There is no single reason why Jayne Nilsen withdrew her son Erik from Gig Harbor High School last year and enrolled him in an Internet-based high school program. Nilsen simply says “general frustration” motivated the switch. She cites two specific concerns: the general state of today’s public education, and large class sizes at GHHS, where she says high-achieving or trouble-making students get the most attention.
That was a problem for Erik, now a 15-year-old sophomore, who got good grades but needed to ask more questions in class in order to do so.
“He was falling through the cracks,” Nilsen said.
Now, things are different. Erik takes four courses each semester through Washington Virtual Academy, an online public school free to all Washington state residents. He said he’s “learning more than (he) ever did” at Gig Harbor High.
To attract students like Erik, the PSD plans to launch its own virtual public school by 2010, where students who don’t mesh with classroom-based instruction can instead learn through their computers.
It’s a much-needed program, as more students across Washington and nationwide eschew traditional schools for online work.
“A number of students (are) looking at virtual academies elsewhere in the state,” said J.B. Fitzpatrick, the PSD’s director of technology. “It seems like we are releasing students because we simply don’t have the options available.”
About 14,000 secondary students in 52 percent of districts statewide are currently enrolled in one or more online courses for credit, according to the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction.
In 2001, only 25 percent of districts had similar programs. That number is increasing: By 2011, the number of K-12 students enrolled in online learning nationwide will triple, the American Digital Schools survey predicts.
A change like that could have significant impact on the PSD. Even though a student like Erik Nilsen might take two courses per semester at GHHS, he’s officially enrolled in the Monroe School District, because that’s where WAVA’s high school program is based and operated.
As a result, the PSD loses state funding for a full-time student. And with a tightening budget, that’s something the PSD can’t afford these days.
To counter that potential pitfall, the district is slowly incorporating online classes into its curriculum. Students can take only math classes online this year, but Fitzpatrick hopes the district will have a full-fledged program by fall 2010 that could even attract students from other Washington schools.
The process could be a difficult one: This is the second time the PSD has tried such a program, and the first time resulted in a financial loss. To make it work, the district would need to enroll 30 full-time students in order to reach $250,000 in annual funding.
Online education also has its critics, including guidance counselors who doubt that students can learn outside a classroom, and parents who feel it requires them to act as teachers.
While Internet-based classes may not benefit every student, most people in the PSD agree that the technology is here to stay — and it’s going to change education.
“It’s not so much a matter of (whether) we should do it,” said school board member Matt Wilkinson, a vocal supporter of online learning, “it’s a matter of how much and how soon.”
District administrators and school board members began talking about re-launching an online learning program last August, more than a year after terminating the previous iteration.
The old program, which offered social studies, language arts and P.E. classes, was much more like a virtual academy. But by the 2006-07 school year, only 60 students were taking one or more courses — a decrease from the previous year.
That lack of interest, along with $4.5 million in budget cuts that year, contributed to the program’s cancellation.
In the new program, only math classes are being offered to PSD high school students. Classes are taught by an outside education company that contracts with the district.
The program has slowly gained interest since launching quietly in October. Ten students have signed up for one class each.
One reason for the low-interest level is the nature of online learning. Gig Harbor High School guidance counselor Matt Westby, who approves or denies students’ request to enroll, said these programs tend to be self-selecting.
Students who inquire about Internet-based classes already are looking for alternatives to traditional education.
Westby says two types of learners fit that profile.
The first type is similar to GHHS sophomore Erika Moss, an advanced student who is highly motivated, disciplined and wants to challenge herself beyond the district’s current programs.
Moss, 16, recently enrolled in the PSD’s Algebra II online course because she wanted a more traditional, college-based math curriculum than the integrated math her school offers.
This semester, she has no sixth-period class; instead, she gets online daily and communicates with a teacher via instant-messaging and e-mail.
Moss, who plans to enroll in Running Start next year and attend medical school someday, feels that online learning matches up with her self-driven attitude.
“You do have to self-teach,” she said. “You don’t have a teacher every day staying on top of you.”
The second type of students who inquire about online learning are falling behind in school and “struggling in general with both academics and attendance and maybe a lack of effective study habits,” Westby said.
Online classes offer those students a chance to learn at their own pace and catch up with their class.
In some situations, it works well.
Allyson Falconer, a junior at GHHS, said she struggled with math until she enrolled in the PSD’s online course this year. She’s now able to tackle math problems through one-on-one instant-messaging sessions with her teacher, rather than competing with other students.
In other circumstances, online learning doesn’t benefit struggling students. Westby, who has been both a school psychologist and counselor during a 13-year career with the PSD, said the students who succeed best in online classes have a high level of parent involvement.
It’s now a prerequisite that students who enroll in the district’s program must have parents who monitor their progress and ensure assignments are completed. Westby wants to make sure the students are doing their own work — and have help when they need it.
“I counsel the parents, that (they should be) willing to take on the role of teaching in addition to (their) parenting role,” Westby said.
But parent involvement can be a stumbling block for even the most disciplined students, such as Caleb Wilkerson, 11, who took a semester of classes through WAVA last year.
When Wilkerson was about to enter sixth grade at Kopachuck Middle School, his mother, Casi Wilkerson, began to wonder if he would be challenged enough without advanced classes. She decided to enroll him in Steilacoom Historical School District’s WAVA program instead.
Caleb thrived in independent study and worked at a seventh-grade level during his first semester in the program. But both he and Casi had trouble communicating with his online teacher on a regular basis.
It’s a problem that happens frequently with online programs, Westby said. Since teachers often communicate via e-mail, feedback is not immediate; students could be left waiting for two hours for help.
Casi started to feel like she was homeschooling her son — a challenge on top of her full-time job and two other children.
“It just became more and more frustrating for Caleb and I both,” Casi said. “One day, it just hit me: We didn’t sign on for this.”
The result: Caleb enrolled at Lighthouse Christian School, a private academy in Gig Harbor.
After their experience with online learning, neither Caleb nor his mom is sure they would try any program the PSD might offer.
The current online math program will cost the PSD about $25,000 this year — the cost of buying the curriculum. There is no teacher running the program; Fitzpatrick is in charge, which reduces staff costs.
But a complete academy, for which students from other districts could enroll and teachers could be designated for each subject, would cost about $250,000 each year.
To be financially self-sustaining — that is, for the program to receive enough state funding to pay for itself — about 30 full-time students would need to enroll, Fitzpatrick said.
There is reason to doubt the PSD could reach that goal, considering the low participation in the previous program. When it cut online learning from its budget, the district was losing $120,000 annually.
Some people, like Wilkinson, a school board member, believe the district will have no problem attracting students. He said the area has plenty of families who homeschool and would be willing to try an online program.
Plus, Wilkinson suspects students who live in the Gig Harbor area but are enrolled in WAVA or another online academy would choose to re-enroll in the PSD’s program because of proximity. He added that kids today are using the Internet more than ever, making online classes a natural fit.
“We don’t have to inspire it,” he said. “We have to harvest it.”
Fitzpatrick hopes for a similar future. He understands there are concerns about online education, and he doesn’t know how popular it will be, but he thinks it signals a possible change in education.
And it’s something the PSD could help pioneer, with the right planning.
“I think online learning has come a long way,” Fitzpatrick said. “There’s a lot more that is valid and usable and real. I think everyone in the state, and in the nation, is struggling to see how this works.”
Different online learning models have emerged around Washington state.
Some are district-developed and managed, like in Federal Way, Everett and Spokane.
Spokane’s online program has all its curriculum created in-house and is aligned with Spokane Public Schools curriculum requirements. The program offers 45 courses, including seven that are approved by the AP College Board.
Other districts contract for “courseware” and non-instructional resources with commercial vendors. Steilacoom Historical School District currently offers K-8 enrollment in Washington Virtual Academies (WAVA), and Monroe School District offers WAVA for high-schoolers.
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