Dear Parents!Can you imagine a high school prom where none of the students have ever met before?
I can. I am a principal at PA Leadership Charter School. This school is a cyber school with offices in the Pittsburgh and the Philadelphia areas. These office locations are not significant because our mission is to reach out to the entire Commonwealth on the World Wide Web. Cyber School provides an individualized choice of instruction for students who have been bullied, who are bored, or who are failing in the brick and mortar world. One of the hottest topics in education today is differentiated instruction where individual students are taught differently based on their needs for different assessments, autonomy, learning styles, ability levels, and group dynamics. I am writing this article to show you how differentiated instruction can be accomplished in the classroom located in the student’s home at a work station on the Internet.
Cyber schools are relatively new on the educational scene. Our school is in its sixth year. We are applying the latest technology to develop the best practices for 21st century instruction. Over the years PA Leadership has continued to raise achievement test scores on the majority of our school’s students. We use assessments as a source of feedback to change our school policies as well as individual instructional strategies. The students who choose our school do so because they are dissatisfied with the traditional schools in their communities. When students log into the school for the first time, they are usually behind in their lessons. A cyber school must catch them up using differentiated instructional techniques. The elements that lend themselves to cyber education are independent study, learning contracts, and learning styles. We are also attempting to develop group dynamics. One of our teachers runs a virtual student council which has successfully implemented six proms on both sides of the state in schools with no lockers.
This group dynamic is one of the developing areas of our instructional platform that I am most excited about. Students may not be able to discuss the big play at Friday night’s football game, but they do have several advantages over traditional education. Students can travel to foreign countries like Panama, China and Quebec and log into school back in Pennsylvania, and talk with classmates there, while they are immersed in languages and foreign culture in the afternoons and weekends. Students have traveled to Washington DC to make funding proposals to congressmen. They have also lobbied annually for legislation in Harrisburg by taking the letters from an 8th grade English class, develop talking points, role playing, and then meeting with their representatives the next day to persuade them about the importance of cyber education.
PA Leadership has a large number of students with Individualized Program Plans. Students in cyber learning escape the stigma of having an instructional aide as they are mainstreamed into regular classroom tasks. Students with gifted IEP’s can also be challenged with enrichment activities that supplement essential content. Younger students can also take advanced classes without feeling out of place. Assessments can be tiered as a form of feedback to help place students into groups of basic, advanced, college preparatory and honors achievement levels.
The parents at PA Leadership Charter School sign a home facilitator contract when they enroll their students at the school. The amount of support that they need to provide is also tiered based upon the amount of accountability and support necessary to complete learning in certain classes as determined by the teacher. Teachers design their lessons using major national publishers tied to state standards, and their passion for the content area is evident when the students interact with the material. Parents are important partners in the process of education. The students who are not gossiping at the lockers, will be less likely to gossip at the water cooler after they graduate. Student peers have not always been the best influence on student achievement. Parents can be in the driver seat of influence to influence their student with the initiative necessary to meet their potential in the real world.
Students may not have lockers, but they do chat in multi-media class rooms with web cams and interactive whiteboards. The technology associated with computer learning can optimize auditory, hands on, and autonomous instruction. Auditory learning is increased because of voice and music added to the lessons. “Hands on” instruction is accomplished when projects are completed with digital solutions like PowerPoint, videos, word processing, and spread sheets. An autonomous learning choice is exemplified when students work at their own rate, at any hour of the day. In addition to normal instruction, multi-media classrooms are used for individual tutoring, small group break outs, and extra curricular activities such as student council, a radio station, a school newspaper, social chats, and book clubs. Cyber alternatives are a great niche for some students who are dissatisfied with traditional education. We do not have a cyber prom, however; we have a real prom. Administrators are still looking for ways to maximize technology with face-to-face educational alternatives. Parents are an important part of this dynamic change. They should consider the importance technology when they make choices about how they will delegate the education of their children.
Pat Parris
