Florida Virtual School and K.I.E.L. Charter School: Building Sustainable Funding Models

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1 1 20th Annual Conference on Distance Teaching and Learning click here -> Florida Virtual School and K.I.E.L. Charter School: Building Sustainable Funding Models Phyllis Lentz Director of Global Services Florida Virtual School Sue Steiner Program Director K.I.E.L. Charter School, Kiel, Wisconsin Building upon a tradition of national trendsetting for online education, Florida Virtual School (FLVS) has seen a major change in the way it is funded by the state legislature. Under the new law, FLVS is now included in the statewide funding formula for K-12 Education, the Florida Education Finance Program (FEFP), instead of relying on a line-item appropriation. The new funding formula went into effect on July 1, 2003 and is designed to increase educational opportunities while offering traditional schools an avenue for reducing class size. The new model is regarded as a groundbreaking move, and one that implies that virtual learning is here to stay in Florida. Accompanying the funding change, however, are tougher accountability measures, setting FLVS apart from brick and mortar schools. Traditional public schools receive state support based on the number of students physically present. FLVS will only receive support for students who successfully complete courses with a passing grade. The tougher accountability standards are balanced with the fact that students can work flexibly in terms of pace and various assessment and instructional options. A little background information into the development of the school may be useful. FLVS is a publicly funded school and is offered free to all students in the state of Florida. Courses are instructor lead and include a high level of interaction between teachers and students. Students are able to choose three pace options (traditional, extended, or accelerated), and pace charts are provided in every course to guide students in their goals. FLVS has established a highly successful completion rate of 87% or better, while still meeting the challenging accountability measures now in place. Those measures were actually developed and proposed by FLVS own staff because of their confidence in the viability of online learning. Every course has been strictly developed to meet and exceed state standards and align to national standards. The new performance-based funding model leverages the flexibility inherent in online learning, allowing students to show what they know in a variety of formats and paces, while still encouraging true mastery of skills. For instance, students are often encouraged to resubmit assignments when mastery is not evident. Enrollments at FLVS have almost doubled every year. Growth has been explosive, and there appears to be no slowing of that growth on the near horizon. The Florida legislature has designated Florida Virtual School as a choice, available to all Florida students and parents. Schools are required to notify parents of this choice and of its inherent benefits. School districts may not limit student access to courses offered through FLVS, and that access is to be made available to students during or after the normal school day and through summer school enrollment. Schools are required to adopt policies that will allow for the utilization of online learning as one solution to the mandate to reduce class sizes.

2 2 20th Annual Conference on Distance Teaching and Learning click here -> FLVS funding is provided as follows: A "full-time equivalent student" (FTE) for FLVS is one student who has successfully completed 6 credits that shall count toward the minimum number of credits required for high school graduation A student who completes less than six credits shall be a fraction of an FTE student. Half credit completions shall be included in determining an FTE student Credit completed by a student in excess of the minimum required for that student for high school graduation is not eligible for funding. FTE student credit completed through the FLVS, including credits completed during the summer, shall be reported to the DOE in the manner prescribed by the department and shall be funded through the FEFP FTE student credit completion for courses offered through FLVS shall be reported only by FLVS. School districts shall report full-time equivalent student membership only for courses for which the district provides the instruction. Florida Virtual School has seen three different funding models since its inception in When FLVS first began, funding was provided through a Break the Mold grant. That total funding for that grant was $200,000 and expired in The disadvantage to any grant program is that they eventually need to be replaced with other, more permanent, funding sources. In 1997, the Florida legislature took on FLVS as a line item in the state budget. The initial budget was $1.2 million, and by the time FLVS was ready to be moved into the per pupil funding model, the line item value had increased to $9.2 million per year. Line item funding provided many advantages for FLVS, not the least of which was the stability needed to allow the program to grow and develop. The state has essentially allowed FLVS to focus on excellent course development and instructional strategies for online learning. The financial resources the state has provided allowed FLVS course offerings to expand to over 80 courses, including middle and high school classes, as well as 11 Advanced Placement courses. Ten AP exam reviews are also now available. As a result, FLVS has become the nation s leader in public online high schools. Unfortunately, because of the finite nature of a line item funding model, FLVS was often severely limited in its ability to enroll students. Registration would often have to close within hours of opening, thus creating frustration amongst those students trying to utilize FLVS as a choice. It soon became clear that the per pupil funding model would go a long way to alleviate that problem because it would allow FLVS to continually hire teachers and add seats for students. The new funding model allows students to now register year round for FLVS courses. It also supports growth while providing a sense of permanency for the school. At the same time, the model is a more efficient use of tax dollars in that there is no fixed capital outlay. Of course, every change brings challenges as well. Certainly the new accountability standards are a challenge, and it is quite a paradigm shift for the educators who work for FLVS. Though challenging, that paradigm shift of performance-based funding and, thus, performance-based instruction, is not unwelcome. Another challenge involves managing the growth while maintaining quality. Demand for courses is continually increasing. While the per pupil model does open far more doors for students, it is still not possible to serve everyone because of growth management issues. FLVS has seen an explosion of course requests in the last couple of months. The hiring, training, and mentoring that must accompany every new teacher are quite labor intensive, and human resources are not infinite. Thus, the challenge remains to maintain a balance between steady growth and consistent high quality. The following table provides further specifics as to our current funding issues.

3 3 20th Annual Conference on Distance Teaching and Learning click here -> Table 1. Funding Issues Issue School Districts FLVS FTE (equivalency) 900 hrs of seat-time 6 successful credit completions (D or better) 180 day/900 hour Annual Cap per Student Yes No Issue School Districts FLVS Ability to Earn FTE funding for Summer School No Yes Ability to Earn FTE funding for 7th period and beyond No Yes Rank in funds per student (9-12 Basic) Varies 17th To meet the demands of rapid growth, FLVS has focused on a few key management tools. Mentoring Programs Our mentoring program partners new instructors with a seasoned instructor who provides support as they acclimate to virtual instruction and to FLVS shared values. Shared Shells New part-time instructors are placed with a full-time instructor within a shared shell (course). Staffing Model Maintaining an appropriate full-time to adjunct instructor ratio to assure quality customer service has proven to be key. Another crucial key to success is to provide support for instructors in the forms of mentors, instructional leaders, and ongoing professional development. Data-Driven Decision Making In some ways, it is much easier to gather data on students and teachers in an online environment. Every assignment is submitted online. Every student and parent interaction is electronically recorded, and much of that data is available even for parents or local educators to view. In addition, FLVS has intentionally built in feedback measures into every course, including formal and informal surveys, which provide information not only about the course itself but also about the student and/or parent satisfaction level with FLVS. Such information is invaluable in helping FLVS make decisions regarding course development, teacher training, or policies issues. The per pupil funding model has brought definite challenges to FLVS, but it has also established it as the first virtual school in the nation to receive the validation inherent in such a funding move. It has also allowed FLVS to drastically increase the number of students that can be served while continuing in a tradition of excellent instruction and course offerings.

4 4 20th Annual Conference on Distance Teaching and Learning click here -> K.I.E.L. Charter School Funding Sources As FLVS began to expand its course options to school districts outside the state of Florida, Kiel s Integrated Electronic Learning Charter School (K.I.E.L. Charter School) in Northeast Wisconsin began using FLVS courses on a tuition basis during its first year of operation. Our initial startup costs came from charter school funds in the form of competitive grants. We initially received $50,000 in planning grant funds. In subsequent years, we received $150,000 for each of the next two years in implementation grant funds. This past summer we received an additional $50,000 in implementation funds. During this next year, our local school district will provide over $137,00 in operational costs. In subsequent years, we will be able to able to apply for two years of dissemination grants totaling $150,000 each year. LAKelearning As we began to purchase courses we began to explore options for course management systems that would host our courses. LAKelearning is a collaborative network between Lakeshore Technical College, Appleton eschool and Kiel. LAKelearning has researched online course management systems and found Ucompass Educator to be the most user-friendly and cost effective platform that will meet our needs. Our collaborative network has laid the groundwork for other schools to pilot the Educator Course Management System. You can utilize this online course management system without cost for the first year. If you join our network, in subsequent years the costs are less than you could provide them alone. LAKelearning has created a template contract, which has been negotiated so that as more districts members become part of the network, everyone benefits from lower costs. Quality Online Courses Kiel and Appleton purchase online courses from FLVS. Kiel currently owns 12 courses. Via weekly conference calls, our partnership discusses courses that are going to be purchased or developed so that we are not duplicating efforts. Since Kiel and Appleton have chosen not to duplicate course options, it allows us to use a seat swapping arrangement where Kiel students can be enrolled in Appleton courses and vice versa. Through FLVS s Unlimited Licensing plan, Kiel and Appleton can efficiently utilize available resources. FLVS recognized this partnership as a single unit for licensing purposes but individual units for billing purposes. Teachers in either district can teach courses purchased by one of the districts and students from either district can be enrolled in any of those courses. There are also provisions in our agreement for students outside our two districts. Teacher Training Kiel and Appleton have been in operation for two years and share training opportunities that have been provided to our teachers. Teachers need exposure to online teaching and learning that is engaging, high quality, and standards driven. We can provide teacher training opportunities and mentor relationships can be established between partnering districts, if desired. Opportunities provided to our teachers include: training on the Educator Course Management System, how to design online course content, after-school training sessions, taking on-line courses, facilitating on-line courses, and attending related conferences/workshops. An extensive list of online learning opportunities can be found at: A variety of program delivery models are introduced to our staff. i.e. Tuition based courses, licensing courses, locally developed online courses, and blended or hybrid courses. Collaborative teams from multiple districts have been formed to develop online courses that would then be available to all members of the network.

5 5 20th Annual Conference on Distance Teaching and Learning click here -> Policies and Procedures We have developed polices related to our application, enrollment process, and course completion process as well as numerous other policies. In addition, we have developed a Family Handbook that answers many of the questions that parents and student may have. The official Policies and Procedures, Family Handbook and student application can be found at Biographical Sketches Phyllis Lentz has been an educator for 34 years beginning as a business education classroom teacher in Ohio and later in Florida. Her undergraduate degree was earned at the University of Toledo in Toledo, OH and a master s degree in Computer Education from Nova Southeastern University. Upon leaving the classroom, she worked as a technology resource teacher with Orange County Public Schools in Orlando. In that role she implemented the transition from typewriters to computers in the business classrooms and supported the technology component of many special curriculum projects throughout the county. She is proud to be one of the original members the Florida Virtual School staff hired in 1997 and is Director of Global Services. Address: 445 West Amelia Street, Suite 301 Orlando, FL plentz@flvs.net URL: Phone: X2781 Sue Steiner is the District Technology Coordinator and chaired the charter school planning committee that initiated their online school. She currently chairs the Governing Board of K.I.E.L. Charter School and serves as Program Director. Sue facilitates high school math courses for students enrolled in Wisconsin Virtual School and K.I.E.L. Charter School. Sue has Educator, Florida Virtual School, WVS and class.com training. Sue is a member of the Wisconsin Collaborative Online Network Advisory Group. Sue has presented at the Wisconsin Educational Technology Conference, Wisconsin Charter School Conference, Wisconsin Educational Media Association Spring Conference, and numerous other meetings and technology academies. Address: 416 Paine St. Box. 201 Kiel, WI ssteiner@kiel.k12.wi.us URL: Phone: Fax: