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Virtual learning at the head of the class this fall

By Jim Sabataso
[email protected]
As the coronavirus pandemic forced Vermont schools to close this spring, educators, students and families got a crash course in remote learning.

But the concept is hardly novel. Online learning has become an increasingly common part of postsecondary education and industry-related training.

The Springfield-based Vermont Virtual Learning Cooperative has been offering online classes to middle and high school students across the state for more than a decade. As the need for remote learning increased exponentially this fall, the organization has become a key piece in the state’s continuity of learning puzzle.

Founded in 2009, VTVLC is part of the state education system, but it’s not a school and does not grant diplomas. Rather, it works with licensed teachers from across the state to offer a catalog of online courses available to students in grades 6-12. VTVLC is available to all public and nonreligious independent schools in the state.

VTVLC was created with American Recovery and Reinvestment Act money granted through the Agency of Education. Since then, it has sustained itself with a small amount of education funding through Flexible Pathways grants, however, it is primarily funded through fees paid by partner schools.

“Students gain the ability to have a greater availability of courses that potentially aren’t offered locally,” said Jeff Renard, executive director and co-founder.

Around 25 states have virtual schools that are either tuition-based or supplemental enrollment programs.

Vermont’s is primarily a supplemental program, meaning students stay enrolled in brick-and-mortar schools while receiving access to courses. It does not take tuition dollars away schools and doesn’t affect average daily membership, which determines per pupil costs.

VTVLC operates on a collaborative partnership model. Schools that want to participate must provide at least one teacher to facilitate one or more online courses. For each teacher, schools receive 50 student enrollments in any course in the VTVLC catalog. (Enrollments are not unique students, but courses that students are enrolled and actively participating in.)

“We offer a variety of courses in core academics, electives, AP courses, some dual enrollment options,” said Renard.

In Vermont, where a number rural schools have small student populations and limited course offerings, VTVLC provides a broad catalog.

It allows students more access to learning and greater flexibility, allowing them to work around scheduling conflicts. It also accommodates students with health issues or extracurricular pursuits that keep them outside a physical classroom.

When the pandemic hit this spring, VTVLC went from an outlier to a major player nearly overnight.

Since then, Renard said the organization has worked with schools and the AOE to help fill any gaps created by the state’s patchwork of fall reopening plans, which varied from remote only to in person to a hybrid of both. VTVLC also added support for grades K-5.

Renard said the organization launched VTVLC To-Go, which made VTVLC’s learning ecosystems — including its Canvas learning management system, student information system and course catalog — available to all qualifying schools at no cost.

“What that does is it provides support for brick-and-mortar schools … without putting any pressure on the teachers to develop content from scratch,” he said.

There also is a Collaborative School Option, which is based on the cooperative model.

“In this case, rather than being supplemental, the focus of the collaborative school option is to provide full-time teachers and full-time students slots in return for the teachers going into the statewide pool of educators,” he said.

According to Renard, VTVLC supports around 1,200 teachers and 25,000 enrollments in grades K-12. By contrast, VTVLC typically has 65 teachers and 2,500 enrollments per year.

Scaling up to meet that need wasn’t easy.

“Essentially, within a month we worked with districts to create these virtual academies,” Renard said. “It’s been challenging. My staff has just been phenomenal. We’ve worked seven days a week for many, many hours to support the different programs.”

Jess DeCarolis, division director of student pathways for the AOE, has worked closely with VTVLC in recent months. Since March, she has overseen remote learning and continuity of learning for the state.

“When we rapidly transitioned to remote learning in March, it was sort of a natural connection to think about an entity that has done this for 10 years or more,” she said.

DeCarolis called VTVLC a “safety net” for schools right now.

“I think, if there hadn’t been this resource to provide the logistical support, it would be pretty challenging for districts — more so than it already is,” she said.

Stefanie Kingzett teaches fifth grade for Barre Town Middle & Elementary School through VTVLC. A teacher for 16 years, she had never heard of VTVLC prior to this year.

The Barre Unified Union School District has used VTVLC for a small number of students in the past, but partnered with the organization this fall to provide a remote-learning option for students in grades K-8.

According to Superintendent David Wells, there are 235, or 17%, K-8 students currently enrolled in the remote program. Students in grades K-6 are grouped exclusively with other BUUSD students. Older students are in the VTVLC’s statewide class pool.

“We tried to keep it to having our classes be exclusively Barre students because that was really important for those younger kids, as well as the families, to feel that their kids were still connected to their town and the teachers that they know,” Kingzett said.

She currently has 20 district students in her class.

Kingzett, who normally teaches sixth grade, said she “proactively” chose to teach remotely so she could better balance teaching while managing the remote education of her own children.

She has a child in eighth grade, twins in second grade and a 4-year-old in preschool.

“Having four kids and the idea of one potentially having a cold and having to stay home with all of them just sounded like a nightmare to me,” she said.

Kingzett said the remote experience has created consistency for her students and her children. She said she has heard stories from families on hybrid schedules who are finding difficulty in the constant switching between remote and in-person learning.

A month into the school year, she said her students are starting to settle into a routine.

However, Kingzett admitted it’s been a challenge.

She said there was a learning curve for students as they were introduced to the Canvas platform.

“I’ve likened it to the students as, ‘Imagine you’ve walked into a brand-new school building. You have to know your way around and it takes a little bit of time to feel comfortable.’”

On the parenting side, Kingzett said it can still be a struggle to balance work and social time.

“Once you get started, when you’re working from home, it’s hard to know when to stop,” she said. “I had to make sure that I created a schedule for myself that also worked around some of (the kids’) free time.”

Kingzett said her kids are finding a routine as well.

“All of them are just appreciating the responsibility that they have for themselves to take charge of their own learning, which is nice to see,” she said.

Kingzett has been getting some much needed support from her husband, who is at home to help with their children’s learning two to three days a week.

“It’s definitely been hard to manage,” she said. “I, honestly, would not be able to do this if my husband was not able to rearrange the schedule.”

While the shift to remote teaching has been a new challenge for many teachers, U-32 High School business teacher Bonnie Gadapee is a seasoned veteran. She’s been teaching with VTVLC for seven years.

This year, she is teaching close to 100 students from across the state.

“For me, it was just a transition from a couple of classes being remote to all of them being remote,” she said. “My biggest challenge was getting the students in the groove.”

Gadapee said students doing better this fall than in the spring, but admits it’s always a struggle to keep kids some students engaged — in person or remotely.

But she’s learned some tricks over the years.

“Constant communication,” she said, explaining that she finds calling students on the phone to be most effective.

Gadapee sees benefits in remote learning.

“Some students really thrive off remote learning for many reasons,” she said, citing shyness or intimidation associated with being physically in a classroom. “Another great quality I’ve seen in students are the ones who are self-motivated and want to work at the self-paced model.”

Ruby Proulx is a student enjoying the flexibility of learning from home.

A sophomore at U-32 living in East Calais, Proulx is currently taking four classes through VTVLC.

“This fall has been a lot easier and a lot better than the spring was,” she said, calling the spring “unorganized” and “hectic.”

Proulx said her VTVLC teachers this fall have been responsive — another improvement, she said, from her experience this spring.

“I think everybody just has a better understanding of it now and it’s been so much easier.”

Living in a rural area, Proulx noted that internet connectivity has been an occasional issue. Fortunately, her classes are mostly asynchronous so she doesn’t have to spend much time on videoconferences.

“It doesn’t hold me back, but sometimes it can when it shuts off for a day,” she said.

Proulx said she appreciates being able to work at her own pace.

“I like the time management piece of it, but that’s also a challenge, too — staying motivated to keep doing your work when you want to go outside or watch TV.”

She said she’d be interested in continuing remote learning post-COVID.

“With remote learning, you don’t have to wait for everybody in your class to be at the same spot for you to move on. You can do that when you feel ready,” she said.

Proulx just might get that opportunity.

Amid all the tragedies caused by the pandemic, educators are trying find silver linings. Many agree that some of the practices developed this year, including remote learning, are here to stay.

But while that transition has been difficult for many, it will likely become a more central part of Vermont’s educational system moving forward.

Kingzett can see virtual learning being more prevalent in the classroom in terms of snow days and summer learning.

“It’s interesting just to know that this is something that, from an early age, there are kids out there that will have experience with this type of learning,” she said.

Renard agrees.

“I think one of the things that (the pandemic has) done is really expose students that ordinarily would not consider online learning,” he said. “That’s a skill set that, in addition to all the content standards and 21st-century learning skills … we really need to help prepare students to be successful with as they transition into adulthood,” he said.

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