Each year, the CDE recognizes teachers and counselors who demonstrate excellence in teaching and commitment to 21st century learning. This year, Sudbeck is one of the four teachers to receive the 2012 Online Teacher of the Year in the elementary school category.

“It’s an honor to be chosen out of the many wonderful teachers at COVA and the larger online school community in Colorado. I’m grateful for the personal recognition and pleased for the awareness this brings to COVA and online education,” said Sudbeck. “Education is not one-size-fits all, and I’ve seen how a more custom approach delivered through COVA’s online model and curriculum guided by highly qualified, licensed teachers can help students achieve success.”

For the rest of the article, go to Colorado Virtual Academy Teacher Named Online Teacher of the Year

Next week the Colorado Board of Education will recognize elementary school teacher Deborah Sudbeck of Colorado Virtual Academy, Social Studies Teacher Ethan Huff and Language Arts Teacher Wayne Sheldrake of Monte Vista Online Academy and English Teacher Justin Siddall ofColorado Connections Academy.

Since online K-12 schools launched a decade ago in the state, Colorado now has more than 16,000 online students, and teaching is a key part of the online experience. In 2011, Colorado was home to the National Online Teacher of the Year, Krista Kipp at Jefferson County’s 21st Century Virtual Academy.

For the rest of the article, go to State Honors Online K-12 Educators While Problems Persist

Dr. Helayne Jones, Gov. John Hickenlooper and Lt. Gov. Joe Garcia presented the award in the category of “Innovation Requires Innovative Thinking” at the 2012 Legacy Luncheon by CLF’s President and CEO,

“The Colorado Legacy Foundation believes that increased student achievement for all Colorado students requires effective leaders in every school, effective educators in every classroom, and healthy and engaged students who come to school ready to learn,” said Dr. Jones, President and CEO of the Colorado Legacy Foundation.

For the rest of the article, go to Center Virtual Academy principal honored with 2012 Legacy Awards

The Republican-controlled House passed a sweeping education reform package in February that would require more student testing and seeks expansion of charter schools. It also keeps in place a third-grade retention program that survived a paring-down process by the governor to recognize the financial and political realities of a major overhaul affecting students, teachers, administrators, parents, interest groups and public institutions.

The House also rejected key components in Branstad’s reform recommendations by eliminating a requirement that prospective teachers have and maintain at least a 3.0 GPA, and placing new restrictions on who can take online classes before sending the Iowa Senate one of the session’s must-do priorities for further consideration.

Sen. Herman Quirmbach, D-Ames, chairman of the Senate Education Committee, who will be floor manager of the education reform bill, said there’s broad support for competency-based education and for expanding the topics covered by the core curriculum.

He also said there’s strong support for early-grade reading and getting students help early but he noted “some controversy over retention decisions” that would end social promotion for kids struggling to read after finishing third grade.

Quirmbach also noted “a lot of heartburn” over two Iowa school districts’ announced plans to open online academies this fall.

Clayton Ridge Community School District and CAM Community School District contracted with private online education providers under current state law. Students from across the state could enroll in the academies and have their lessons delivered over the Internet. The private companies receive the students’ state aid as payment, less an administrative fee of 3 percent or 3.5 percent that goes to the host district.

Quirmbach expressed concern that virtual academies in Colorado have been marred by high dropout rates and low achievement levels. “That’s not a direction we want to go,” he said.

A major obstacle to agreement will be financing, Schoenjahn noted, saying Senate Democrats won’t accept House Republican plans to shift money from existing class-size reduction and other programs to cover the $17 million or more price tag needed to implement the new reforms.

“Taking money from existing programs to finance reform is probably not the direction that we are interested in,” he said.

For the rest of the article, go to Lawmakers favor fewer school reforms 

Among other things, the report noted that online students had below-average test scores and high dropout rates, and that too often online schools were getting state funding for pupils who returned to their district’s brick-and-mortar schools, which then had to absorb the cost.

A proposal from Republican Sen. Keith King would address the issue of paying online schools for pupils who leave those schools after the Oct. 1 “count” day used to determine state funding for schools. Another proposal would pay online schools for completed courses rather than for courses in which students are enrolled.

For the rest of the article, go to Colorado online school oversight needed 

These days, Nuss studies online up to six days a week and hopes she’ll be a junior by the end of the year.

“I love it,” she said of Connections Academy, her publicly funded online-only school. “They should keep it around and make it accessible for everybody.”

For the rest of the article, go to Colo. lawmakers want more oversight for online schools

These days, Nuss studies online up to six days a week and hopes she’ll be a junior by the end of the year.

“I love it,” she said of Connections Academy, her publicly funded online-only school. “They should keep it around and make it accessible for everybody.”

But some Colorado lawmakers want to know if Nuss and other online students are really getting the best education. So far,Colorado’s online schools have shown disappointing results.

A 2010 report by the state Department of Education showed below-average test scores, dropout rates near 50 percent in some cases and, at one school, a student-to-teacher ratio of 317-1.

Still, the state’s online school industry is growing by double digits a year. Enrollment grew by more than 12 percent between 2008 and 2009.

Last year Colorado spent some $85 million teaching about 14,200 students online. Like brick-and-mortar schools, online schools are funded based on the number of students enrolled on a single “count day,” Oct.1. Some fear the enrollment procedure gives online schools little incentive to keep pupils enrolled.

Lawmakers are talking about several measures to increase oversight for the booming online school industry.

“We’re looking at some increased accountability,” said Democratic Sen. Pat Steadman, who plans to sponsor a bill that would change the role of an office within the Education Department called the “Unit of Online Learning.” Steadman says the office needs “more teeth.”

For the rest of the article, go to Online students brace for changes coming from Colorado lawmakers

About 1,000 people rallied at the Capitol to talk about the benefits of learning from home over the Internet.

Students even set up classrooms to talk about the flexibility of online learning.

For the rest of the article, go to State Lawmakers Get A Lesson On Online Schools

St. Therese Catholic School started an online high school program in the fall, building on the school’s 11-year-old pre-school-eighth-grade program.

“We’ve had a number of people over the years that have been looking for an alternative for their kids at the high school level,” said John Brainard, St. Therese principal. “They want their child to continue to be in a faith-filled environment.”

This fall, Brainard decided to pilot an online high school program at the St. Therese building.

The program is the first Catholic high school in the city since the Diocese of Pueblo closed all Catholic schools in 1971.

St. John Neumann, a private pre-school-eighth-grade Catholic school, was opened in 1977 and St. Therese, also a pre-school-eighth-grade school, opened in 2000.

Based on parent request, Brainard said he decided to expand the St. Therese program to high school by implementing an on-site, online curriculum for students in grades 9-12.

Currently, there are four students enrolled in the high school program, three freshmen and a junior.

The students take classes at St. Therese through the accredited online Catholic Schools K-12 Virtual program.

“This is really an online version of our school here,” Brainard said of the Internet program.

Patrick says right now 33 states allow full-time online learning programs. 55 percent of all public school districts offer online classes or online learning programs.

Last fall some of Colorado’s full-time online schools came under scrutiny for poor student performance, high dropout rates and inefficient use of taxpayer dollars.

For the rest of the article, go to Online K-12 School Leaders Discuss Policy ‘Roadmap’