MISSOURI EDUCATION
NEWS
June 2007
Copyright © 2007 Queue,
Inc.
More Than 1.2 Million Students Will Not Graduate in
2007;
Detailed Graduation Data Available for Missouri
Educators Reclaim Bargaining Rights
Connections Academy Named Elementary Level
Provider for Missouri's First Virtual School
Kaplan to Provide Online Courses for Missouri
Virtual Education Program
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Research Report
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In-depth Labor-Force Analysis
Finds Strong Relationship Between
Education and Income for Jobs
Nationally and for Individual States
TodayÕs high school
graduates enter a world in which theyÕll need at least some college to gain
access to decent-paying careers, according to a report released by Education
Week. And those without even a high school diploma will face
increasingly bleak labor-market prospects. The report, Diplomas Count: Ready
for What? Preparing for College, Careers, and Life After High School, draws on two
national databases to examine the distribution of jobs nationally and within
each state, and the relationship between education and pay levels.
The report also includes the latest analysis by the Editorial
Projects in Education Research Center of graduation rates nationwide, finding
that an estimated 1.23 million students, or about 30 percent of the class of
2007, will fail to graduate with their peers. Native American, Hispanic, and
African-American students are among the groups with the lowest graduation
rates.
A Road Map to Missouri Graduation Policies
To provide context for high school graduation rates, Diplomas
Count examines state policies in three key areas: definitions of college
and workforce readiness, high school completion credentials offered, and exit
exams.
To
see Missouri Report:
http://www.edweek.org/media/ew/dc/2007/mo_SGB07.pdf
Missouri Supreme
Court Ruling Confirms EducatorsÕ Right
to Bargain Collectively with Their Employers
On
May 29, the Missouri Supreme Court confirmed in its ruling on Independence
NEA vs. Independence School District that public employees, including teachers and
education support professionals, have a constitutional right to bargain
collectively with their employers.
The
ruling supports Article 1, Section 29 in the Missouri Constitution, which
provides ÒThat employees shall have the right to organize and bargain
collectively through representatives of their own choosing.Ó
ÒThis
is great news for all public employees, but it is especially good news for
MissouriÕs educators and students,Ó says Missouri NEA President Greg Jung.
ÒThis decision, allowing all the experts a place at the table, provides a means
for collaborative decision making combined with accountability. Ultimately, the
result is better working and learning conditions in Missouri schools.Ó
The
case began in 2003 when MNEA employee groups in the Independence School
District filed a lawsuit against their school district, which unilaterally
rescinded the employeesÕ contract. When the Trial Court, in 2006, decided in
favor of the district based on Springfield vs. Clouse and Sumpter vs. City of
Moberly,
the Independence MNEA groups took their case to the Missouri Supreme Court.
ÒThe
perseverance of local leaders in Independence and the legal advocacy efforts of
Missouri NEA have opened doors for a new era in MissouriÕs public schools,Ó Jung
says.
The
ruling reverses a 1947 decision, Springfield vs. Clouse, whereby the Court ruled
that the constitutional language did not apply to public employees, and the
1982 decision, Sumpter vs. City of Moberly, whereby the Court ruled that meet-and-confer
agreements were not legally binding.
ÒThis
decision is also about fairness and honoring commitments,Ó says NEA President
Reg Weaver. ÒBefore this decision in Missouri, any agreements made between
associations representing teachers and education support professionals and
local school administrators could be determined null and void at any time by
the district. It was unfair. We have to model good behavior for our students
and set good examples. If we expect students to be fair and honor their
commitments, then as adults, we should do the same."
In
both the neighboring states of Iowa and Kansas, and 32 others, collective
bargaining correlates with increased student achievement and a more stable
workforce.
ÒMNEA believes that every child has the
basic right to attend a great public school, and the courtÕs decision allows
educators to have a voice in how that is accomplished,Ó Jung says.
Connections
Academy, a leading national provider of high quality, highly accountable
virtual public schools operated in partnership with state departments of
education, school districts and charter schools, has been named the elementary
level provider for the Missouri Virtual Instruction Program (MoVIP). The State
of Missouri's Office of Administration and Department of Elementary and
Secondary Education (DESE) announced late last week that Connections Academy
won the competitive bid to serve as the K-5 provider for the state's first
virtual school, which will open in 2007, and is expected to serve as many as
4,000 full- and part-time elementary and secondary students tuition-free,
statewide. The Secondary (6- 12) Level MoVIP award went to Northwest Missouri
State University.
"
"The state of Missouri
is pleased to make the innovative MoVIP virtual school available to Missouri
families, and to ensure a high quality program by partnering with established
leaders in virtual public education," said Dr. Curt Fuchs, MoVIP Director.
"We are confident that by working with Connections Academy, the MoVIP K-5
program will fill an important educational need for Missouri families, meeting
a wide range of students' educational needs while maintaining the highest
academic standards."
Connections Academy has
been operating its high-tech, high-touch public "schools without
walls" since 2002. As of Fall 2007, it will serve students in 12 states,
including Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Minnesota, Nevada,
Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin as well as Missouri.
The Connections Academy
program combines state-certified teachers, a Missouri standards-aligned
curriculum, unique technology tools, and community experiences to create an
individualized alternative to the bricks-and-mortar classroom. All MoVIP
elementary level students can choose up to six courses from the
nationally-certified Connections Academy curriculum that combines high-quality
textbooks from leading publishers with cutting-edge technology- based resources
and hands-on materials. Students work closely with their parents, or other
"learning coaches" and a licensed Missouri teacher using detailed
daily lesson plans that can be personalized to meet individual student needs.
Teachers confer with students and their parents biweekly, and students also
participate in field trips and other in-person activities facilitated by a
community coordinator.
The MoVIP elementary level
program is expected to serve a wide range of Missouri students, including those
who are significantly ahead or behind in the classroom; students who would benefit
from more individualized instruction; or who require a flexible school
schedule.
To register students for
either the elementary or secondary MoVIP program, parents should go to
http://www.dese.mo.gov/movip/. If enrollment requests exceed its funded student
slots, the state will conduct a lottery to select students. After the lottery,
the program will be open to those who pay tuition, or who live in districts
that will pay it.
For more information, visit
http://www.connectionsacademy.com.
MissouriÕs
Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) has selected a team that
includes Kaplan Virtual Education to provide online high school courses for the
Missouri Virtual Education Program (MoVIP), a state-wide virtual school. MoVIP
will begin offering courses to thousands of students in the fall of 2007.
ÒAlong
with Northwest Missouri State, Kaplan Virtual Education will offer high school
students access to high-quality online curriculum and outstanding instruction
from Missouri-certified teachers,Ó said Charles Thornburgh, President of Kaplan
Virtual Education. ÒMissouriÕs progressive approach to innovative educational
offerings will allow the state to effectively serve a population of students
whose needs might otherwise have been unmet.Ó
Kaplan
Virtual Education, which includes Sagemont Virtual online high school and online
course developer Virtual Sage, will team up with platform provider eCollege and
software developer BocaVox for this project. The trio will provide course
content, curriculum development, online instruction and administrative tools.
Northwest Missouri State UniversityÕs Center for Information Technology will
serve as project manager.
ÒMoVIP
is excited to have Kaplan and Northwest Missouri State University form this
team to provide virtual education opportunities for our secondary students.
This partnership will give our small school districts in Missouri access to a
larger range of courses, especially advanced courses,Ó said Dr. Curt Fuchs,
DESE's Director of Virtual Education. ÒFor home schooled students, dropouts,
home bound, or even credit recovery, Kaplan Virtual Education along with
Northwest Missouri State University will be providing another option that
Missouri students have not had before.Ó
MoVIP
will offer part-time and fulltime online learning opportunities for Missouri
students seeking credit retrieval, advanced courses, and those trying to
resolve scheduling conflicts. Some of the online course offerings will include
physics, algebra and biology, in addition to Advanced Placement courses in
calculus, literature and U.S. history, among others. For detailed enrollment
information, visit www.dese.mo.gov/movip.
MoVIP
was in 2006 by the Missouri legislature authorized. The DESE and the state
Board of Education oversee its administration. Missouri is among several states
that have established statewide virtual school programs. Overall, the number of
K-12 students in the United States engaged in online courses in 2005-2006 was
estimated to be 700,000, according to the Sloan Consortium, which researches
online education.
About
Kaplan Virtual Education and Kaplan Higher Education
Kaplan
Virtual Education recently acquired Virtual Sage and Sagemont Virtual
(www.virtualsage.org), which has been doing business as the University of Miami
Online High School (www.umohs.org). The high school has been offering students
an opportunity to earn their high school diplomas online since 2001. Virtual
Sage has developed approximately 200 online high school courses designed to
meet various state and national education standards; these courses are
used by online high school programs around the country.
Kaplan
Virtual Education is part of Kaplan Higher Education, a business unit of
Kaplan, Inc. Kaplan Higher Education includes Kaplan University, Concord Law
School and more than 70 campus-based locations in 21 states, serving approximately
68,000 students. Through its schools, Kaplan Higher Education offers masterÕs,
bachelorÕs and associateÕs degrees, as well as certificates designed to provide
students with the skills necessary to qualify them for employment in fields
such as business, criminal justice, education, fashion and design, health care,
information technology, legal and paralegal studies.
Kaplan,
Inc., a subsidiary of The Washington Post Company (NYSE: WPO), is a
leading international provider of educational and career services for
individuals, schools and businesses.
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