Submitted by Craig Butz, Head of School
Note: The information in this profile represents 2012-13 unless otherwise indicated.
School Overview
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School Description
K12, Inc. initially wanted to open a full-time virtual school in Chicago, but Illinois law prohibited full-time online learning. To comply with policy, K12, Inc. compromised by adding a mandatory, on-campus attendance requirement and thus the Chicago Virtual Charter School (CVCS) was born.
Blended Learning Program
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Program Model
Program model: Enriched Virtual
Model description
The majority of student learning happens remotely, and teachers-of-record are online teachers. Students are required to be in the on-campus learning center for two hours and 15 minutes per week to receive face-to-face support for their online courses and to engage in offline coursework. Students can choose to attend the on-campus learning center more often, but only to work on their online courses individually without face-to-face teacher support.
Program Description
How much time do students spend on campus in this blended-learning program? How much of this time do students spend learning online or with educational software?
The amount of time students spend on campus varies depending on the wishes of the student, but each student is required to spend at least two hours and 15 minutes in the on-campus learning center per week. Students can choose to come to the learning center more often to work on individual online coursework in the computer lab, but do not receive teacher-guided instruction outside of the scheduled 2.25 hours. The amount of time students spend learning online or with educational software varies on how often the student comes to the learning center but within the 2.25-hour scheduled period, students spend about 30-40 percent of their time learning online or using educational software.
Briefly describe the offline components of this blended-learning program.
Students receive face-to-face teacher-led instruction, participate in small group work with fellow students, work on writing prompts, engage in guided-reading discussions, complete extended response math problems and occasionally give presentations to the entire class. Students receive some printed materials, but most of the reading and other assignments are completed online.
How does this blended-learning program fit into the rest of the students’ school day?
Students are expected to spend approximately six hours per day on their academic studies, but they are only scheduled to attend the learning lab for two hours and 15 minutes each week. The mandatory learning center period is scheduled by the school with primary school students attending sessions on Tuesday and Wednesday, and high school students attending sessions on Thursday and Friday. Students can come to campus more often if they want to work in the computer lab and no academic sessions are scheduled for Monday, which is set aside for professional development.
What are the teachers’ roles and responsibilities in both the online and offline components of this blended-learning program?
Chicago Virtual Charter School (CVCS) is unique from other K12, Inc. schools in that all of its teachers – online and face-to-face – are local CVCS teachers approved by the local charter, rather than remote K12, Inc. teachers. For grades K-3, the online teacher is also the face-to-face teacher in the learning center. Students in grades 4-8 have different online and face-to-face teachers, and for students in grades 9-12, the core subject teachers take turns leading instruction at the learning center depending on the focus of the day. Teacher responsibilities in the online components of the blended-learning program include monitoring and tracking student data, and holding whole-class, individual, or small-group virtual instruction sessions. Their responsibilities also include developing relationships with students’ families, holding virtual office hours for students who need individual assistance, and regularly interacting with students via e-mail, text messaging, or video conferencing. Offline responsibilities include collecting and grading essays and assignments, guiding reading discussions, providing face-to-face instruction, developing group assignments and projects, and working with students on individual problems.
What other adults are involved in this blended-learning program (e.g., paraprofessionals, learning coaches, counselors) and what are their roles and responsibilities?
CVCS employs reading and math specialists for grades K-8 who are available on campus for students in need of additional assistance. The school also employs a learning coach resource and support teacher who works with and liaises with parents. Additionally, several special education teachers and paraprofessionals work directly with students with special needs. An operations manager and a guidance counselor also work with students, and school administrators supervise teachers.
Briefly describe the set-up of physical space for this blended-learning program.
Chicago Virtual Charter School subleases space from a music school. The physical space for this blended-learning program includes traditional classrooms for primary school students and larger lecture hall classrooms for middle and high school students. The rooms have tables and chairs instead of individual desks and teachers are able to arrange the tables and chairs depending on the lesson for that day. The school also uses a computer lab which is its own separate, open room where students can spread out and use laptops.
How are students grouped within this blended-learning program?
Students are grouped by grade level only.
Do students have some element of control over the pacing of their learning? Are students tied to a semester-based course schedule or can they complete courses at any time? Briefly describe any requirements or benchmarks in place to ensure student progress.
The school does operate on a strict semester-based schedule and students at all levels are subject to assessments and exams to determine and ensure student progress. However, students usually have until the following Sunday to complete weekly assignments, which allows them to move ahead in the coursework if they prove capable. Additionally, teachers are flexible with deadlines and can usually accommodate students who need more time to complete a given assignment or project.
Describe the academic results of the program, using quantitative data where possible.
The school has consistently outperformed its weighted average comparison schools in both K-8 and High School according to Chicago Public School data. The comparison schools are hypothetical and their scores are determined by taking the scores of the schools that CVCS students would attend if they went to their neighborhood schools and averaging them. In the fall of 2012, CVCS’s High School program was named in Chicago Magazine as one of the Top 15 High Schools in Chicago.
Describe any other distinctive characteristics about this program if they have not been captured above.
The school has a large population of Muslim students and the school model allows those students to perform their religious duties and studies during the day and work on their academic courses at night. When these students are scheduled to be on campus, they usually work with their mosques to find a different schedule to fit their religious and academic studies.
What have been the biggest obstacles in implementing this blended-learning program? What has needed adjustment along the way?
The school’s biggest challenge has been ensuring consistent and excellent parent involvement. Administrators feel that the Enriched Virtual model breaks down and student learning suffers if parents are not intimately involved and supporting the students. The school has combated this issue by implementing rigorous orientation and on-boarding procedures so parents can know what is expected of them, and by employing a liaison to parents who works directly with them and helps with their individual problems.
Have you or are you planning to scale your program model to more/other schools?
Chicago Public Schools recently expanded the enrollment cap on Chicago Virtual Charter School, and thus the school expects to enroll 680 students for SY2013-14, up from 600 students for SY2012-13. The school would also like to expand high school enrollment as currently only 150 high school students are enrolled.
Contact Information
Name: Craig Butz
Title: Head of School
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.k12.com/cvcs