Administering a Virtual School

2011 ◽  
pp. 426-441
Author(s):  
Gaye Long

Why build a Virtual School? The rationale for the virtual school project arose from the need to address the shortage of teachers, especially in the area of advanced placement (AP) classes that school districts experience from time to time. Houston Independent School District was interested in providing a cost-effective model of instructional delivery that would positively affect student transportation issues and related expenses. In addition, there was a need to improve middle school students’ academic skills in preparation for high school and college. Reclaiming the home school market in the greater Houston area was another benefit that was anticipated. In addition, a virtual school would prepare students for a 21st century learning environment.

Author(s):  
Gaye Long

Why build a Virtual School? The rationale for the virtual school project arose from the need to address the shortage of teachers, especially in the area of advanced placement (AP) classes that school districts experience from time to time. Houston Independent School District was interested in providing a cost-effective model of instructional delivery that would positively affect student transportation issues and related expenses. In addition, there was a need to improve middle school students’ academic skills in preparation for high school and college. Reclaiming the home school market in the greater Houston area was another benefit that was anticipated. In addition, a virtual school would prepare students for a 21st century learning environment.


2016 ◽  
Vol 38 (4) ◽  
pp. 530-553 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenneth M. Tyler ◽  
Jennifer L. Burris ◽  
Sean T. Coleman

Disruptive classroom behaviors are a major schooling dilemma in urban schools. While several contextual and motivational factors have been statistically associated with disruptive classroom behaviors, one overlooked factor has been home-school dissonance. The current study examined the relationship between 260 middle school students’ reports of perceived home-school dissonance, several motivational antecedents of academic performance, and disruptive classroom behaviors. Six hundred sixty middle school students completed six subscales of the Patterns of Adaptive Learning Scales (PALS), including the Home-School Dissonance subscale, Mastery Goal, Performance Approach, and Performance Avoidance Goal Orientations, and the Disruptive Classroom Behavior subscales. Home-school dissonance scores were significantly associated with lower mastery goal orientation and lower academic efficacy scores. Home-school dissonance scores were also significantly associated with higher disruptive classroom behavior scores and higher performance approach and performance avoidance goal orientation scores. In addition, structural equation modeling with multiple mediators showed that mastery goal orientation and performance approach goal orientation mediated the relationship between home-school dissonance and disruptive classroom behavior.


2011 ◽  
pp. 1984-1989
Author(s):  
Gaye Lang

The Houston Independent School District (HISD) is the largest district in Texas and has often served as a model in the implementation of new methods, materials, and strategies to enhance learning. The district has often utilized input from a number of higher educational institutions in the city to assist not only in the training of employees, but in the research to implement and measure the effectiveness of teachers and programs on various levels. Therefore, a number of professionals from colleges and universities—not only from the Houston area, but also in various parts of the country— provided consultation during the planning process for the HISD Virtual School.


Author(s):  
Gaye Lang

The Houston Independent School District (HISD) is the largest district in Texas and has often served as a model in the implementation of new methods, materials, and strategies to enhance learning. The district has often utilized input from a number of higher educational institutions in the city to assist not only in the training of employees, but in the research to implement and measure the effectiveness of teachers and programs on various levels. Therefore, a number of professionals from colleges and universities—not only from the Houston area, but also in various parts of the country— provided consultation during the planning process for the HISD Virtual School.


2019 ◽  
Vol 116 (33) ◽  
pp. 16286-16291 ◽  
Author(s):  
Geoffrey D. Borman ◽  
Christopher S. Rozek ◽  
Jaymes Pyne ◽  
Paul Hanselman

The period of early adolescence is characterized by dramatic changes, simultaneously affecting physiological, psychological, social, and cognitive development. The physical transition from elementary to middle school can exacerbate the stress and adversity experienced during this critical life stage. Middle school students often struggle to find social and emotional support, and many students experience a decreased sense of belonging in school, diverting students from promising academic and career trajectories. Drawing on psychological insights for promoting belonging, we fielded a brief intervention designed to help students reappraise concerns about fitting in at the start of middle school as both temporary and normal. We conducted a district-wide double-blind experimental study of this approach with middle school students (n = 1,304). Compared with the control condition activities, the intervention reduced sixth-grade disciplinary incidents across the district by 34%, increased attendance by 12%, and reduced the number of failing grades by 18%. Differences in benefits across demographic groups were not statistically significant, but some impacts were descriptively larger for historically underserved minority students and boys. A mediational analysis suggested 80% of long-term intervention effects on students’ grade point averages were accounted for by changes in students’ attitudes and behaviors. These results demonstrate the long-term benefits of psychologically reappraising stressful experiences during critical transitions and the psychological and behavioral mechanisms that support them. Furthermore, this brief intervention is a highly cost-effective and scalable approach that schools may use to help address the troubling decline in positive attitudes and academic outcomes typically accompanying adolescence and the middle school transition.


Author(s):  
Toni Rose H. Deanon ◽  
Emily E. Culp ◽  
Demi C. Lager ◽  
Zachary P. Diamond

This chapter describes how The Modern Classroom Project model, a blended, self-paced classroom format with mastery-based grading practices, is ideal for young middle school students. The chapter narratively outlines a case study of four middle school teachers implementing and validating The Modern Classrooms model at DC International School. The chapter will provide recommendations for blended learning, self-paced classroom, and mastery-based grading practices. The following section argues how this model is ideal in the middle school classroom because it allows teachers better to serve students with a broad range of maturity levels; rather than focusing only on instructional delivery, middle school educators can focus on developing students' self-management skills. The authors also discuss how the model benefited their teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on the authors' experience implementing The Modern Classrooms Project model, they conclude that it is an effective structure for teaching and learning in middle school.


2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 209-223
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Davies-Mercier ◽  
Michelle W. Woodbridge ◽  
W. Carl Sumi ◽  
S. Patrick Thornton ◽  
Katrina D. Roundfield ◽  
...  

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer L. Engelland ◽  
Renee M. Tobin ◽  
Adena B. Meyers ◽  
Brenda J. Huber ◽  
W. Joel Schneider ◽  
...  

2009 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ji-Geun Kim ◽  
Yejin Lee ◽  
Bo-Ra Song ◽  
Hyunah Lee ◽  
Jung Eun Hwang

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