The document discusses the structure of education in the United States and current issues and innovations. It provides an overview of the typical structure from elementary to high school. It also discusses the Montana Digital Academy, a statewide virtual school that offers online courses to K-12 students throughout Montana. The Academy has seen growing enrollment since starting in 2009 and offers various online course programs. It also discusses new initiatives like EdReady Montana, a program that provides online math instruction.

1. MontanaDigital
Academy
Innovative Education Solutions
Dean Roberta “Bobbie” Evans, Phyllis J. Washington College of Ed
Ryan Schrenk, EdReady Montana Manager
June 3, 2014 – Missoula, MT

2. • United States Constitution’s 10th Amendment
• General Configuration:
– Elementary (K-5 or K-6),
– Middle School (6-8 or 7-8),
– High School (9-12)
• Post-secondary Options:
– trade schools,
– community colleges (2 years),
– colleges/universities
Structure of Education in
the United States

3. • 50 states differ in organization
• Each district has a board of lay people
overseeing it (elected/appointed)
• State standards influenced by national
associations (not governing)
Local Control

4. • Standardized curriculum: Common Core
(adopted state-by-state)
• Two national testing consortia:
– (SBAC) Smarter Balanced Assessment
Consortium
– PARCC (Partnership for Assessment of
Readiness for College and Careers)
• Early Childhood education
New Federal Oversight

5. • Concern about high school drop-out rates
– MCPS has highest success rate in Montana,
among top in the nation
• Testing protocols
– resources like computers,
– validity, testing results (how they will be used
relative to evaluating teachers)
– What is the federal agenda?
• Common Core curriculum implementation
– Who is leading this in schools, knowing principals
have been left out of the development of the
curriculum?
– Who is monitoring quality of materials?
Current Controversies in American
Education

6. • International testing results
– math comparators
– led to STEM emphases
• What explains the difference
between K-12 educational rankings
internationally versus higher
education rankings internationally
for the United States?
Current Controversies in American
Education

7. • About centralized systems and how
to strengthen them
• How to keep curriculum focused on
national and local areas concurrently
• Management practices that foster
clear communication and avoid
barriers
We Need to Learn from YOU!

8. MTDA, virtual schools and
innovative solutions

9. Ryan Schrenk,
EdReady
Montana
Program
Manager
&
Dad to Justin
and Ian
&
Employee #3
at MTDA
About me…

10. Created by the Montana
Legislature in 2009

11. • Serve K12 Students in Montana
through Public Schools
• Governing board
• Director (CEO) Curriculum Director
(Vice CEO)
• Montana licensed teachers
• Core subjects, dual credit
enrichment
• Supplement not supplant
Montana’s Statewide
Virtual School

12. Unique Educational
Partnership
MEA-MFT
Office of Public
Instruction
Montana
School Boards
Association
School
Administrators
of Montana
Montana Rural
Education
Association
Montana
University
System

13. • July 2009 –$2M funding to start
Montana Digital Academy
• September 2010 – MTDA opened for
student enrollment with 45 courses
• April 2011 – 12/13 funding of $2.3 M
• April 2013 – Total enrollment topped
18,000 enrollments taught by over 100
Montana teachers, & Legislature
approved 14/15 funding of $3.8M
Brief Timeline

14. Red = Teachers Purple = Students
MTDA Teachers and
Students

15. MTDA Briefing
Montana
Digital
Academy
Statewide
Virtual School
Supplements &
Serves Through
Local Schools
“Original
Credit” and
“Credit
Recovery”
Certified
Teachers with
Association
with Montana
Public School
District
State
Standards
Based
Moodle and
Other Learning
Environments

16. Early Demand &
Early Success- 2012
Source: Keeping Pace 2012, Evergreen Education Group

17. Online
Courses
Available
24/7
Teachers
from
Across
Montana
Three
different
programs
MTDA Basics

18. Original Credit
Connect Credit
Recovery
Middle School
MLS
Three programs

19. MTDA Original Credit MTDA Connect Credit Recovery
Cohort Model Self-Paced, Mastery Learning
Traditional academic calendar Open entry/open exit
Available 24/7 Available 24/7
Montana teacher serves in
traditional instructor role
Montana teachers serve as
academic-area coach
Local monitoring strongly
recommended
Local intervention required
Appropriate for students attempting
classes for the first time
Appropriate for students that have
previously been unsuccessful
Comparing Programs

20. OC AP CR MLS Total
%
Usage
AA 892 26 1425 0 2343 34%
A 367 32 865 0 1264 19%
B 668 23 398 0 1089 16%
C 865 41 149 7 1062 16%
Alt Ed 11 0 565 0 576 8%
JDC 0 0 4 0 4 0%
MS/JH 76 0 3 379 458 7%
2011-2012 Usage
97% of Montana High Schools used MTDA for 1+ courses

21. 2012-2013
MTDA Courses

22. Unique Courses

23. MTDA Connect Credit
Recovery Courses

24. Responsive
Teacher
Varied
Activities
Multimedia
Interaction
with Other
Students
Challenging,
but
Manageable
What is a great
online course?

25. Independent
Flexible
Self-
Starting
Self-
Advocating
Curious
Tech-Savvy
What makes a great
online student?

26. NewIdeas!
Innova tion @ MTDA

27. Professional Development

28. Support for
Blended Learning
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dccentralkitchen/5238518044

29. Open-
Entry,
Open-Exit
Pre-Test
Module
Exemptions
Self-Paced
Available
24/7
Expanded Credit
Recovery

30. Open Educational
Resources

31. The only state-wide virtual
school on a campus

32. EdReady Montana
• Funded by Dennis and Phyllis Washington Foundation
• 1st State in Nation to use EdReady
• Public release onApril 1, 2014
• Serve all 7th graders to College Students in Montana
• Charges paid for access for 3 years
• First Higher Ed Programs Ready in Summer 2014
• K12 FieldTesting Spring 2014, Full Access Fall 2014
• Dev English Pilots in Spring 2015/Roll out and
expansion after that
• Managed By MTDA

33. EdReady - College
Readiness Beta Test State

34. NROC Math
Curriculum Assets

35. NROC Math
Curriculum Assets

36. NROC Math
Curriculum Assets

37. Personalized Learning
Path

38. NROC Math
Curriculum Assets

39. Data and Reporting
What our customized version gives us…

44. UM Pilot Results
Zero Points Better, 6
1 Point Better, 26
2 Points Better, 10
3 Points Better, 1
43 Participated

45. Saving Time and Money
• 43 students skipped 49 courses
• Total of 151 credits were “skipped”
• …adding up to estimated $31,000 tuition/fees!

46. Success in Math Classes
• 37 of the pilot participants enrolled in a
mathematics course in the Fall 2014 term
• 91% successfully completed their course
• Average mathematics grade for these students: B-
• UM Freshman overall average mathematics
grade: C+

47. Questions and
Comments

48. Contact Info
• Ryan Schrenk
• EdReady Montana Project Manager
• 406-203-1812 x201
• ryan.schrenk@montanadigitalacademy.org
• Website at http://edreadymontana.org