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Innovative Education SolutionsDean Roberta “Bobbie” Evans, Phyllis J.

Washington College of EdRyan Schrenk, EdReady Montana Manager

June 3, 2014 – Missoula, MT

• United States Constitution’s 10th Amendment• General Configuration:

– Elementary (K-5 or K-6),– Middle School (6-8 or 7-8), – High School (9-12)

• Post-secondary Options: – trade schools, – community colleges (2 years), – colleges/universities

Structure of Education in the United States

• 50 states differ in organization• Each district has a board of lay people

overseeing it (elected/appointed)• State standards influenced by national

associations (not governing)

Local Control

• Standardized curriculum: Common Core (adopted state-by-state)

• Two national testing consortia: – (SBAC) Smarter Balanced Assessment

Consortium– PARCC (Partnership for Assessment of

Readiness for College and Careers)

• Early Childhood education

New Federal Oversight

• Concern about high school drop-out rates – MCPS has highest success rate in Montana, among

top in the nation

• Testing protocols – resources like computers, – validity, testing results (how they will be used relative to

evaluating teachers)– What is the federal agenda?

• Common Core curriculum implementation – Who is leading this in schools, knowing principals have

been left out of the development of the curriculum? – Who is monitoring quality of materials?

Current Controversies in American Education

• International testing results – math comparators– led to STEM emphases

• What explains the difference between K-12 educational rankings internationally versus higher education rankings internationally for the United States?

Current Controversies in American Education

• About centralized systems and how to strengthen them

• How to keep curriculum focused on national and local areas concurrently

• Management practices that foster clear communication and avoid barriers

We Need to Learn from YOU!

MTDA, virtual schools and innovative solutions

Ryan Schrenk, EdReady Montana Program Manager

&Dad to

Justin and Ian&

Employee #3 at MTDA

About me…

Created by the Montana Legislature in 2009

• Serve K12 Students in Montana through Public Schools

• Governing board• Director (CEO) Curriculum Director

(Vice CEO)• Montana licensed teachers• Core subjects, dual credit enrichment• Supplement not supplant

Montana’s Statewide Virtual School

Unique Educational Partnership

MEA-MFT

Office of Public Instruction

Montana School Boards

Association

School Administrators

of Montana

Montana Rural Education

Association

Montana University System

• July 2009 –$2M funding to start Montana Digital Academy

• September 2010 – MTDA opened for student enrollment with 45 courses

• April 2011 – 12/13 funding of $2.3 M • April 2013 – Total enrollment topped

18,000 enrollments taught by over 100 Montana teachers, & Legislature approved 14/15 funding of $3.8M

Brief Timeline

Red = Teachers Purple = Students

MTDA Teachers and Students

MTDA Briefing

Montana

Digital Acade

my

Statewide Virtual School

Supplements & Serves Through

Local Schools

“Original Credit” and

“Credit Recovery”Certified

Teachers with

Association with

Montana Public School District

State Standards

Based

Moodle and Other

Learning Environmen

ts

Early Demand & Early Success- 2012

Source: Keeping Pace 2012, Evergreen Education Group

Online Course

s

Available 24/7

Teachers from Across Montan

a

Three differen

t progra

ms

MTDA Basics

Original Credit

Connect Credit Recovery

Middle School MLS

Three programs

MTDA Original Credit MTDA Connect Credit Recovery

Cohort Model Self-Paced, Mastery Learning

Traditional academic calendar

Open entry/open exit

Available 24/7 Available 24/7

Montana teacher serves in traditional instructor role

Montana teachers serve as academic-area coach

Local monitoring strongly recommended

Local intervention required

Appropriate for students attempting classes for the first time

Appropriate for students that have previously been unsuccessful

Comparing Programs

OC AP CR MLS Total%

Usage

AA 892 26 1425 0 2343 34%

A 367 32 865 0 1264 19%B 668 23 398 0 1089 16%

C 865 41 149 7 1062 16%

Alt Ed 11 0 565 0 576 8%

JDC 0 0 4 0 4 0%

MS/JH 76 0 3 379 458 7%

2011-2012 Usage

97% of Montana High Schools used MTDA for 1+ courses

2012-2013MTDA Courses

Unique Courses

MTDA Connect Credit Recovery

Courses

Responsive

Teacher

Varied Activitie

s

Multimedia

Interaction with Other

Students

Challenging, but

Manageable

What is a greatonline course?

Independent

Flexible

Self-Starting

Self-Advocat

ing

Curious

Tech-Savvy

What makes a greatonline student?

Ne

w I

de

as

!

Innovation @ MTDA

Professional Development

Support forBlended Learning

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dccentralkitchen/5238518044

Open-Entry, Open-Exit

Pre-Test Module Exempti

ons

Self-Paced

Available 24/7

Expanded Credit Recovery

Open Educational Resources

The only state-wide virtual school on a

campus

EdReady Montana• Funded by Dennis and Phyllis Washington

Foundation

• 1st State in Nation to use EdReady

• Public release on April 1, 2014

• Serve all 7th graders to College Students in Montana

• Charges paid for access for 3 years

• First Higher Ed Programs Ready in Summer 2014

• K12 Field Testing Spring 2014, Full Access Fall 2014

• Dev English Pilots in Spring 2015/Roll out and expansion after that

• Managed By MTDA

EdReady - College Readiness Beta Test

State

NROC Math Curriculum Assets

NROC Math Curriculum Assets

NROC Math Curriculum Assets

Personalized Learning Path

NROC Math Curriculum Assets

Data and Reporting

What our customized version gives us…

UM Pilot Results

Zero Points

Better, 6

1 Point Better, 26

2 Points Better, 10

3 Points Better, 1

43 Participated

Zero Points Better 1 Point Better 2 Points Better 3 Points Better

Saving Time and Money

• 43 students skipped 49 courses

• Total of 151 credits were “skipped”

• …adding up to estimated $31,000 tuition/fees!

Success in Math Classes

• 37 of the pilot participants enrolled in a mathematics course in the Fall 2014 term

• 91% successfully completed their course

• Average mathematics grade for these students: B-

• UM Freshman overall average mathematics grade: C+

Questions and Comments

Contact Info

• Ryan Schrenk

• EdReady Montana Project Manager

• 406-203-1812 x201

• ryan.schrenk@montanadigitalacademy.org

• Website at http://edreadymontana.org