Florida Virtual School and KIEL Charter School: Building Sustainable Funding Models

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1 Florida Virtual School and KIEL 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

2 What is Florida Virtual School? First state-wide public virtual high school An innovative plan to increase opportunities for: Under-served Populations: Rural schools Low-performing schools Reaching students with special academic needs Acceleration Advancement Homebound Travel Class-size reduction / School choice initiatives

3 FLVS Funding History Department of Education Break the Mold Grant Financial assistance from Orange County, FL Legislative Line-Item Funding Separate budget line from K-12 funding Introduction of FTE funding with performance criteria

4 FLVS Funding History Legislative Line Item Funding Benefits: Clearly defined allotment of money to build budget Allowed for controlled growth each year Non-threatening to school districts Challenges: Student demand exceeded our ability to serve Line Item status is not stable nor permanent

5 Funding Statute Highlights 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.

6 Funding Statute Highlights FTE student credit completed through 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 School districts may not limit student access to courses offered through FLVS 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.

7 New Funding Model Benefits Student centered Recognizes the flexibility inherent in distance learning Supports future growth of FLVS Permanency

8 New Funding Model Challenges New standard of accountability Managing growth while maintaining quality Meeting the demand Enrollment and budget projections and management Implementation of unique funding report with current state information systems

9 K.I.E.L. Charter School FLVS began to expand course options outside of Florida K.I.E.L. Charter School began using FLVS course on a tuition basis in the fall of 2002

10 Funding Sources Competitive Charter School Grants from the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction Planning Grant Funds - $50,000 Implementation Grant - $150,000 Implementation Renewal Grant - $150,000 Additional Grant Funds - $50,000

11 Future Grants Dissemination Grants Two years of $150,000 each Must be free of charter school grant money for one year before you can apply We hope to expand FLVS courses to statewide licenses

12 Use of Grant Funds Primarily used for startup costs Tuition based courses from various vendors Purchasing Florida Virtual School courses Online Course Management System Partnered with Appleton eschool and Lakeshore Technical College to purchase Educator from Ucompass (same platform as FLVS) Online staff development training for any interested district teachers

13 Local District Dollars Online charter school fully supported by the administration and school board $137,000 for operational costs for Work with other districts throughout the state to partner with us on Educator and FLVS courses

14 Quality Online Courses Kiel and Appleton purchase courses from FLVS Seat swapping arrangement FLVS Unlimited Licensing Plan Provisions in our agreement for students outside our two districts

15 Teacher Training Expose teachers to online teaching and learning that is engaging, high quality and standards driven Taking online courses Facilitating online courses Currently pay online teachers for school year and summer school (next year part of FTE) Designing online course content (hybrid or blended courses) FLVS will have course development training in the fall

16 Additional Information Policies and Procedures Family Handbook Application, enrollment, course completion ges/charterindex.htm

17 Sue Steiner Contact Info Program Director, K.I.E.L. Charter School 416 Paine St. Box 201 Kiel, WI (fax)