Three Year Education Plan and Annual Results Report - GH Learning Academy Three... · Moodle Hub,...

Three Year Education Plan and Annual

Results Report

2014-15/2015-16/2016-17

Table of Contents

Introduction……………...………………………………………………………………………..page 3

Accountability Statement………………………………………………………………………...page 2

Foundation Statements………………………………………………………………………… ..page 5

Context (Profile and History)….………….……………………………………………………...page 6

Trends and Issues………………………………………………………………………………...page 7-8

Exam Results (achievement and Diploma)………………………………………………………page 9

Accountability Results…………………………………………………………………………....page 10

Other survey info…………………………………………………………………………………page 11

Goals, Outcomes and Strategies………………………………………………………………….page 12

Budget Highlights………………………………………………………………………………..page 15

Publication and Communication………………………………………………………………….page 16

The Annual Education Results Report for Golden Hills Learning

Academy for the 2014-15 school year was prepared in

accordance with requirements of Alberta Education and Golden

Hills School Division. The school is committed to using the

results in this report to improve outcomes for students. We use

the results to develop sound strategies for our Three Year

Education Plan to ensure all our students can acquire the

knowledge, skills and attitudes they need to be self-reliant,

responsible, caring and contributing members of society.

Introduction

Today’s students are continuously changing the way they communicate and access the rest of the

world. As a result, schools have to continuously implement, upgrade and adjust programming to

keep the 21st century learner engaged. Golden Hills Learning Academy meets a variety of needs

for students of all ages that are not often met in a regular program. With a focus on powerful

learning, students are set up now with a personalized learning plan that is specific to their goals

and needs.

Although the majority of our students are in high school, we do have full programs for grade one

through nine, as well as for adult learners. In partnership with Storefront school, we are able to

offer extra support not usually found in other online schools. Our program reaches beyond

Golden Hills by accommodating students from Calgary and surrounding areas. We play a key

role in supporting other GHSD schools, and our goal continues to be to build our clientele to

include students from all over the world.

Many of our students access programs that best match their individual needs from all over the

world. The Learning Academy’s office is located in Strathmore, Alberta, where the teachers

mark, tutor and supervise exams. All of the teachers are certified to teach within the province of

Alberta and all programs follow the Alberta Curriculum. As a member of the Golden Hills

School Division, the Golden Hills Learning Academy is a public school.

Over the next three years, the Golden Hills Learning Academy plans to:

- Continue to support the individual needs of all students.

- Increase academic success at all levels.

- Continue to increase the number of credits earned throughout the school year. This would

include the addition to some key courses (eLearning, Digital Citizenship, Psychology, French,

Forensic Science, and a large variety of CTS courses).

- Work closely with Strathmore High School and Strathmore Storefront School to provide

alternative programming that can meet a wide range of needs.

- Work closely with smaller high schools in GHSD to make courses readily available.

- Continue to offer credit recovery as part of our high school flexibility program.

- Continue to build teacher capacity and expertise by sharing teacher FTE with Storefront and

Northstar Academy.

- Enhance our home based learning by providing regular, authentic teacher lead materials online.

- Establish ELL language program for students locally and overseas.

- Strengthen all programs through professional development in online education and assessment for

learning.

- Support course and LMS upgrades with iCampus.

- Expand on the partnerships that already exist and develop additional partnerships well beyond the

Golden Hills School Division (i.e. RAP, Campus North, Diefenbaker, James Fowler and other

CBE schools).

- Provide more programs to students in order to meet their specific needs (ie. Knowledge and

Employability, special projects and RAP).

- Continue to communicate information about our programs to the world through our website,

advertising, and social media.

- Utilize the Storefront team to provide an adult funding model through Alberta Works and support

our adult learners.

- Utilize resources from other on-line educators to advance our programs. (iCampus, Rockyview

Moodle Hub, iNacol and MoodleMoot).

- Continue to adjust and update each subject area to ensure that there is a high quality of course

development and learning opportunities occurring at all times.

- Provide a more specialized program that is appropriate for our clientele (ie. Green Certificate

with Olds College and Colony school students aged 15-20).

- Establish an orientation program, teacher pages and parent-teacher interviews to build the

student-teacher relationships required for student success.

Beliefs and Values

The Learning Academy team believes that…

… each student should be granted the freedom to access their studies at any point during the day or night

and at any location around the world.

…the wishes of individual families and students should be granted through choice. This may be the

choice to upgrade their studies while attending another school or working full time, or it may mean

choosing home schooling as an alternative.

…students can reach their full potential by having a flexible and appropriate program. Some students may

choose to fast track their courses to complete their studies in less time

than it would take in a regular program. Other students may choose

to stay on a regular schedule but work independently.

…students should be engaged in their learning.

…parents play a key role in their child’s education and, as such, act

as a supervisor and supporter of the programs we offer.

…students should have the option to continue with their education

while they are pursuing other passions that include travel, sports, and

music or while they are recovering in the hospital.

…students should have access to a wide range of courses that may

not be available elsewhere. This may include the Knowledge and

Employability program, CTS options, RAP, Paleontology,

Cosmetology, or Spanish and French, just to name a few.

…academic success comes with personalized and flexible learning

plans.

…academic success comes with one-on-one tutoring and guidance

support.

...assessment for learning leads to exemplary teaching and excellence

in learning.

…partnerships with other schools (both in and out of Golden Hills), with other school divisions and with

a variety of different communities is important in providing opportunities for students.

…alternatives to the traditional classroom setting are necessary to meet the needs of a variety of students.

…online courses are a great way that students can experience 21st century learning.

Context

School Profile The Learning Academy has approximately 75-100 (full time equivalent) students that range in

age from six to twenty-six. Our elementary and junior high programs include approximately 45

full-time students that can choose between a traditional home education program, an online

elementary program, the online or distance education program or a blend. Although most of our

students are enrolled in a high school program, there are very few that are full-time. In most

cases, students that are enrolled at another high school or students wishing to upgrade enroll with

us for a few courses at a time. Presently, we have students from out of province or out of

country that attend our school. We receive a number of students from the public and private

systems in Calgary. Depending on the courses they take, the students can choose between

online courses that are available through a Learning Management System (LMS) program known

as Moodle and the traditional distance education modules. Upon registration, members of the

staff sit down with the student and the student’s family to discuss program choice as well as

guidance counseling. Other needs, such as special programs and fast tracking, are also addressed

at this time. Our teachers and technical facilitators set up online access and deadlines that work

best for that particular student. This personalized learning contributes greatly to completion of

courses and how students experience school. The role of the parent is essential during initial

registration as in many cases, the success of the program hinges on their participation in guiding

their son or daughter through their courses. They play a key role in communicating with us and

with their children around the completion of each course.

GHLA has works collaboratively alongside the Strathmore Storefront School by providing

teachers, programming and administrative support.

History The Golden Hills Virtual School was established in the fall of 1997 with two teachers and one

technical assistant. The purpose of this program was to bring together distance education (run by

Big Sky Distance Education), junior high Hutterite education and home schooling. Using

LearnNet materials that were purchased from Edmonton Public schools, an online program

began with students from grades 5-12. Although the virtual teachers were, at one point,

connected to the Alberta Online Consortium, it was felt that locally developed courses would be

more appropriate for the virtual school students. As Big Sky faded out and changes occurred

with computer use, the virtual school remained focused on providing courses to smaller rural

schools within Golden Hills. In the fall of 2009, under a new administration team, Golden Hills

Learning Academy was established. Although our teaching staff and support staff remained the

same, we made many changes in course load as well as in our online platform. In the summer of

2010, we transferred our courses over from Blackboard to Moodle.

In Sept 2013, we began the school year in the latest version of Moodle, which has allowed

teachers easy access to upgrade courses, design new ones and introduce and utilize the latest tech

tools that assist us to engage students in their learning. By the end of October, teachers spent PD

time creating interactive and engaging elements to each course, including course orientation

videos for students and parents to view at any time. As a result, our tech facilitators have become

experts in Moodle and course development. With the help of iCampus, we continue to be

upgrading courses as well as Moodle.

Issues and Trends

Twenty-first century learning has presented many challenges as we need to continue to provide

authentic, engaging, inquiry based work for students. It takes time, money and expertise to do

this in the online setting. In 2012-13, our staff worked through assessment for learning in the

online world, as well as technology based teachers to make significant changes and upgrades to

our courses. This momentum resulted in the development and re-development of over 20

courses in 2013 and in 2014, our teachers started to collaborate fully with teachers from around

the school division. This has added to the momentum in developing highly engaging and

interactive course work.

Unlike most Golden Hills Schools, The Learning Academy does not cater to a specific

community. The online and distance education option is designed to reach students throughout

the world. This presents many challenges. For instance, we often have a particularly large

number of students enrolled in one particular course, some taking the course on-line, and others

take it through the distance education modules. Included in such a class are a number of students

from other schools, like the Calgary Islamic school, a few students from local Hutterite colonies,

students who are living out of the country and a variety of others who live both locally and in the

surrounding areas. With changes to the ADLC funding in spring of 2013, our clientele has

expanded to more students in GHSD schools from Acme, Linden, Drumheller, Standard, Three

Hills and Trochu. Understandably, the challenges that exist for the teacher of this course may

include being sensitive to religious holidays, adjusting due dates and scheduling exams,

providing tutoring time online, over the phone or in person as well as dealing with any technical

issues. Our staff is incredibly dynamic, flexing their schedule and balancing their courses to

meet the needs of each individual student. With very few full-time students, our few teachers are

required to meet so many diverse demands.

GHLA staff are always willing to update courses to ensure we are consistently engaging our

students. Again, this is a large time commitment and, in our case, involves significant

professional development in addition to access to up-to-date materials.

Since the beginning of the 2009-2010 school year, we have been reaching out beyond the local

area. As a result, there is a geographical disconnect from any particular community. It is

difficult to communicate information as well as reach out to parents and families in order to

support student learning. As we expand and introduce new programs for International Students

(ELL) and continuing education for local communities, support systems will be established to

encourage success in student achievement. In district, we have established relationships with a

teacher or EA at each local school to help us co-ordinate options. Even with a credit sharing

model, it is still difficult to encourage students to complete their courses.

There are a number of technical issues that can arise in the day-to-day course work. Although

many of these issues occur because of user error, it still requires time and energy to solve these

problems. In the summer of 2014, GHLA switched our Moodle host to iCampus, an expert in

the area of Moodle and online learning. This has proven to be a time and cost saving, as they are

responsive and are keeping us continuously up-to-date.

Summer school enrollment has continued to grow over the past few years. For the last three

years, the majority of summer school students have come from the Calgary area due to

advertising directly to Calgary and area school counselors. In addition, we are finding that

Calgary Separate and Public school systems have a much earlier cut off to their summer courses.

We are seeing a similar trend with students who have just recently graduated from GHSD and

enroll with us to upgrade courses for post-secondary. The difficulty that arises with summer

school, however, is that the term is never more than 6 weeks, resulting in a lot of work for both

teachers and students in a very short timeframe.

Our full time junior high students can sometimes prove to be challenging as many of them come

to us from a predominately teacher lead environments. Although many different types of

learners benefit from our program, motivated students tend to experience most success. On

occasion, we have to spend a significant amount of time coaching junior high students with their

timetabling and with their academics.

Adults continue to have a difficult time receiving funding through Alberta Works (Employment

and Immigration) and the process begins with a 6-8 week waiting period. Not only is this

frustrating for adult learners, but many of them have been refused funding and cannot afford the

$500 per course fee. The goal of Alberta Employment and Immigration is to fund students to get

them the necessary training to get them back into the work place. One of our goals, and the goal

of many students, is to gain a high school diploma. Because these goals aren’t consistent, we

find this funding issue to be an on-going issue. All adults seeking funding are provided

programming through the Storefront School in order to utilize the face-to-face ability that

Alberta Works is more willing to support. Students not seeking funding can pay on a payment

plan. Since 2014, we have established an adult learning co-ordinator at the Storefront to assist

students in funding, course selection, progress and support.

In March 2013, ADLC announced a significant shift in their funding model, which has impacted

GHLA greatly. Prior to this school year, ADLC was easily the choice over GHLA in offering

additional courses to students within our division, as they would offer the school 100% CEU

funding. In June, GHLA offered a 50/50 split in CEUs for in district students. Not only have we

spent significant time and money in developing courses that we have estimated to be needed, but

we are also offering courses that we will only split the funding for. As a result, we have had to

re-evaluate our role within the district.

Given the potential market of online education, combined with the trend of parents wanting to

choose opportunities for their children, we expect to grow over the next few years. With that

said, however, there are many competing online schools that serve a significantly larger

geographical area and student body. By tapping into the market that exists outside of Golden

Hills and advertising our strengths, The Learning Academy has a tremendous amount of

potential.

Exam Results

Diploma Exam results The following information on the diploma exam results does take into consideration the

five writing times that are available here at the Learning Academy (November, January, April,

June and August). The percentages highlighted below, however, are not accurate for a few

reasons. In certain subjects, in any given year, there may be only 1 or 2 students writing the

exam. For the most recent year, there were under 5 writing in each subject for Math and the

sciences, thus the multiyear report has a “*” indicating not enough info for the report. Given our

continuous intake procedures, we may have students register with us in September because they

did not complete a course over the summer and, as such, it may only take them a few weeks to

finish the course leaving a large gap until their January writing date. Unlike regular high school

programs, it is very difficult to provide review and tutorials for diploma classes, thus leaving

some students less prepared for their exams.

2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15

(actual) (actual) (actual) (actual) (actual) (target)

Acceptable/ Excellent Acceptable/ Excellent Acceptable/ Excellent Acceptable/ Excellent Acceptable/ Excellent

English 30-1

GHLA 100/8 75/0 100/20 60/0 82/0 80/15

Province 97/15 85/10 91/30 80/7 77/12 TBD

English 30-2

GHLA 100/0 100/0 N/A 100/0 100/17 80/15

Province 96/6 89/9 93/11 86/9 90/13 TBD

SS 30-1 GHLA 57/0 50/0 71/0 39/0 67/0 80/15

Province 68/10 83/15 86/16 77/11 86/14 TBD

SS 30-2 GHLA 60/13 40/0 50/0 N/A 58/0 80/15

Province 76/11 86/15 83/13 75/8 84/15 TBD

Math 30-1 GHLA 46/9 (Pure) 50/0 (Pure) 100/0 N/A 33/0 80/ 15

Province 83/30 81/29 81/27 N/A 75/30 TBD

Math 30-2 GHLA 87/0 (Applied) 100/0 (Applied) N/A N/A 67/33 80/20

Province 90/12 75/10 91/9 N/A 71/15 TBD

Biology 30

GHLA 50/0 50/0 50/10 N/A 71/14 80/15

Province 83/27 80/20 81/28 N/A 85/31 TBD

Chemistry 30

GHLA 80/ 0 34/0 100/0 N/A 75/50 80/15

Province 76/28 75/25 77/28 N/A 81/35 TBD

Physics 30

GHLA 50/0 N/A 100/100 N/A 100/20 80/20

Province 79/23 N/A 96/46 N/A 83/34 TBD

Provincial Achievement Exam Results In the past, not all students enrolled in grades 3, 6 and 9 wrote the provincial achievement exams

for a variety of reasons. GHLA may have taken in more reluctant learners from other schools

within the district, while some of the elementary students were participating in the home

education program. For some students, they were not promoted into the next grade at the end of

June, but instead, midway through the year. For many years, too few students in these three

grades (i.e. 1 to 5 students per grade, per year) wrote these exams and thus any results that are

published can easily be misinterpreted. Although the provincial achievement exam results of the

overall jurisdiction assist our teachers in determining areas of concern as well as supporting the

students, the validity of these test results is questionable. Teachers this year will be looking into

new ways of analyzing the PAT results.

Course Completion Many of GHLA students are taking a single course. Students typically enroll for courses because

they need to upgrade that course, they need an additional requirement to graduate from SHS or

they need to re-adjust their schedule to work and fulfill requirements for post-secondary

entrance. Some of our students have struggled to be successful in their previous school, and as

such, struggle in the online environment. Over the past 3 years we have had varied results in

course completion, but it has been an area of focus for us. Our records in the past have been hard

to track as many students “rolled over” into the next term, but our estimates show that 50% of

courses were completed. Since 2009-10, our completion rate increased to over 75% and in the

last 2 school years, students were able to earn twice as many credits as in previous years. Some

of the 25% did not complete after consultation with staff around making choices in their

learning. Although the few years have indicated a decrease in enrollment overall, there was a

significant increase in overall CEUs.

Satisfaction Surveys Parents, students and staff were given passwords to complete the 2014 accountability survey

online. As usual, only a few parents and our staff completed this survey, leaving the results

unreliable. Furthermore, the questions asked in this survey, were not specific to our type of

school. High school drop-out and completion rates, for example, cannot be accurately calculated

from this survey as the majority of our students only take one or two courses while enrolled

elsewhere. We have recently developed our own satisfaction survey with similar questions, but

that can provide useful information that pertains to our unique situation. In February of 2015,

this survey will go out in digital format through survey monkey.

Paper surveys (with open ended questions) have been given at the end of the semester for each

student as they complete a course. The following are 2 main areas of feedback we have

received, out of at least 50 surveys for 2013 and early 2014:

1) When asked who or what supported the student the most in their learning, 75% named a

teacher, 20% named a parent or family member and 5% said their textbook.

2) When asked about what needed to change in our courses to make them better, 65% said

nothing, the other 35% suggested test reviews, more examples, video lessons and

video/animation throughout the lessons.

Goals, Outcomes, and Strategies

Goal #1: An Excellent Start to Learning

Outcome: Children are reaching emotional, social, intellectual and physical development

milestones and are ready for school.

Priority for Improvement:

Utilize checklists for kindergarten and grade 1 program of studies and traditional

home- ed students to ensure readiness.

Strategies for this priority:

Our students learn from a distance with parent support, so we would support

students and parents in independence, while engaging the student in inquiry based

learning.

Simple, quick and engaging online assessment pieces.

Goal #2 Success For Every Student

Outcome: Students achieve student learning outcomes.


Ensure that all students will achieve a minimum of the acceptable standard and

there should be an increase in the standard of excellence (on both the PATs and

diploma exams).

Ensure that all students are enrolled in appropriate course choices and levels and

are provided the necessary accommodations throughout the year.

Motivate, engage and support students and parents to complete programs and

become lifelong learners.

Re-develop courses to reach the highest quality of course development.

Build new and engaging courses and course activities.

Provide a variety of course options and schedules to allow access to programs at

all times, anywhere in the world.

Provide students with specific interests to gain credits in those areas (ie.

Construction Tech, Cosmo, etc).

Strategies for this Priority:

Teachers utilize online checklists and offer course work designed around

competencies to ensure a direct connection to the outcomes.

Teachers will continue to provide tutoring support for all subjects and additional

tutorials needed to prepare for achievement and diploma exams.

Teachers and admin will provide on-going feedback to students and parents

regarding academic success and work as a team, with families, to make

appropriate adjustments to programs, if needed.

Teachers and admin will review, as a group, achievement and diploma exam

results to identify areas of need and improve instruction and course development

based on that analysis.

Have students undergo psycho-educational assessments, when appropriate, and

adjust their programs to match the outcomes that are most appropriate for

students.

Support each teacher through professional development, assessment for learning

and technology. Support teachers one-on-one with instructional coaches, admin,

tech supports, in addition to PD opportunities in online learning.

Utilize partnerships with other online open source schools to establish appropriate

measurements for high quality course development.

Provide access to choose from a maximum number of high school courses or

curriculum routes (i.e. K&E programs, AP courses, ESL, high school options) in a

variety of forms (ie. On-line and distance education).

Provide a variety of program choice so students can achieve a high school

diploma through the public system, while remaining enrolled in other religious

programs (i.e. traditional home education, blended programs or core subjects

being offered to Islamic Students).

Outcome: Students demonstrate citizenship and entrepreneurship.


Ensure that students have every available opportunity to engage in their community,

through volunteering and work experience.

Encourage students to build positive work habits and mature interactions with teachers

not only to assist in their learning, but to build these skills that will help them as citizens

later in life.


Teachers encourage creative, innovative ways to draw on their experiences within the

community to share inside their academic and non-academic course work.

Teachers encourage students to earn credits through work in their community.

Reward students for citizenship through scholarships and school recognition prizes.

Goal #3: Quality teaching and school leadership

Outcome: Teacher preparation and professional growth focus on the competencies needed to

help students learn. Effective learning and teaching is achieved through collaborative leadership.


Provide Professional development opportunities applicable to online learning and

to 21st century learning to assist teachers in making course changes.

Provide ongoing support by tech facilitators and admin to allow for smooth course

development.

Provide opportunities to collaborate with colleagues with a focus on Powerful

Learning.


Provide examples and course templates to allow for quality course development

and re-development.

Continue to access courses in open source to build from.

Attend k-12 iNacol, Moodle Moot and Moodle hub conferences for professional

development.

Attend GHSD collaborative PD for subject specific work.

Goal #4: Engaged and effective governance

Outcome: The education system demonstrates collaboration and engagement.


Admin, teachers, student and parents develop a personalized learning plan for

each student.

Students are supported fully by parents.

Parents and families of students support the Learning Academy in student

learning.

Provide access to the GHLA information and allow feedback through an

interactive website in addition to social media (Facebook).


Continue to update the website and Facebook, allowing parents and communities

access to The Golden Hills Learning Academy.

Provide home-room teachers and develop engaging course orientations to

establish relationships with students and families.

Encourage face-to-face visits with parents and students and regular tutorial time

for all students. This may include going into the home, out to a colony, or into a

district school to offer academic support.

Provide a parent-teacher interview nights for all students as well as group tutoring

sessions.

Develop strong relationships with parents, families and communities that allow

open communication and opportunities for feedback.

Budget

Additional information concerning individual school expenditures is available by request.

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Coursedevelopment

elementaryallocation

junior highallocation

senior highallocation

GHSD allocation

Revenue Projection for 2014-15

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certified staff supplies and services

Projected Expenses for 2014-15

Publication and Communication

The Golden Hills Learning Academy’s Three Year Education Plan and annual results report will

be available for public viewing on our school website. Our website can be accessed directly at

www.goldenhillslearningacademy.com or via the Golden Hills School Division’s website at

www.ghsd75.ca under school listings.

Our website and Facebook page is used to communicate current and important information to our

students and parents, as well as partnering schools both in and out of district. Because the

families we serve often live a great distance away, parents will be able to complete surveys and

email input directly to us at the Learning Academy.

http://www.goldenhillslearningacademy.com/

http://www.ghsd75.ca/

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