RSSCyber-ed keeps Yakima students in school
Interest and enrollment are on the rise at Yakima Online!, a digital stand-in for regular and alternative high schoolsYakima Herald-Republic
E-mail
Print
Comments
More 'Local'
- Small budget runs out for Child Death Review program
- Public meeting Tuesday will discuss stormwater
- Back to the future for Grandview's downtown
- 03/18/10 Yakima People
- Conservatives, independents to unite at annual dinner
- Authorities investigate bomb threat in Sunnyside
- Influential Latino leader in Valley dies
YAKIMA, Wash. -- Carolyn Kondor completed her freshman year at Yakima's Eisenhower High School. But it was a struggle.
At Ike, the teen says, there were too many students, too many distractions, too many stressors. There was just "too much of everything."
So, about three months into her sophomore year, she transferred to the newly formed Yakima Online! She's a senior now, 17, and still enrolled in the online high school. Her sights are set on graduation in June. "It's a good fit for me," she says. "I love the people here. It's easygoing, but it keeps you on track."
Yakima Online!, in its third year, offers an alternative to the district's traditional, brick-and-mortar high schools and its other, more conventional, alternative programs.
And interest and enrollment are increasing, according to Arlene Franz, coordinator of online programs for the Yakima School District.
Started in fall 2007, Yakima Online! graduated four students its first year. Last year, 13 students graduated from the online school. And this year, Franz anticipates between 30 and 40 Yakima Online! graduates.
"It's all about options," says Franz, who helped start Yakima Online! and has worked with the school since its inception. "It's about individualizing learning for students and finding ways to help them be successful. We don't want anyone to be forgotten or left behind."
*******
Open to students in grades six through 12, Yakima Online! partners with Advanced Academics, an Oklahoma City-based company that has implemented online learning programs in 30 states.
Advanced Academics is a subsidiary of DeVry Inc., one of the largest publicly held, higher education companies in North America and the parent organization of DeVry University, among others.
While Yakima Online! -- a public school -- is free for students, the Yakima School District pays Advanced Academics $300 per student per course, according to Jack Irion, deputy superintendent for Yakima schools. Last year, he says, the district paid Advanced Academics about $390,000 in all.
Some of those costs are offset by the state, which reimburses the district about $5,100 for each full-time equivalent student enrolled in all of its schools, including Yakima Online!
Yakima Online! is available only to students who live in the Yakima School District. Enrollment hovers around 125 students. Nearly half are superseniors, or fifth-year seniors. Most are in grades 9-12. And almost all of them stay at least a year.
But, Franz says, "It depends on what the needs are."
Some Yakima Online! students come straight from middle school to make up credits and failed classes before transitioning to Ike or Davis, Stanton Academy or Yakima School of the Arts.
Some had fallen behind in traditional high school settings due to a variety of reasons, such as learning disabilities, work schedules, increased responsibilities at home, homelessness, and illness or other health-related issues, including pregnancy.
Some are at-risk students. Some are former dropouts who want to complete their high school education. Others are accelerated learners or previously homeschooled students.
Many -- like Kondor, who was diagnosed with depression three years ago -- come to Yakima Online! because it feels like a good fit.
"It works for me because I can work from home," Kondor says. "It's less stress. With my depression ... it doesn't become overwhelming."
But, she says, online school isn't for everyone: "You have to be very independent and have self-discipline."
Kondor, who works between 15 and 20 hours per week at a Yakima nursing home, says she possesses these qualities. Plus, she likes it here. And she's not the only one.
*******
Across the country, an increasing number of students are turning to online education to replace or supplement traditional schools. Enrollment in online courses reached 1 million in 2007, according to the North American Council for Online Learning.
And, as of last fall, 44 states offered significant supplemental or full-time online learning opportunities for students, according to the council. Some experts even predict up to half of all courses in grades 9-12 will be provided online by 2019.
"It is a growing educational pathway," says Mark Sobolik, in his second year as the on-site teacher at Yakima Online! Previously, he taught math and computer technology at Washington Middle School in Yakima for 25 years.
His role here is multifaceted. "I'm here to support kids -- academically, technologically, emotionally, socially," he says.
Yakima Online! -- whose mascot is the "cyber star" -- is a virtual school, but it's not all online. Midterm and final exams must be taken at the school. And students are required to check in with Sobolik in-person once a week. Once a month, they're supposed to bring a parent or guardian.
They are also required to put in 25 hours of school time per week. Most students complete their hours and assignments at home.
"Right now, we don't have enough computers to accommodate everyone," Franz says. "We need more."
The school is virtually a modern-day, one-room schoolhouse, with a classroom and offices in the old Yakima Valley Technical Skills Center on South 15th Avenue. Soon, Irion says, Yakima Online! plans to expand into two classrooms and add more computers.
The school is staffed by a counselor, registrar and secretary, in addition to Franz and Sobolik. It runs on a semester schedule. Students start with a required introductory course and work with staff to set up individual learning plans.
Online learning, Franz stresses, isn't only about credit retrieval. "It's a new way of learning," she says. "They do everything they do in regular school, they just do it different."
*******
Advanced Academics offers more than 140 courses, including electives and advanced and college preparatory classes. College credit through DeVry University is also available.
Courses, Irion says, are "competency-based." To some extent, students can work at their own pace. And students who work quickly can work ahead.
Twenty-year-old Sofia Gonzalez, for example, is trying to complete her junior and senior years of high school in one year. She had dropped out and is now married and the mother of a 7-month-old son. She says she likes the flexibility Yakima Online! offers and usually works from home.
"It has a lot of advantages," she says. In fact, without this option, "I wouldn't have gone back to school."
In its first year, Irion says, Yakima Online! primarily aimed to recapture and retain students who would otherwise be counted as dropouts. Now, in its third year, Yakima Online! has "really expanded in terms of who we serve."
"One of the things we found is that for some students, once they get into this particular mode of learning, they really enjoy it and it fits their particular learning style," Irion says. "For some students, they love it."
Cody Yearout is one of them. The 14-year-old freshman came here this fall straight from middle school.
"I got Cs, Ds and Fs in middle school, and I goofed around a lot when I shouldn't have," he says. Plus, "I got in trouble, sometimes."
These days, "I'm passing all my classes, and I don't have any distractions to distract me from my work.
"I'm actually staying out of trouble, even at home."
And he's hoping to earn "at least Bs or higher" and stay at Yakima Online! "'til I graduate, I hope."
So far, Sobolik says, "He's on track. He's doing the things we're asking him to do to be successful."
* Adriana Janovich can be reached at 509-577-7653 or ajanovich@yakimaherald.com.
* For more information about Yakima Online!, call Arlene Franz at 509-573-5045.
* On the Web: www.advancedacademics.com.
"Some are at-risk students. Some are former dropouts who want to complete their high school education. Others are accelerated learners or previously homeschooled students."
It would be interesting to see some kind of numbers on a comparison in these categories of students. One thing is certain, the quality of Public education is falling steadily. I believe a lot has to do with peer pressure at school. Pressure to be a show-off and get into trouble and "cuss-out" a teacher, or show disrespect in many other ways. Public schools are also wasteful and subsequently more expensive than they should be.
Of course, there are problems with homeschooling and private church-based schools as well, not the last of which is learning how to deal with social adversity when one finally joins the mainstream again.
This style of education may be the wave of the future as schools become so overcrowded and expensive that any students who really want an education, will find this the path of least resistance.
There can be a lot of pride in one's ability to complete an individual study course and succeed at it on their own. This also is helpful in developing positive individual work-ethics in those who complete the job. Those feelings of accomplishment can overcome a lot of negativity.
I love to see stories of the youth in this valley getting it together and shown in a positive light.
Nick, we often disagree, but I do agree with you on some points- online school in one form or another is the way of the future.
"Of course, there are problems with homeschooling and private church-based schools as well, not the last of which is learning how to deal with social adversity when one finally joins the mainstream again."
Good morning Nick,
As a homeschool family, I must comment. Yes, part of the reason we hs is to avoid this adversity; however, our children do struggle with this concept even in a hs setting. (We do not, by any means, stay at home 24/7. There are plenty of social opportunity through homeschool groups, co-ops, church, etc.) The big difference? The family is more readily available to help ease the child through the situation, which (we pray) in the end (we have experienced through other hs'ers) proves a stronger and more stable individual who carries less baggage as an adult. That was rather wordy, but I hope that I am as clear as mud in my explanation. You know, people are people - whoever they are and whatever road they choose to take - and strife is everywhere; it must be dealt with in a healthy fashion.
As for these types of programs I am in favor if the child has the right learning style and personality to deal with the situation. Online learning (all levels) is definitely going to be seen more and more, because it can be tailored more easily than a brick and mortar learning facility. Way to go, kids! It is good to see a positive story, YH. :)
I give any kids propz who does good in school. I know its hard out there. Home or public keep those grades up!
Report ViolationFirst, I fully support online schooling and think it's a wonderful tool. Getting a high school diploma at a minium is a must!
But I have a few questions, one of which is for Home-school-mama. I mean this respectfully since the written word can come across wrong, but I take your post as meaning those of us who do not homeschool are not accesible to our children. My child/ren attend public school. I coach, volunteer in the classroom, chaperone, etc. and am always available to my child/ren. So I am not understanding how homeschooling makes parents more availalbe other than the fact they are physcially with the child more? I respect what you do because I could not homeschool my child, but I am just as available to them as a homeschool parent.
Secondly I know several students who have used on-line schooling as a way to opt out and not have to participate, and the parents have used it as an excuse to become uninvolved. The brick and morter schools track unexcused absences and turn them into DSHS and try to hold parents accountable. Does that happen with the on-line version as well?
girlfromthevalley- The article says that students must "check in" on a weekly basis. I imagine that the accountability question that you asked is based on this weekly check in. They also seem to require parent involvement as well.
"students are required to check in with Sobolik in-person once a week. Once a month, they're supposed to bring a parent or guardian."
wsujc210:
I would think you are most likley right about accountability being based on the weekly check in. However, my question remains. I know on-line students that don't do this, and have admitted to "blowing it off" because it was easy to do so and a "pain to go and check in".
I guess it boils down to those that want to pursue an education will, and those that don't want to won't.
I'm glad this resource is available to those that can and will use it and wish them all luck.
Hi Girlfromthevalley:
As soon as I posted this I knew someone would see what I wrote exactly as you did! Please accept my apology. I didn't mean to offend. I also applaud your availability to your children - you sound like a good parent. (As you and I both know, not all parents are as available for their kids.)
To answer your question with basically your answer:
We are physically there more, so in a sense, we are more available. I honestly doubt that our family would have the healthy and open relationships that we have if we were still in a traditional school setting... (I worked too many hours and took on too many projects to really "be there" for my kids.) Yes, I too, volunteered my time at school. It's just different homeschooling. Now-a-days, there are moments when my pre-teen falls apart emotionally (as all of them do!) and I would not have been there for her if she were at school experiencing this exact moment. That is what I meant...being there physically more means being more readily available. Being in the moment...
BTW, thank you for your kind words. I also believe that we all are suited to educating our kids - so you could do this-IF you wanted too! :) It sounds like you are a solid parent, and I want to encourage you!
Posting Guidelines - Updated Aug. 21 2009
Readers are encouraged to use these forums to discuss issues affecting the
Yakima Valley. Debate the ideas presented in stories and other comments, but
refrain from personal attacks and offensive remarks aimed at others; e.g.,
you may call an idea idiotic, but don't say the person is an idiot. The
Herald-Republic reserves the right to remove any comment for any reason.
Examples include material that is obscene, encourages illegal activity or
stereotypes based on race, gender, sexual orientation, religious beliefs and
other factors. Continued violation of these guidelines can lead to
suspension or revocation of your ability to post comments. If you believe a
comment is inappropriate, you can bring it to our attention by clicking the
"report violation" link by each comment. Guidelines revised Aug. 21, 2009.
Registered User?
