Officials at Tacoma School District (TSD) have been researching the possibility of online classes at the high school level for several years now, and it appears the district is getting closer to turning this idea into a reality.
TSD and Federal Way School District are currently negotiating an agreement which will make Federal Way’s Internet Academy also available to Tacoma students through a partnership between the two districts.
Though the contract is presently under review by TSD officials, Gil Mendoza, executive director of Tacoma Public Schools’ Career and Technical Education program, is confident that online classes will be available to Tacoma students by the fall.
The agreement – which must be approved by the Tacoma School Board and the Federal Way School board - states up to 450 classes will be offered to Tacoma students, according to Mendoza. “It could be 200 students taking 450 classes or 450 students taking one class each,” he explained.
The 450 number was selected, Mendoza said, after looking at the number of full-time equivalent students (FTE). Ninety FTE students on the Internet taking five classes each would be 450 classes. However, Mendoza emphasized it is just a model right now.
Principal of Federal Way’s Internet Academy Ron Mayberry explained for Federal Way the number of slots that will be available for TSD is dependent on the number of teachers hired by the district to teach at the online academy. For every teacher TSD hires, he said, it gets 150 slots for students.
A lot of factors are unknown at this time, like how many students from Tacoma Public Schools are going to sign up. So far, Mendoza said, approximately 20 students are enrolled. “We really don’t know what the need is,” he said.
To get the word out about the Internet Academy once the contract is finalized, informational flyers will be sent out to parents, according to Mendoza.
However, getting an agreed-upon contract is going to take some work, said Mendoza, who has reviewed it with the district’s general legal counsel and staff in the Risk Management Department. “There are some things we do need to address in it,” Mendoza said, adding that it’s “nothing insurmountable. I’m confident it’s going to happen by the fall,” he added.
Mayberry said he’s meeting with representatives from Tacoma June 6 to discuss the agreement.
As for forming a partnership with Federal Way School District, Mendoza said, it was a “natural fit.” Most of the models out there, he noted, are “third-party, for-profit organizations.” For example, the Washington Virtual Academy for the Steilacoom Historical School District is run by K12 Inc.
After years of research and requests from parents and other community members, Tacoma school officials chose to work with Federal Way. “When we saw what they had…with most of the courses designed by them and aligned with the state expectations…that’s what we wanted,” Mendoza commented.
“They have the experience and expertise,” School Board President Connie Rickman added. “They’ve gone through the initial steps of setting it up.”
Federal Way was the first public school district to offer online classes in 1996, and the district has been hoping to expand the program the last 11 years. Mayberry said the Internet Academy presently serves students K-12 - 720 in all right now - with a majority of those at the high-school level; however, officials at TSD are currently just interested in offering classes to high school students.
Mendoza explained the present contract being negotiated would merge two public school districts into a partnership, marking the first time this has occurred in the state of Washington. Students can sign up through Tacoma, he noted, but “they’ll be getting the benefit of what Federal Way has already designed and developed.”
Before the contract goes before the school boards for approval, Mendoza said, there will be a meeting with officials from Tacoma Education Association to make sure the agreement between the two public school districts is aligned with the teacher’s contract. Currently, Federal Way has 11 full-time teachers, according to Mayberry, with a plan to add 1.5 more instructors before next school year.
Another component of the Internet Academy, Mendoza said, Tacoma school officials want is “regular face time with their Internet instructors so there is a relationship being developed.
“We know Internet learning is efficient and effective,” he stated, “but we don’t want to lose sight of the fact it’s a teacher doing the delivery of instruction.
“The human element involved in education can’t be dismissed,” he continued. “We need to make sure we keep that component there.”
TSD officials will be looking at arranging some time for students to work with their online instructors occasionally face-to-face, according to Mendoza. “Hopefully, it will be feasible that we can do it,” he noted.
Mendoza is unsure when the contract will be finalized; however, he hopes it will be by the middle of August. Mayberry wants to get approval at the June or July board meeting at the latest.
The beauty of the Internet academy, Mendoza noted, is students can enroll any time with optional enrollment. So if it’s not ready by the start of next school year, Mendoza isn’t going to sweat it; at least, Kelly Raymond won’t. Raymond is the director of high schools for TSD, who will be the administrator of the Internet Academy for Tacoma.
By then Mendoza will have a few months on the job as the new superintendent of Sumner school. He takes office in July.
“Students will be able to enroll at varying times throughout the year,” he noted. “It’s not like we have to have it ready to roll by the first day of school, though it would be nice if we could.”
As for what types of students will benefit from the Internet Academy, Mendoza gave an example. He said online courses would help students who have difficultly building a class schedule that supports what their interests and aspirations are, like band or choir students.
“They might have some inflexibility in their schedule to do that and take the classes they need to graduate,” he explained. “What the Internet Academy will give to those students is some flexibility in their schedules to be able to meet their personal goals and academic goals at the same time.”
Rickman believes it will benefit an array of students, from those who have to work to help support their families to homeless students to at-risk youth. Currently, the students enrolled at the Internet Academy run the gamut, according to Mayberry, from high-to-moderate risk youth to average students to high-achieving students.
Mendoza said he’s confident this is an option TSD needs for its students. “It’s not a model that every kid can embrace,” he noted; however, it can help those who need it.
What’s the cost of such an endeavor? The hope for TSD is that the Internet Academy will be “self-supporting,” according to Mendoza. He noted that the district will initially incur some costs for hiring additional staff. “We’re hoping the student enrollment will generate enough revenue to pay for those teachers’ salaries and benefits, and the cost of supporting it,” he explained.
An administrative fee is also written into the contract, Mendoza said. “They are not just going to give us their Internet Academy,” he commented. “The money in the contract will sustain the support they will be providing to us.”
Mayberry noted the district would pay a fee to help cover support costs such as secretarial support, extra software and tech support. Presently, he said, Federal Way spends 22 percent of its FTE revenue from its online students on support costs.
The numbers haven’t been finalized yet, according to Mendoza. “We’re confident we can run this at no additional cost to district expenditures” as of right now, he said, noting the district is going into the program with plans to sustain it.
What will be the long-term impact of offering online classes? Will it have an impact on TSD’s dropout rate? Raymond said it’s too early to tell what the impact of the Internet Academy will be. Mendoza noted the academy has the potential to reduce the number of students dropping out, as it will be another option for them.
However, Rickman is more confident. “It absolutely has the potential to reduce the dropout rate,” she said. “Students have different learning styles, and this will provide more options for them.”
For more information or for questions about TSD’s Internet Academy, contact Gil Mendoza at (253) 571-1126. To learn more about Federal Way’s Internet Academy, visit www. iacademy.org.