The Mobile County school system prepared in June 2014 to launch a virtual school for grades 6 through 12 at the start of the 2014-15 academic year, a step officials described as a move into the world of online learning.
The new program, to be called the Envision Virtual School, would carry a cap of 250 students in its first year and would be staffed by one principal, one registrar and at least four teachers, each expected to work about four hours per week.
Cost and approvals
The final number of teachers would depend on enrollment, according to Superintendent Martha Peek, who presented the proposal to the Mobile County school board during a work session that Wednesday. The system had already secured approval from the state Department of Education to create the school.
The program was projected to cost $200,000, to be covered with local funds, pending approval by the school board. The board was expected to vote on the proposal at its June 19 meeting. If enrollment grew, Peek told the board, the virtual school could eventually expand to as many as 500 students.
Board member Bill Foster noted that costs would fall as enrollment rose, because the state Department of Education funds teacher positions based on the number of students.
A flexible, web-based model
The school was designed to offer what the proposal called "a cutting-edge, virtual education guided by a philosophy of individualized and flexible instruction." Courses would be delivered through web-based software and would be available from Aug. 5 through July 31, 2015. Officials said they hoped to open registration in July after evaluating presentations from software suppliers.
Peek said the long-term goal was for the school to become self-supporting. She pointed to the Baldwin County school system’s own virtual program, which had begun the previous fall with about 20 students in grades 9-12. "We want to make sure we’re offering similar services," she told the board.
Fitting into a wider strategy
The online option dovetailed with other Mobile County efforts to keep students on track and prevent dropouts, including after-hours credit recovery courses and the district’s Twilight Schools. Peek said a virtual school would appeal to families of students who were homebound, who traveled frequently or who simply needed flexible hours, adding that officials had already heard from interested parents.
"We’re excited about it," she said. "We’re moving into the world of technology and online learning." Other school systems across the state, she noted, were also establishing virtual schools.
One difference from the Baldwin model was the question of devices. While Baldwin County issued MacBook Air notebooks to its virtual students as part of a broader technology initiative, Mobile County students would purchase their own devices to take the online courses. "We admire the work they’ve done in Baldwin County," Peek said.