reopening schedule that would open campuses earlier than a normal fall schedule, at least for some students. Additionally, a majority of state leaders report considering multiple options for expanding school calendars to mitigate learning loss from this spring. 2. There is shared agreement that students will not be going back to school exactly as they did last fall. While state leaders are considering several different options for grouping students and teachers, nearly all respondents report considering both the hybrid/asynchronous learning model and staggered attendance schedules. Additionally, most state leaders reported considering multiple solutions, suggesting that states may be considering a portfolio of approaches to student/teacher classroom assignments. 3. There seems to be more clarity in leaders’ planning for the academic needs of students than for social/emotional, health and safety or wraparound services. Most respondents indicated that they are considering plans to require, recommend or support the assessment of student academic progress and learning loss when schools begin the 2020-21 school year. However, state leaders’ responses suggest states may be in earlier stages of planning related to meeting the social and emotional needs of students upon reopening schools. 4. A majority of state leaders report considering more seamless transitions to virtual instruction by “practicing” required distance learning days, investment in infrastructure and supporting the development of plans to ensure continuity of learning. However, there were no discernible trends related to specific strategies. 5. State leaders are still in the very early stages of planning for 2020-21, although the survey responses reflect deep thinking and careful consideration of many possible options. Many of the responses indicated ongoing conversations about specific options and approaches, as well as specific challenges they are working to address. Looking Forward As state leaders continue to evaluate which options are most appropriate for their unique context, they will need to consider additional issues, including: Varying direct and indirect costs of implementing different models; Collective bargaining and educator contracts; Professional development to support high-quality implementation; State-level and district/school-level capacity to implement each identified model; and Strategies that set clear expectations for quality while promoting local decision making and innovation. ExcelinEd is committed to supporting states and leaders as they continue to navigate the complex decisions related to continuing instruction, reopening schools and supporting students, educators and families. Sincerely, Patricia Levesque CEO, ExcelinEd VIEW CONSIDERATIONS FOR STATES VIEW SURVEY RESULTS

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🎄Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah! ⛄

Continuing the holiday greetings…

Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah! Thank you for believing in a quality education for all children!

The Foundation for Excellence in Education (ExcelinEd) is a national leader in education reform. ExcelinEd is a hands-on, how-to policy and advocacy organization that designs and promotes model legislation and supports states with technical expertise, policy development and implementation strategies and public outreach.

Copyright © 2019 Foundation for Excellence in Education, All rights reserved. You are subscribed for information about ExcelinEd’s National Summit. ExcelinEd, P.O. Box 10691, Tallahassee, FL 32302