The School Administrator

April 2010 Number 4, Vol. 67Virtual Classes, Real PolicyGoverning seat time, teacher quality, credits and more

Features

Virtual Classes, Real Policy
by KATE BEEM
The rapid enrollment growth in online classes by K-12 students is outpacing the development of school district policies to govern such issues as seat time requirements, teacher qualifications and credit recovery. Freelancer Kate Beem also looks at three prevailing models of virtual education in local schools.
Similar Reading: Startup advice for online education
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Blended Teaching and Learning
by LIZ PAPE
Developing courses that combine face-to-face and virtual instruction in pursuit of 21st-century skills in classrooms. The author, CEO of the Virtual High School Global Consortium, identifies the approaches and the benefits of blended instruction.
Similar Reading: David Haglund: Riverside's connections and Tracy Sheehan: Going hybrid?
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The Evolving Online Landscape
by CATHY CAVANAUGH
With multiple online course providers offering courses to meet student needs, how do school district leaders identify the best option and choose the most appropriate course of action? Here’s the navigational guidance you might need.
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The Bottom Line: Funding Online Courses
by ROB DARROW
In Clovis, Calif., school leaders have discovered, from sometimes painful experience, what it costs to deliver online high school courses. The principal of an online public school details the fiscal realities of starting and sustaining virtual education programs.
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Potholes in the Road to Virtual Schooling
by GENE V GLASS
Seeing an increasingly troubling phenomenon, the author calls for regulatory reform of online course delivery in the areas of teaching quality, authenticity of student work and accounting practices.
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Profile

Plying Nerve and Verve to Reach the Summit by JAY P. GOLDMAN

The personal qualities that led Elizabeth M. Morgan, superintendent in Washington County, Md., to be named AASA’s 2010 Superintendent of the Year.

Departments

Board-Savvy Superintendent

The Two-Step Solution by DONALD R. McADAMS

The president of the Center for Reform of School Systems describes a universal tool for obtaining school board approval of complex and sometimes politically volatile recommendations by the administration.

Guest Columns

How 14 Days in Fresno Have Shaken My Beliefs by KATHY CANFIELD-DAVIS

After working as a consultant in California’s fourth-largest school district, the author, a university professor, was left to wonder about the authenticity of the training she is providing to the next generation of teachers.

Welcoming Our Newest Citizens by KARL V. HERTZ

An AASA past president had a unique perch in the federal courthouse recently to meet those who soon will be sending their children into his community’s public schools.

People

People

This month’s listing of superintendents moving up and moving on in their careers.

Tech Leadership

Twittering in the Hands of School Leaders by BRAD HUGHES

“Tools like Twitter are now very natural modes of communication … one of those things where it only helps get the word out,” says Stu Silberman, superintendent in Fayette County, Ky. He’s among those now sending tweets to his followers.

President's Corner

Let Me Hear That Bell Ring by MARK T. BIELANG

An eatery in his community started a corny little business practice whose underlying concept can easily translate to school systems. The issue is customer service.

Executive Perspective

What’s the Purpose: Transformation or Tinkering? by DANIEL A. DOMENECH

If we had to invent a public education system, we would not be talking about the artificial constraints of a kindergarten through 12th-grade system, AASA’s executive director says. Learning is a lifelong process.

AASA School Solutions

Saving Health Care Dollars Through Dependent Audits by TONY SCHY

Audits of dependents are one method rapidly becoming common practice among public and private entities for ensuring cost effectiveness in employee health care plans.

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