Audit finds poor oversight of Utah schools’ online education

[Disir]

Two private companies are being paid millions in Utah tax dollars to recruit online students who boost enrollment for mostly charter schools — on paper.

The schools contract out the students’ online education back to the same companies that recruited them. Some schools then pay little attention to student performance, attendance, or progress toward graduation, leaving it to the private company, a new state audit says.
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‘Privatizing’ online education? Two Utah County companies have contracts worth millions of dollars to manage charter schools' and one traditional school's online education programs. The 11 schools audited are handing over anywhere from 54 percent to 93 percent of their unrestricted taxpayer funding — $2,880 to $4,147 per student — this year to the private companies, state education auditors estimate. A new audit criticizes the charters and Provo District’s eSchool for lax management of the contracts and for violating state law and education rules.
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Jaden Farr, 16, joins other students at DaVinci Academy, 2033 Grant Ave, in Ogden, as they take online Spanish on Friday, Feb. 21, as part of their
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Rachel Lindsey, 15, Noah Hughes, 15, and Jaden Farr, 16, from left, learn Spanish on computers at DaVinci Academy as part of a blended ó online and classroom ó learning program. The Ogden charter school says it has hired more IT staff and made other changes in response to a state audit critical of online and distance learning programs offered by Utah schools.
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Abby Barbadillo, 14, left, and Carmen Garnica, 16, both students at DaVinci Academy, 2033 Grant Ave, in Ogden, work on computers as Carmen also works out math problems on paper on Friday, Feb. 21, as part of their
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Students at DaVinci Academy, 2033 Grant Ave, in Ogden, travel the halls of the former cannery where now many studens are doing

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Online audit of Utah schools by The Salt Lake Tribune

At a glance

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Audit: Flaws found in Utah’s K-12 online, distance education

Among the findings in a 52-page Utah State Office of Education audit of online and distance learning in public schools:

» Some schools contract with private companies to provide online education, then pay little attention to student performance, attendance or progress toward graduation.

» Some schools don’t verify that teachers in the private online programs are licensed in Utah and have passed background checks, or that classes follow Utah’s core curriculum standards.

» At least one school and its contractor are getting state money for teaching home-school courses, which do not qualify for funding.

» Some charters are providing online classes when their charters don’t say they can.

» Some schools did not follow state procurement laws requiring competitive bidding, which the state office has to report to the attorney general’s office for investigation.

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Online, distance learning: Who was audited?

The Utah State Office of Education’s new audit on online and distance learning found lax management on the part of many schools.

Fifteen of Utah’s 90 charter schools and 23 of the state’s 41 school districts have online or distance-learning programs.

Among the handful audited:

Districts or schools that manage the programs themselves generally do a better job, the audit found.

The audited schools in that category were Alpine Online (Alpine District), Utah Online (Washington District), and three charters: Utah Virtual, Utah Connections and Mountain Heights.

Schools that contract with two Utah companies generally have been more hands-off, letting the companies manage the students’ education, the audit said.

Those schools included one district school, Provo’s eSchool, as well as charters C.S. Lewis, DaVinci, Rockwell, American Leadership and Gateway Preparatory.

Auditors also gathered basic information from these charters but didn’t audit them: Pioneer High, Mana, Aristotle and Pacific Heritage.

Many of the charter students take only a few classes online, the Utah State Office of Education audit found, but their school gets paid as if they are full time.

The audit estimates that $10.5 million in state money is flowing through schools this year and into the coffers of Harmony Educational Services, based in Provo, and My Tech High Inc., of Spanish Fork. The companies offer parents cash incentives, such as technology allowances.

Audit finds poor oversight of Utah schools? online education | The Salt Lake Tribune

How cool is that?

 

[JakeStarkey]

Online dual-credit education works very well in Texas because funding is controlled by the state while the HSs and colleges interact to provide the instruction.

Utah has been a cash cow for private industry fishing in the public education stream for thirty years.

 

[Disir]

Online dual-credit education works very well in Texas because funding is controlled by the state while the HSs and colleges interact to provide the instruction.

Utah has been a cash cow for private industry fishing in the public education stream for thirty years.

Texas has some major problems.
Texas charter-school donations rising | Schools | News from Fort Worth, Dallas, Arlingto...

http://educationblog.dallasnews.com...funds-state-report-finds.html/?nclick_check=1

Last year, the state’s three existing full-time cyberschools served approximately 8,300 public school students in grades 3 through 12. More than 5,000 of those students were enrolled in the Texas Virtual Academy, which is owned by a Lewisville-based charter school network and managed by K12 Inc. K12 has faced complaints of deceptive student-recruiting practices and poor academic performance.

Opened in 2006, the Texas Virtual Academy moved to its current charter partner in 2011 when its original partner did not renew a contract after two years of “academically unacceptable” state accountability ratings. It is still struggling; in 2013, it was among just 9 percent of Texas public school campuses that did not meet new state accountability standards. Despite the challenges, Mary Gifford, a senior vice president at K12, said that the school now met or exceeded state standards in all but one area.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/25/education/cyberschools-grow-fueling-new-concerns.html?_r=0

 

[JakeStarkey]

Online dual-credit education works very well in Texas because funding is controlled by the state while the HSs and colleges interact to provide the instruction.

Utah has been a cash cow for private industry fishing in the public education stream for thirty years.

Texas has some major problems.
Texas charter-school donations rising | Schools | News from Fort Worth, Dallas, Arlingto...

http://educationblog.dallasnews.com...funds-state-report-finds.html/?nclick_check=1

Last year, the state’s three existing full-time cyberschools served approximately 8,300 public school students in grades 3 through 12. More than 5,000 of those students were enrolled in the Texas Virtual Academy, which is owned by a Lewisville-based charter school network and managed by K12 Inc. K12 has faced complaints of deceptive student-recruiting practices and poor academic performance.

Opened in 2006, the Texas Virtual Academy moved to its current charter partner in 2011 when its original partner did not renew a contract after two years of “academically unacceptable” state accountability ratings. It is still struggling; in 2013, it was among just 9 percent of Texas public school campuses that did not meet new state accountability standards. Despite the challenges, Mary Gifford, a senior vice president at K12, said that the school now met or exceeded state standards in all but one area.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/25/education/cyberschools-grow-fueling-new-concerns.html?_r=0

Of course it does, because you have the same hounds chasing charter schools there. Some of Governor Rick's friends have fingers in the IT systems money in those schools.

The dual-credit program, however, in Texas from the colleges into the public high schools is a model for the nation. Utah's is pathetic.

 

[Disir]

Online dual-credit education works very well in Texas because funding is controlled by the state while the HSs and colleges interact to provide the instruction.

Utah has been a cash cow for private industry fishing in the public education stream for thirty years.

Texas has some major problems.
Texas charter-school donations rising | Schools | News from Fort Worth, Dallas, Arlingto...

http://educationblog.dallasnews.com...funds-state-report-finds.html/?nclick_check=1

Last year, the state’s three existing full-time cyberschools served approximately 8,300 public school students in grades 3 through 12. More than 5,000 of those students were enrolled in the Texas Virtual Academy, which is owned by a Lewisville-based charter school network and managed by K12 Inc. K12 has faced complaints of deceptive student-recruiting practices and poor academic performance.

Opened in 2006, the Texas Virtual Academy moved to its current charter partner in 2011 when its original partner did not renew a contract after two years of “academically unacceptable” state accountability ratings. It is still struggling; in 2013, it was among just 9 percent of Texas public school campuses that did not meet new state accountability standards. Despite the challenges, Mary Gifford, a senior vice president at K12, said that the school now met or exceeded state standards in all but one area.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/25/education/cyberschools-grow-fueling-new-concerns.html?_r=0

Of course it does, because you have the same hounds chasing charter schools there. Some of Governor Rick's friends have fingers in the IT systems money in those schools.

The dual-credit program, however, in Texas from the colleges into the public high schools is a model for the nation. Utah's is pathetic.

Then that's the one that should be promoted. Statistics, money spent, success and failures. We have or had a dual credit program here but, you had to go to the university. It was not online. Even so, I thought it was rather exceptional.