Rethinking rural schools and distance learning

As much as I at one time would have hated to say it, a lot of life can be lived digitally.  It's made me rethink the teaching and learning possibilities for students in our rural districts.

In just the last two weeks:

• I've had a wonderful visit with my daughter in her DC abode, via Skype.
• I've had productive face-to-face meetings with my business partner at 9 o'clock each morning, each in our home offices, again via Skype
• I've been contacted by a new client who found me through LinkedIn. Since then we've made our work arrangements via email and cell phone.

So listening to superintendents' casual conversations at this week's Arkansas Rural Education Association persuaded me that the possibilities for providing quality teaching of all the required 38 courses -- not to mention some stimulating courses that aren't required -- through "distance learning," or the digital classroom are more easily achieved and, in many cases, make more sense than closing down a school. 

My only qualification to that statement is that it must be done right.

A visit to the Arkansas Department of Education's Distance Learning Center in Maumelle a few years ago, where I watched an intense Calculus class in action, convinced me then that good teaching can be delivered virtually.  This, obviously, is already being done. Quality high school courses already are provided by several centers around the state.

Superintendents of small campuses say distance learning options help them because:

• They can find quality teachers who will lead their classrooms though they live elsewhere.  
• It saves them money because they aren't duplicating teachers for small classes at each of their campuses. 
• Students can engage in learning in familiar settings without making the long bus rides that are becoming more and more the norm for this state. 

Right now, Arkansas law mandates that school districts must be shut down after two consecutive years of enrollments below 350.  I was a strong supporter of that law, simply because students at larger districts often have so many more opportunities both in terms of classes and extracurriculars.  But the more digital this world becomes, the less sense I think that arbitrary number makes.

The key is making sure this distance learning in small districts is the best thing for the students, not simply for the school staff or the community.  So, in addition to making sure the class is taught by a first-rate teacher who knows how to make lessons sing on the airwaves:

• Teachers must have an appropriate teaching load so they can communicate individually and frequently with their students via email, Facebook, phone call, etc.,  in addition to the on-air class time.
• Schools must provide facilitators who coordinate with the teacher so they can assist with the learning as well as the technology.
• The technology has to be first class -- none of this "can you hear me now" stuff.
• School facilities must be well-maintained (this does get tougher when enrollment numbers are low)
• Teachers must make periodic personal visits to each of the classes. Life can't be totally digital!

This last is important. While classes can and should be supplemented by lessons from say Harvard professors or Smithsonian Museums staff, I believe the full-time teacher must be someone familiar with the community.  Another recent experience illustrates this point:

I was trying to make a reservation for a hotel on State Line Avenue in Texarkana. I couldn't remember if the hotel was on the Arkansas or Texas side, which totally baffled my overseas-based hotel representative. He never did get the concept of a street that could straddle two states. In fact, he insisted that it must be in Texas and tried to put me into the chain's hotel in Marshall, Texas, at which point I became irritated and ended the call.

I can imagine a student getting just as frustrated with a teacher who didn't know the lay of the land. All learning could stop at that point.

No doubt, there are other ways distance learning could fail to engage students as much as a warm body leading the classroom.

But, in terms of policy, Arkansas could and should do more so the rural people of our state who value their way of life can maintain it without sacrificing the quality of education for their children or putting them on a school bus at dark-thirty in the morning for a too-long ride.

We'll take it as good news ... but help's needed

Read some sort-of-good news in today's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. In 2010, 39.3 percent of U.S. citizens between the ages of 25 and 34 possessed associate's, bachelor's or graduate degrees. That was a half percentage point higher than the previous year.

No doubt, a half percentage point gain in one year is a healthy jump.

Unfortunately, our nation still lags way behind other countries when it comes to higher education degrees. We're ranked 16th, for goodness' sake!

In Korea, 63 percent of that age group has earned college credentials. We're also behind Canada, Japan and Russia.

In Arkansas, only 19.1 percent of the 25 and older crowd held bachelor's degrees in 2010 (compared with 27.9 percent nationally). Thankfully, Arkansas educators and policy-makers are hard at work trying to increase the number of young people who enter and graduate college.

But it will take all of our efforts -- students, parents, community members, civic and business leaders -- if we want Arkansas to be a state where education is valued and a college degree is the norm, not the exception.

So figure out what you can do to help, and, by all means, do it.

Where the heck are those scores?

Last week First Class Communication gave a shout out to Arkansas students and educators for the gains made on this year's state Benchmark Exam scores. But when we we later went to look for those scores, we had a heck of a time finding them.

Historically, they've been housed on the Arkansas Department of Education website. When we couldn't find them there, we called ADE's Communications Office and were told the scores had a new virtual home.

Now you can find them at the Arkansas Research Center's Quick Look's page.

The presentation is visually attractive, and offers a lot of added context to the scores.

You'll have to look through charts one grade a time by school or district. Or you can use the nifty option that let's you compare two districts or schools at a time. You can also follow the progress of a cohort of students as they move up the grades over time.

The site is definitely worth visiting, especially for parents or others interested in looking at student performance in schools where their children attend, or may attend in the future.

The Arkansas Research Center was established in 2008 by an Institute for Education Statistics grant. It serves as collaborative effort for several Arkansas state agencies.

Psstt...One thing I still haven't found is a chart showing the aggregate statewide scores, though it may be there somewhere. If it is, someone please let me know where.

If not, that'd be a nice addition to a great site.

Great addition made to State Board of Education

Governor Beebe announced today that he has appointed Dr. Jay Barth as the newest member of the Arkansas State Board of Education.

Jay is a well-known political science professor at Hendrix College who has a great grasp of education policy issues. He's also performed significant research regarding challenges and solutions for Arkansas public schools, and he has a sincere concern for our state and our students.

No question ... he will be a wonderful addition to the State Board!

Create a Website that works and wows

You know that your school district website has a big load to carry.

But if you do your website right, you can inform, involve and invigorate your students, parents and community members to levels not reached before.

A website that works keeps your patrons informed about the important news, events, policies and regulations that impact your everyday workings.

A website that wows creates a sense of pride in your schools. What’s more, it provides venues for patrons to be a part of the school community.

First Class Communication knows how to design, write for and organize a school district web site that will make it a regular go-to site for all of your patrons.

When First Class Communication designs or re-designs website, we first work with you to pinpoint your communication and interaction needs.

Once we’ve determined how best to meet those needs, we meticulously map out your website, taking into account such critical elements as intuitive navigation, writing style, page content, design consistency and cohesiveness, and frequency of updates.

First Class Communication will guide you through the important planning phase and then provide Web design, content and template services. We also provide content management, on a regular or temporary basis. 

Contact us at (501) 626-6960 or at info@firstclasscommunication.com. We'd love to put the WOW factor in your website.

Aspiring Athletes and ACTs

Yesterday I accompanied my son, a high school baseball player (second base and shortstop) to a showcase event put on by the American Legion and the Baseball Factory. The goal was to help promising Arkansas high school players make the move to the next baseball level. For most, that would be college ball.

As I expected, the Baseball Factory guys put a lot of emphasis on developing baseball skills -- hitting, pitching, running, fielding and so forth. What I didn't expect, though, was the sharp focus on academics.

The first thing a college scout will ask about a player they're interested in is his academic performance, according to these in-the-know guys at the Baseball Factory. There are a couple of reasons for this. One, good grades indicate that a player works hard for success in the classroom, and that's something that will carry over to the baseball diamond. Another is that, because baseball has a limited number of scholarships to entice players, college coaches know that if they can piece together a combination of academic and athletic scholarships, they will be better able to attract (and financially help) that player.

So they encouraged the 75 or so baseball players attending yesterday's event from high schools all across Arkansas to work hard in the classroom, convince teachers that each subject is their favorite and to prepare well and give the ACT and/or SAT their best shot.

Doing those things, they said, will greatly improve a player's chances for a college to woo him to their baseball program.

That's great advice, I think, and not just for high school baseball players.

5 Reasons Arkansas's Educational Reforms Shouldn't Be Messed With

The worst thing that could happen in 2013 is for the Arkansas General Assembly to reverse any of the remarkable strides that have been made for public education in our state over the last decade.

What with all the new state legislators who will take their places at the Capitol in 2013, many fear they'll start tinkering with the progressive, systemic education policies so many have worked tirelessly to develop, pass and implement. Those concerns were discussed in a recent Arkansas Democrat-Gazette article, and First Class Communication has to say, count us in as two more who share those fears.

Having been a close observer of the Education Committees at the State Capitol for a good many of those reform-rich years, we saw how hard fought the bi-partison battle was, and, once it was won, how quickly legislators begin to try to chip away at individual reforms. Sometimes  a legislator wanted to dismantle what had been done, but, more often than not, they were truly unaware of the systemic policy effort that was made and of the great difference it made for students. The latter will pose the biggest threat in 2013.

There are so many improvements that resulted from the reforms effort,  instigated, of course, by the Arkansas Supreme Court's Lake View ruling that found Arkansas students were in schools across the state without adequate funding and of wildly disparate quality. We can easily tic off five improvements we don't think the state education system can do without:

1. Accountability to ensure schools educate every child. Modeled largely after the major tenets of No Child Left Behind, Arkansas's Act 35 demanded that schools teach to rigorous learning standards, test how well students learned that rigourous material and report results for the entire student body as well as for major subgroups of students. No longer could a school hide behind the performance of its top students as others languished between the cracks.

2. Better pay for teachers. A decent mininum salary for teachers must now be paid in every district across the state. This hasn't solved the disparity-in-pay problem, because richer districts can still pay more, but at least there's a minimum. Why is this important? Putting excellent teachers in the classroom is the most important thing a school district can do for it's students, and excellence in teaching isn't free or even cheap (funny how this fact still surprises so many folks!)

3.  Adequate funding for schools. Not only is this a plus for schools because it provides each district the money it needs to teach its kids, but having to go through the adequacy study every two years forces legislators to really pay attention to what's happening in school buildings from Alma to Arkansas City.

4. Better school buildings. Arkansas was truly progressive with its state partnership for funding and maintaining school buildings, and what a difference this has made! Starting with the goal of simply ensuring that every child attend a school that is safe, warm and dry (that was NOT the case before this legislation) we've now moved on to putting more and more of our students in buildings equipped for an actual 21st-century education.

5. A more rigorous curriculum. There was a time that graduation requirements varied from district to district, but now Arkansas has a common -- and rigorous -- set of minimum requirements for all students. Thank goodness some districts go above those, requiring two years of a foreign language.  In addition, all Arkansas high schools must offer an Advanced Placement class in each of the four main subjects -- math, English, science and social studies. And now, Arkansas, along with many other states, is in the process of incorporating the Common Core of learning standards, which will increase the rigor as well as the depth of learning for our students.

So those are our five. Do you have something to add to the list? We'd love to hear from you.