shoaglund's blog

Matt Arkin, head of schools at Georgia Cyber Academy, sat down with the Good Day show on WFXL Fox 31 News in Albany, to explain how online learning works, how it can be an excellent alternative to traditional brick and mortar schools and highlights how the K¹² curriculum supports and enhances student literacy.

Sunday is Mother's Day, time to celebrate, appreciate and honor moms everywhere.  I was looking for creative and innovative ideas to offer our students, and came across the idea of journaling.

Journaling about Mother's Day gives students an outlet to create a personal and intimate way to honor one of the most influential and important people in their lives.  It's an opportunity to think about all the lessons learned from their mothers, as well a special way to document the many memories created with them. It can give them a chance to really stop and think about what really makes her special and the enormity of her role in their lives.

Most of us look back at our childhoods now that we are grown, and realize how special and "right" our moms were about so many things.  Asking students to write about their moms gives them a chance to stop and really think about  their importance in their lives.  I'm not saying that it will change the overall mood of your teenager, but it can lay the solid framework for when they begin to realize that there was some truth in the saying Mom knows Best! 

Every year high school students from around the country graduate not prepared for what lies ahead.  National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education recently reported that nearly 60 percent of incoming freshmen need remedial courses to get them up to speed for college level classes.  

Even in Maryland, where the K-12 school system is considered one of the best in the nation, approximately 80 percent of students who graduated and went on to attend a two-year community college needed remediation.

With research like this being surfaced, many young adults and their parents are looking for an educational option that offers rigorous; high-quality courses to help them not only attend, but succeed at the college of their choice. Our award winning curriculum, coupled with personalized college counseling and individualized learning strategies, offers The George Washington University Online High School students an edge they won't find anywhere else.

Congratulations to Ohio Virtual Academy High School Intervention Specialist Paul Wulff who was named the 2012 American Pioneer of Teaching! 

Public eSchool Teacher Named NCPSO American Pioneer of Teaching

COLUMBUS, OHIO 5/8/12 – Today the National Coalition for Public School Options named Ohio Virtual Academy High School Intervention Specialist Paul Wulff the American Pioneer of Teaching. 

Teachers affect eternity; no one can tell where their influence stops.  - Henry Brooks Adams

Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire. - William Butler Yeats

Teaching is the one profession that creates all other professions. - Unknown

Education is not to reform students or amuse them or to make them expert technicians. It is to unsettle their minds, widen their horizons, inflame their intellects, teach them to think straight, if possible.- Robert M. Hutchins 

Today starts the beginning of Teacher Appreciation Week! It's a week set aside to honor educators around the country and thank them for helping ensure every student receives a quality education.  Students around the country will be taking time to show and tell their teachers, both online and brick and mortar, how much they mean to them.  It's not only the students who appreciate those that help our kids. Everyone here at K12 recognizes the immense impact teachers have, not only on their students,  but on their families as well!  Online teachers are leaders in a movement to "help educate the world by changing the way the world is educated."

Did you know that most online teachers have seven to 15 years of traditional classroom teaching experience? Many choose to become online teachers so they can take advantage of the flexibility and the interactive and dynamic environment of a virtual classroom.  Also,  online teachers do not have to handle many of the same issues as their brick and mortar counterparts. There is no crowd control to address or lesson plans to create regularly, so they can use that time to develop relationships with their students' parents and help address issues and highlight successes as they happen, not just when school conferences are scheduled.  This regular, two-way line of communication can be instrumental in further individualizing their student's education, diagnosing potential issues and creating plans to address those issues. It helps create a unified team approach to helping kids learn.