Attention all 9th graders. The Florida Senate passed the Digital Learning Now Act on July 1, 2011. The bill states that every student in the state has to take at least one course in Virtual School throughout their four years of high school, making a virtual course mandatory for a student to graduate.

“Computers will enhance our own education,” said counselor Ms. Mayra Gallor.

Of course, students don’t have to take it during school hours; it can be wherever and whenever there’s a computer available, making this added requirement much easier to deal with. Students are only required to take one virtual school class, however, taking more is encouraged.

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The district is anticipating that next year the students will have the opportunity to take the exam and opt out of taking the algebra 1 course itself if they are successful with their score.

Jones said she predicts by the spring students will be allowed to test out and move on to accelerate in the next higher level course if they have a passing score for the algebra end-of-course exam

Burke said in the spring he would like to do a workshop, so the board and the community are fully aware of the direction the district is moving towards.

He said the reality is that the district has a significant number of students in high school right now who could probably finish high school in three years or less and move on. Burke said they should probably have a conversation in the near future regarding that because the state is moving in a direction where an end -of-course exam is the measure of whether the student is awarded credit or not.

Board member Jeanne Dozier said their virtual school allows students to progress at their own pace. She said technically the district could have students graduating by the time they are 12-13 years old while enrolled in virtual school.

“Virtual school is becoming a very competitive school for the traditional school,” Dozier said.

Burke said discussions need to be had at how the district wants to look at progression of their students moving forward. He said at the same time they have students who need to go to school for five years to obtain the level of knowledge they need to move forth.

“When the student is on a five-year plan that is an extra year of cost that we are spending on that particular student, but on the other hand if we have students that can finish in three years they can move on,” he said about the district potentially saving money.

Down the road, Burke said all the issues concerning FCAT requirements are going to go away in 2014-2015 when new common core assessments will be administered to all students in the state of Florida.

“This is a new world that we are in to,” Burke said because ninth grade students entering high school next year and the year after are going to have different requirements. “It is a moving target for all of our students entering high school. We have a real challenge in terms of how we are going to handle that.”

The online course requirement is one of the newer requirements the incoming freshman students have to meet to graduate.

Jones said although they have not received a lot of technical assistance for the online courses yet, students have a lot of flexibility when taking the online course.

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Technically, these are school classes you can take in your pajamas.

But Stephanie Bradbury, 10, opts to start her classes after she has completed her regular school day — which includes chores and homework.

In one swift movement, she turned on her computer, opened a web browser and was looking at her next virtual math assignment.

“I have it bookmarked,” Stephanie said, smiling.

Her mother, Amy Bradbury, watched over her shoulder.

“You have a new message from your teacher,” she said, pointing at the screen.

In addition to traditional fifth-grade classes at Springwood Elementary, Stephanie has enrolled in Leon County Virtual School for a middle school math credit. Her older sister, Caitlin, 13, is on the Pre-IB track at Fairview Middle School, but Stephanie is the first to try an online course.

Since math is her strongest subject — evidenced by high FCAT scores and her membership in a competitive math club — Stephanie took the class to open up her schedule for more interesting and challenging classes later.

“If math is her strong suit, she’ll have more options in high school,” said Bradbury, who also works as the grants coordinator for the school district. “Just having those options, having those courses done, she will have electives opened up to her.”

For Leon County Schools, virtual education is the next frontier.

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Established in 2003, iNACOL is a non-profit organization that facilitates collaboration, advocacy and research to enhance quality K-12 online teaching and learning. The award for “Outstanding Individual Contribution to K-12 Online Learning” is made to an individual whose insight and innovation has significantly increased the credibility and advancement of K-12 online learning and is one of four special recognitions made each year at the iNACOL Online Innovator Awards. 2011 marks the third year these prestigious awards have been presented, with this year’s ceremony slated to take place November 9-11 at the annual Virtual School Symposium (VSS) in Indianapolis, IN.”

Educator and entrepreneur Dr. Howard Liebman is a recognized innovator in the field of online education. During the last 16 years, Dr. Liebman has founded and led several successful public and private education-related enterprises. He has served in multiple online educational settings in roles such as chief executive officer, chief operating officer, district superintendent, school principal, assistant principal, and teacher.

In 2004, Dr. Liebman co-founded the University of Miami Online High School and facilitated the rapid growth of the company. Under his leadership, The Washington Post Company acquired both the University of Miami Online High School and its affiliated curriculum publishing company, Virtual Sage, in April of 2007. In 2009, Dr. Liebman served as a consultant for and later facilitated the launch of the University of Miami Global Academy, a grade 8-12, college preparatory online high school.

It was in December of 2009 that Dr. Liebman undertook a groundbreaking project to address the nation’s escalating high school dropout crisis with the founding of Smart Horizons Career Online Education (SHCOE). SHCOE, for which Dr. Liebman serves as CEO and Superintendent of Schools, was launched in May of 2010 with the goal of re-engaging both adult and youth learners, among the 45 million Americans who have not achieved a high school education. This figure includes over one million youth between the ages of 16 and 19 who are not enrolled in school and do not have a high school diploma.

Fueled by Dr. Liebman’s leadership and inspiration, a team of dedicated experts in the fields of education and instructional technology designed an online model that employs highly structured, performance-based, interactive multimedia lessons delivered over the Internet. Curriculum is based on career outcomes and employment-driven academic requirements. In addition to earning their high school diploma, students earn a credentialed career certificate, have access to extensive career support, and complete a Career Portfolio that includes resume and cover letters.

For the rest of the article, go to Dr. Howard Liebman Nominated for “Outstanding Individual Contribution to K-12 Online Learning” for the 3rd Annual iNACOL Online Innovator Awards