Executive Summary. Smart Horizons Career Online Education

Transcription

1 Dr. Howard Adam Liebman, CEO 800 W Cypress Creek Rd Suite 390 Fort Lauderdale, FL Document Generated On February 22, 2016

2 TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction 1 Description of the Corporation 2 Corporation's Purpose 7 Notable Achievements and Areas of Improvement 8 Additional Information 9

3 Introduction Every corporation has its own story to tell. The context in which teaching and learning takes place influences the processes and procedures by which the corporation makes decisions around curriculum, instruction, and assessment. The context also impacts the way a corporation stays faithful to its vision. Many factors contribute to the overall narrative such as an identification of stakeholders, a description of stakeholder engagement, the trends and issues affecting the corporation, and the kinds of programs and services that a corporation implements to support student learning. <br><br> The purpose of the Executive Summary (ES) is to provide a corporation with an opportunity to describe in narrative form the strengths and challenges it encounters. By doing so, the public and members of the community will have a more complete picture of how the corporation perceives itself and the process of self-reflection for continuous improvement. This summary is structured for the corporation to reflect on how it provides teaching and learning on a day to day basis. Page 1

4 Description of the Corporation Describe the corporation's size, community/communities, location, and changes it has experienced in the last three years. Include demographic information about the students, staff, and community at large. What unique features and challenges are associated with the community/communities the corporation serves? DESCRIPTION OF COMMUNITY (SHCOE) is a private, accredited online school district. Its mission and vision is to address the education and workforce preparedness needs of the more than 40 million adults in the United States who lack a high school diploma or its equivalent. The district's main district office is located just outside Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. The district's schools and students reside across the nation. Number of Schools in the District: 2 Name of Schools: Smart Horizons Career Online High School & Career Online High School COMMUNITY STAKEHOLDERS SHCOE's community stakeholders are comprised of people and institutions that provide support to the district and its students. While involvement in this group will evolve and change throughout the next five years, SHCOE believes that they will generally represent: - SHCOE's Board of Directors, SHCOE Faculty & Staff - SHCOE Students - Program Managers of local, state, and federal non-profit and for-profit educational programs - Local, state, and federal government agencies interested in reaching out to their constituents and assisting them in earning a high school diploma and a entry-level workforce readiness certificate SHCOE DISTRICT MAJOR PARTNERS Public Libraries: State of Florida Library System, State of California Library System, Los Angeles Public Library, San Francisco Public Library, Sacramento Public Library, New Jersey State Library, Denver Public Library, San Diego Public Library, New Orleans Public Library, Chattanooga Public Library, Public Library of Cincinnati, County Library of Los Angeles, Phoenix Public Library, Hartford Public Library Corporations: Taco Bell, McDonald's, Walmart Career and Community Colleges: Brown Mackie College, Ultimate Medical Academy, Tarrant Community College, City College, Michigan Virtual University, Sullivan & Cogliano Training Centers School Districts: Page 2

5 Alachua County, Broward County, Dixie County, Florida Sheriff's Youth Ranch, Hamilton County, Lafayette County, Leon County, Levy County, Manatee County, Marion County, Nassau County, Putnam County, Sarasota County, and Taylor County Correctional Institutions: Florida Department of Corrections, at 15 facilities throughout the state Workforce Boards: The Workforce Development Council of Seattle-King County, Kinexus Non-Profit Organizations: National Urban League, SER National, Project Hope Alliance, Children's Home Society DESCRIPTION & RESEARCH OF SHCOE TYPICAL STUDENT SHCOE addressed the needs of out-of-school youth and adult high school dropouts throughout the United States. These students have dropped out of the traditional, brick and mortar high school setting and must re-enter high school to obtain employment, to enter into higher education (i.e., postsecondary career training), or to meet other employment requirements. According to the US Census Bureau, the population of the United States is approximately 318,857,056 (2014). Of this group, approximately 62% are white; 17% are Hispanic; 13% are African-American; 7% are Asian/American Indian. In terms of the levels of education, approximately 14% of the population in the United States (45 million) do not have a high school diploma. SHCOE believes that many of these disenfranchised adults can be re-engaged back into the educational system through a self-directed, career online high school diploma program that directly relates to obtaining employment. SHCOE STUDENT DEMOGRAPHICS (as of 2/1/2016) Students Enrolled 2964 Active Students 2056 Alumni GENDER Male 31% Female 69% TOP 5 STATES WITH LARGEST PERCENTAGE OF SHCOE STUDENTS FL 23.85% CA 19.46% OH 5.67% IL 5.27% TX 4.76% Page 3

6 DEMOGRAPHICS BY RACIAL CATEGORY (SELF-IDENTIFIED) American Indian or Alaska Native - 28 American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian - 1 American Indian or Alaska Native, Black or African American - 5 American Indian or Alaska Native, Black or African American, White - 1 American Indian or Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander - 1 American Indian or Alaska Native, White - 4 American Indian or Alaska Native,Black or African American - 3 Asian - 51 Asian or Pacific Islander - 39 Asian, Black or African American - 1 Asian, White - 2 Black - 26 Black or African American Black or African American, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander - 1 Black or African American, White - 7 Black or African American,Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander - 1 Black or African American,White -13 Black, Non-Hispanic Hispanic - 19 Hispanic/Latino Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander - 7 Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, White - 1 Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander - 6 Pacific Islander - 1 White White, Non-Hispanic Grand Total HISTORY OF SHCOE SHCOE was founded in the summer of As the district name indicates, SHCOE is not a brick and mortar district. Instead, we employ computer technology to support students' educational requirements over the World Wide Web. SHCOE believes that our self-directed, performance-based, approach to online education offers students 24/7/365 access to high-quality, career online education. The SHCOE district is a partnership between two motivated and experienced organizations The first is Darwin Global, a company that specializes in information technology, and in the development of computer-based instruction and training. Smart Horizons, a division of Darwin Global, offers training and education courseware (Childcare, Transportation Services, Protection Officer, Healthcare, Telecommunications, Nutrition, and Business Skills) to over 200,000 students around the world. All Smart Horizons online courses are developed by Smart Horizons. The second is ABC Online Education Group, comprised of career educators with decades of experience as owners and administrators of private K-12 schools, an on-line curriculum publishing company (Virtual Sage), and an online college-preparatory and career-preparatory Page 4

7 high school (University of Miami Online High School, acquired by the Washington Post in April 2007). SHCOE PROGRAMS AND SERVICES - Convenient, flexible year round (rolling) admissions - Interactive, self-directed, career online high school courses in all major core academic areas (Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies) - Career electives that enable students to earn a career certificate in any of the 8 career options, along with a high school diploma -- Food and Hospitality -- Retail Customer Service -- Child Care & Education (CDA) -- Certified Protection Officer -- Office Management -- Homeland Security -- Commercial Driving -- Professional Skills - One-on-One Academic Coaching designed to engage students in a self-directed, online learning environment (Student Engagement Model) -Career Portfolio Course designed to prepare students for work force - Bi-Weekly Online Seminars focused on 21st Century Skills - Monthly Career Major Webinars MAJOR TRENDS AND ISSUES IMPACTING SHCOE Benefits - The increase in # of out-of-school youth and adults seeking a high school diploma and a career-credentialed certificate in a flexible setting - The increased need for more workforce, skill-based training, due to the ever-changing economy - The increased need for more workers in key sectors such as health care, early childhood education, and protection services - The affordability and accessibility of technology - The expanding research related to effective online instructional and training practices has provided a strong foundation for the build-out of SHCOE's programs Limitations - State adult education funding has decreased nationwide, even as enrollment at public and private post-secondary institutions is on the rise - Technology continues to evolve at a rapid rate and become obsolete quickly - Increase in poverty rates among adults without a high school diploma over the past 10 years has resulted in a decrease of resources to reengage back into the educational system MAJOR STRENGTHS Several major strengths emerged from the district's Standards Review: - A significant number of groups are aligned with our purpose to re-engage adults back into the educational system. - SHCOE's Board of Directors, faculty and staff are unified in the corporation' mission to deliver innovative career-based education in a supportive, engaging environment. - SHCOE's unique curriculum is designed to combine high school (academic) and career online education (training) Page 5

8 - SHCOE's clear focus on student achievement through a student engagement model designed to retain and graduate students - SHCOE has implemented an innovative system for managing continuous improvement that documents the work history of all district-wide needs and goals, also allowing the system to be agile in order to keep up with changing business development priorities MAJOR CHALLENGES The major challenges from the District's Standards Review include the following: - Identifying key indicators that impact student disengagement and working through those barriers to increase success rates. - Inconsistencies with collection of student demographic data - Trying to stay ahead of emerging technologies, while maintaining pricing that is affordable to this population of students Page 6

9 Corporation's Purpose Provide the corporation's purpose statement and ancillary content such as mission, vision, values, and/or beliefs. Describe how the corporation embodies its purpose through its program offerings and expectations for students. SHCOE PURPOSE SHCOE's purpose is to re-engage students back into the educational system and help them matriculate into the workforce and/or an industry-trained credential program/post-secondary programs. SHCOE MISSION is committed to preparing students for the workforce and post-secondary education by delivering innovative career-based education in a supportive, engaging environment. SHCOE VISION To provide a pathway to future career or educational opportunities by reengaging individuals without a high school diploma back into the educational system. SHCOE VALUES Responsive - SHCOE is responsive to our students, partners, and each other. Supportive - SHCOE supports our students, partners, and each other. Innovative - SHCOE is committed to continuous improvement by introducing new ideas that are aligned with our mission and vision. Transparent - SHCOE shares information across teams and share the meaning behind the decisions we make. Committed - SHCOE is committed to the success of our students. Page 7

10 Notable Achievements and Areas of Improvement Describe the corporation's notable achievements and areas of improvement in the last three years. Additionally, describe areas for improvement that the corporation is striving to achieve in the next three years. NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENTS Clinton Global Initiative Commitment to Action: In 2013, SHCOE and Cengage Learning joined the Clinton Global Initiative, CGI, launching a groundbreaking scholarship-matching program that provided over $1 million to students. By partnering on this CGI "Commitment to Action," over 20 corporations, workforce boards, and non-profit organizations offered COHS. A new Commitment, focusing on Collective Impact with COHS in Detroit was launched at CGI America President Obama Highlights SHCOE: the Obama administration announced new initiatives that promote rehabilitation and reintegration for the formerly incarcerated. (SHCOE) and Cengage Learning were highlighted as an example of a private sector commitment and national program that supports re-entry for inmates. White House Initiatives: Invited participant in the White House College Opportunity Summit and the 2015 White House Upskill America Summit highlighting our work with McDonalds, Walmart and Taco Bell. McDonalds is the largest restaurant corporation offering COHS to all eligible corporate and franchise employees. Walmart has reached over 1,300 employees to date through a prerequisite offering designed to re-engage adults in their education. US Department of Labor (DOL): SHCOE have focused efforts with DOL on the new WIOA legislation, working to ensure that title one reimbursement is available for SHCOE in the new act; and the planned Online Skills Academy Initiative, with an expected RFP to launch in late spring 2016 to include variety of partners. Our efforts with DOE have been focused on the P3 Grant Initiative, and targeted Collective Impact with COHS in several cities with large disengaged youth populations (e.g. Phoenix and Detroit). US Department of Education: SHCOE was acknowledged by the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education (OCTAE) in a national report that highlighted SHCOE as a primary example of "Successes of Early Implementers" for online based educational programs in correctional facilities. AREAS OF IMPROVEMENT At a strategic level, SHCOE will seek to: - Identify key indicators that impact student disengagement and work through those barriers to increase success rates - Stay ahead of emerging technologies, while maintaining pricing that is affordable to this population of students - Increase career elective offerings that align with the changing economy - Evolve processes around collection of student demographic data Page 8

11 Additional Information Provide any additional information you would like to share with the public and community that were not prompted in the previous sections. None provided Page 9