Georgia Cyber Academy: Is virtual charter ignoring real problems with special ed services?
The last time we discussed Georgia Cyber Academy was in response to parent comments about their significant roles as academic coaches under the online school’s instructional model.
Now, it is the state board of education discussing the state’s first online school, suggesting it will pull its charter if it does not improve services for students with disabilities.
Georgia Cyber Academy is part of K12 Inc., a for-profit company that is the nation’s largest virtual school provider with online public schools in 30 states.
The charter school’s parent company has been garnering headlines lately, many of which have not been flattering, including a scathing investigation by The New York Times.
A report released this summer by the National Education Policy Center found that less than 28 percent of K12-run schools were meeting Adequate Yearly Progress during the 2010-11 school year, compared with 52 percent of brick-and-mortar schools nationwide. Georgia Cyber also did not make AYP in 2010-2011
K12 refuted the center report in a lengthy statement.
In the last three months, the company has come under fire in several states, including Florida where the state education department is investigating after several K12 teachers refused to sign class rosters showing students the teachers had never taught.
The Florida Center for Investigative Reporting/StateImpact Florida reported: K12 officials asked state-certified teachers to sign class rosters that included students they hadn’t taught, according to documents that are part of the investigation.In one case, a K12 manager instructed a certified teacher to sign a class roster of more than 100 students. She only recognized seven names on that list. “I cannot sign off on students who are not my actual students,” K12 teacher Amy Capelle wrote to her supervisor. “It is not ethical to submit records to the district that are inaccurate.” The documents suggest K12 may be using uncertified teachers in violation of state law.
In Tennessee, state education commissioner Kevin Huffman said in September that student performance at the K12 Inc.-managed Tennessee Virtual Academy was “demonstrably poor.”
Looking at the school’s report card — which is hard to find because the school comes under the umbrella of Odyssey School — Georgia Cyber Academy did not make AYP in 2010-2011 due to academic performance. The state Report Card lists 6,545 students in the school from kindergarten to grade 9.
The state board is concerned with the academic performance of students with disabilities. And the Report Card shows why.
Of the 320 Georgia Cyber students who took the End of Course Test in Math I, 54 percent failed. In the biology EOCT, 36 percent failed. But those rates jump for students with disabilities; the failure rate on Math I was 70 percent and 57 percent in biology.
On the third grade reading CRCT, 7 percent failed to meet standards. In third grade math, 28 percent failed. But looking only at special needs third graders, 52 percent failed to meet math standards and 9 percent failed in reading
In eighth grade, 2 percent failed to meet reading standards; 26 percent failed math.
But among special needs eighth graders, 12 percent failed reading and 58 percent failed to meet math standards. (Sixty-five percent of eighth graders with disabilities failed to meet social studies standards and 38 percent failed to meet language arts standards.)
State Board of Education members blasted Georgia Cyber Academy officials Tuesday, saying the online school is failing to meet the needs of its special education students.
GCA, Georgia’s first statewide online school, has seen its student population explode in recent years. Its number of special needs students has risen to 1,100 from 600 two years ago, according to the head of the school, Matt Arkin.
Board members said GCA has not increased its capacity to assess and teach its special needs students, despite a repeated push from the Georgia Department of Education. In unusually harsh language for a board that typically supports charter schools, members ripped Arkin and GCA.
“We have very serious concerns,” board member Brian Burdette said. “They have been warned several times that they are out of compliance. They have been given second chance after second chance.”
The board refused to take what would ordinarily be a procedural step in moving a $60,000 funding request from GCA’s board of directors toward approval. Seventeen other such requests were moved toward approval.
Board member Larry Winters reminded Arkin that the board has the authority to withhold other funds from the school “and is not afraid to use these powers.”
“This is the last warning,” he said.
Arkin told board members he and his staff will address their concerns. GCA is a charter school that was approved by the state, giving the state board the power to revoke its charter, a prospect Burdette hinted at Tuesday.
“If you don’t meet these benchmarks, your charter will come before us and you will be putting it in jeopardy,” he said.
In May, Georgia Department of Education officials, reacting in part to complaints from parents, reviewed how GCA assesses and teaches its special needs students and told the school it needed to ramp up its staffing in that area. The department gave the school until the end of August to comply.
The school asked for and received an extension to Nov. 1 to meet those requirements. Arkin said the school has hired 10 to 15 special needs staff members since May.
But department officials said a recent review of the school found that it continues to have a special needs staffing shortfall and other problems in that area.
Board members decided to take the unusual step of publicly criticizing the school and urging it to comply.
“This is not new news,” Burdette said, adding that he and his colleagues on the board do not want to revoke the school’s charter but will if it refuses to acknowledge its shortcomings.
“We are being forced to go a route we don’t want to go,” Burdette said. “They’ve got to get out of the denial phase.”
In an interview after hearing from board members, Arkin said he is not sure why they are unsatisfied. “We have not been anything but cooperative,” he said.
–From Maureen Downey, for the AJC Get Schooled blog
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68 comments Add your comment
Georgia Cyber Academy responds to state board concerns: DOE not providing assistance or clarity | Get Schooled
November 14th, 2012
6:45 pm
[...] In light of the state board of education concerns about Georgia Cyber Academy, I asked the director of the online charter school to make a statement. [...]
Georgia Cyber Academy: Is virtual charter ignoring real problems with special … – Atlanta Journal Constitution (blog) | Political Daily
November 14th, 2012
8:09 pm
[...] Georgia Cyber Academy: Is virtual charter ignoring real problems with special …Atlanta Journal Constitution (blog)Now, it is the state board of education discussing the state's first online school, suggesting it will pull its charter if it does not improve services for students with disabilities. Georgia Cyber Academy is part of K12 Inc., … A report released …State education board criticizes online schoolThecoastalsourceall 34 news articles » [...]
Coosabandmom
November 14th, 2012
8:09 pm
I, too had problems with the B&M schools. When a child goes from honor roll in elementary school to barely passing in middle school, there is obviously a problem. I badgered teachers and the counselor to no end. The counselor returned 1 of my calls. 1. I went through 2 years of begging and frustration and watching my son barely pass. Now I have him in GCA and I can see what his problems are and why he was having so much trouble. And they were quick to help me in any way I needed it, up to and including testing. I think that something isn’t right here with the jumping on GCA and forgetting all the B&M’s that do nothing for their students.
Angie
November 14th, 2012
8:27 pm
I was asked by GEE to repost this here: Am I missing it on here somewhere…where on here is the report of the B&M schools “NOT” meeting AYP? Especailly those that dont year after year and get away with it. The county that I am from didnt meet it for a while in one of the schools, hardly ever. The Elem school was meeting it every year…after a while they shut it down..WHAT A SUPRISE!!! Small county BOE’s are the ones that cant keep their hand out of the cookie jar(money) and will not work with you unless they benefit from it. Where are the reports on things like this? You rather attack a great school like GCA in public and say they are doing wrong with the specifics sent to them. My child has flurished with GCA. He is no loner bullied(with nothing being done about it). It took to the begining of the next school year to get his 504 plan updated with this B&M school. Why dont the DOE start with the B&M schools being out of compliance first.
mommamonster
November 14th, 2012
9:07 pm
Cobb Parent…thank you, I could not have said it any better!
mommamonster
November 14th, 2012
9:12 pm
I heard it from some legislators last night…the Parent Trigger bill and vouchers are definitely coming down the pike, guys. I have NO problem with charter schools except those who take advantage of parents and kids who truly need an alternative to the public school setting. Shame on those scam artists who just look for the $$$ and could not care less about the kids. Rep. Setzler stated when he “debated” Hinojosa at Lassiter HS a couple of weeks ago that if a charter school doesn’t meet standards “we can close it”. He did not say however what would happen to the kids AFTER the crooks took the money and ran. DO they have to pay the money back if they fail???
jw
November 15th, 2012
2:01 am
@mommamonster….no the corporation does not have to pay the money back.
Mary Elizabeth
November 15th, 2012
7:53 am
Cobb Parent, 6:40 pm, 11/14/12
Your remarks all ring true. Thank you for posting them.
DeKalb Inside Out
November 15th, 2012
9:28 am
3schoolkids
When you said IDEA funding, I thought you were talking about some other grant or revenue source for IEPs that I wasn’t aware of.
That document is hyper critical of special education in Georgia. Interesting info, biases, but interesting.
Ray
November 15th, 2012
11:05 am
Cobb Parent @ 11/14 6:40 pm has it exactly right. Allowing out of state for profit corporations, run by Goldman Sachs Wall Street folks no less, to come into Georgia and scoop up Georgia tax dollars for an on-line “cyber academy” is an abomination. Totally ridiculous, absurd, a boondoggle, a travesty. Make no mistake, a company like k12 is first and formeost, far beyond all else, about making money — actually providing a quality education (if a “cyber academy” can even do such a thing) is a distant afterthought. Diverting public education tax dollars to companies like k12 is crazy.
b-dawg
November 15th, 2012
1:09 pm
Pride and Joy…so taking kids and hiding them from difficult life situations somehow benefits that child in the long run… really? Of course I’m not talking about “physical abuse” by other children…you should protect them from that…I’m talking about other “bullying” that so many cry and moan about these days. I got bullied…names, rude comments…etc. You know what, I got over it…so will these kids today. Or I guess you can raise children into adults who don’t know how to stand up for themselves
Stop Educational Crimes
November 15th, 2012
8:07 pm
This our opinion:
Taking this LEA Charter is needed and appropriate for all of the Federal Violations and Denials
of FAPE that they have committed in the name of EDUCATION AGAINST STUDENTS WITH
DISABILITIES
Stop Educational Crimes
November 15th, 2012
8:17 pm
This is our ongoing and concerning opinions:
To: S. Holland and The Odyssey School Board Members
C. Stokes, EVP & Chief Marketing Officer
C. Hughes, EVP, School Management, K12
We are demanding The Odyssey School Board Members
FIRER T. TRIMALDI and MATTHEW D. ARKIN by 11-16-2012.
Something must be done NOW!
S. Holland as President of this school board, if this board is not able to
do what is Needed and Right in making decisions in the Best Interest
of Students with Disabilities attending this failing school system then
please Step Down.
Taking this LEA Charter is Appropriate and Needed in the
Best Interest of ALL students attending this LEA if this school
board continues to ONLY protect the interest of this LEA Current
Administration.
GCA/K12, The School of Odyssey Parents, Related Service Providers and
Teachers will be forced to start a Petition to remove the following:
S. Holland – Pres
Sholland@odysseycharterschool.net
M. Longmeyer
Mlongmeyer@odysseycharterschool.net
K. Magee
Kmagee@odysseycharterschool.net
M. Blye
Mblye@odysseycharterschool.net
J. DiGiulio
Jdigiulio@odysseycharterschool.net
D. Erickson
Derickson@odysseycharterschool.net
K. Knapp
Kknapp@odysseycharterschool.net
K. Reed
Kreed@odysseycharterschool.net
A. Brown
Abrown@odysseycharterschool.net
-A. Geeter
-Matthew Arkin
-F. Trimaldi
-L. White
-C. McClain
-S. Bullock
-H. Talton
-M. Lowe
-All Current Administrators
Your refusal to comply with this request will result in adverse
actions being taken against this LEA.
ALL BOARD MEMBERS ARE ON NOTICE!
Dedicated Parent
November 15th, 2012
9:52 pm
Cobb Parent,
I’m not sure I understand your comments. You are criticizing GCA for getting their curriculum from a for-profit company. Where do you think you local public school gets their curriculum from? Our local public school most certainly does not make it up on their own, nor do they manufacture their own textbooks, nor worksheets. They pay money to for-profit companies to supply their curriculum and materials as GCA does with K12. They pay K12 for their curriculum. It seems pretty apples to apples to me, so I don’t understand why GCA should be accused of doing some wrong there while you are ok with your own public school doing the same thing. Are you just against the specific curriculum they are paying for, because in my experience the K12’s curriculum far exceeds what our local public school’s purchased curriculum covered. And yet GCA is working on far less funding then the local public school. So who is getting all that extra money exactly?
Dedicated Parent
November 15th, 2012
10:06 pm
b-dawg,
Times have changed. Kids are getting bullied at an all new level that they cannot escape from. They are hit with it at school by students, by teachers, then when they get home online. The suicide rate from all of this bullying has dramatically increased and something needs to be done that is not happening at a lot of school to handle the situation. I for one believe that a parent should bull their child from a school where they are being mis-treated to the point of committing suicide prior to that event taking place and not just telling them to buck-up.
In addition, this original article was in regards to special education students. I’m guessing by your comments that you may not realize this, but often these students are not capable of protecting themselves from even the simplest of bullying from students and teachers. I first hand witnessed a teacher smack a child in the head because he didn’t turn around in line fast enough to head back to the classroom after the teacher escorted all the kids to wait in the hall outside the bathroom while she took a potty break. She continued to berate him the entire way back to the classroom saying she didn’t know why she had to put up with him being in his class since he was obviously stupid enough to need an IEP and it was all his fault for dragging her to having to treat him that way. Unfortunately, the child lacked the ability to recognize he was even being abused. This same goes for my own child and I will not put her in an environment where she can be abused without even knowing it and being able to report it. We are so thankful that we had the option of GCA, where she could receive the special needs and therapy she needs to be able to navigate the real world one day, while being protected and being allowed to work at an accelerated academic pace (which again is not what the public school was going to allow – their solution was that she needed to be “dumbed down” so that her deficits would become less noticeable). She is not sheltered and interacts with children on a regular basis (5 days a week); however, it’s via a supervised method that allows her to be able to work on the skills for interactions that she needs without getting abused or ignored at the same time. The schools solution when she was overwhelmed by the other kids to the point of having a seizure, we will stick her in the corner until she gets over it. My solution, I can take her home and continue on her school work so we can continue to work gradually up. I do not understand why you are so against a parent having a choice to protect their special needs child and feel that these kids should be forced into environments that will result in them never being able to survive in the real-world. It’s sick to think someone would believe it better to leave them in an environment where the child feels they have no choice but to commit suicide because they have no other education options. Does the real-world work like this- no. If someone is being verbally abused or harassed, the law takes that into account. The adult also has the choice to leave that environment for another one, why shouldn’t a child be able to do the same thing which would be a real-world scenario.
b-dawg
November 16th, 2012
10:33 am
times have not changed people have. Everyone is entitled to something because they get themselves identified as having this problem or that problem. Oh I’m ADD so nothing is my fault…please government help me. I’m sick of this entitlement society…especially in the world of education. These parents who make it their business to know every federal statute that has anything to do with SPED so when little Sally comes home al upset they go running to the lawyers office that “my child is not being served” under this statute or that statute. I know a SPED teacher at the local high school. She spends 4 weeks at the start of school each year doing IEP’s for 215 kids out of a high school of 900 students. Then she spends the last 4 weeks reviewing them. thats two months worth the SPED teacher isn’t even in the clasroom helping kids…they are over in the corner catching up on Federally mandated paperwork. Are you freaking kidding me? You mean over 20% of the population has been identified as SPED? Where were all these SPED’s when I was in school? they have come out of the woodwork because SPED is nothing more than a SCAM. A special ed kids gets 2.5 times the money a regular ed kid gets. And for what? They are not going to college. they are not becoming productive high wage earners in our economy. They will most likely be a drain on our economy just like they are draining money away from the students who do have potential. Don’t get me wrong any child who has a legitimate mental defect or physical impairment that prevents them from learning has my sympathy and is deserving of help. I am talking about these made-up diagnosis bs that has been going on the last 10-15 years in our education society.
Velva Muller
November 16th, 2012
11:11 am
I am the mother of a former 2009 Georgia Cyber Academy student. I was forced to withdraw my child by the school. Because his special needs kept him from meeting the guidelines. Upon telling me I needed to withdraw him they never told me about Senate Bill 10. I was left alone trying to figure it out. I just found out about this funding through one of my son`s caseworkers. I tried to put my son back into the public school system this school year due to my health. However, between March and September of this year my son was assulted a total of 6 times on campus and off combined. I have been forced to try and homeschool him again. Well I can`t put him in the Cyber Academy. B.O.E basically said unless he quailifies for “Hospital Homebound,” I`m on my own again. My son and I need help and there seems to be no one to turn to. I can not afford to pay for his education outside of the public school system. I can`t trust them to keep him safe! So what do we do!!!!!!!!!! No one seems to have answers and I have already learned when it comes to money that might be available, no one offers any information up front. Even when I posed the question to the B.O.E a few days ago about obtaining information about the IEP scholarship voucher it were as if I had been speaking Greek. I found out about the IEP funding through one of my sons caseworkers not even associated with the B.O.E. HELP!!!!
NOTE FROM Maureen: This poster included her phone number for folks to contact her with advice, but I would rather people email me with their contact info and I will forward to this mom.
mommybrain
November 16th, 2012
1:08 pm
I am a mom and learning coach of six GCA students. Four of our children are diagnosed with ASD, however, only one of our student is in SPED, and it is for medical reasons. The big fight with Amendment one was money and control. This SPED issue is separate. The SPED issue at GCA is no different than the issues in all the other public school systems, just happens to be more visible. Parents have the right to fight for what is best for our kids no matter the type of school or needs. And yes, many students are better served in an at home environment. Many school districts in GA do not provide adequate services, do not provide even a minimal education, but many parents accept the lack of response by their local schools. Parents who choose to put their children in any type of alternative schooling, do so for the betterment of their children. Many choose not to allow a label to dictate less of an education, and choose to give their children the opportunity to work within their strengths to become productive members of society, rather than to have them ignored and dumbed down as to be less productive. Most parents choosing more for their children, are more involved, and and because of that involvement become more aware of their children’s rights and abilities. Many teachers choose to ignore or overlook needs, weather in GCA or private or traditional schools. But involved parents do not let them get away with it. There are many more hands on parents and educated parents with their students at GCA, as a percentage of the total enrolled, than those in the traditional schools. We speak out for our kids, and everyone else against our choices choose to speak against opportunity because of its shortcomings. The numbers of enrolled students statewide, especially the high percentages of SPED and ALP students, show the bigger picture – our traditional schools are failing our exceptional students. Instead of tearing down a school for its problems, we should all want encourage educational system as a whole to improve. If the traditional wasn’t failing, there would not have been a need for an alternative in the first place. Open your ears, shut your mouths, and turn on the brains. The children grow up to be the backbone of the workforce and society, does America need a wet noodle to stand on?????????????