ISTE SIGIVC 2007: Classes to Meet Teacher Shortages
Organizational OverviewFounded in July of 1998 to expand educational opportunities in Arkansas’ rural schools, the ASMSA Office of Distance Education (ODE) is a self-supporting unit of the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts and a part of the University of Arkansas System. During its first year of operation, ODE provided two courses to 228 students from 23 districts. Today the program is a provider of K-12 coursework in virtually all disciplines and serves more than 2100 students in more than 60 school districts, both urban and rural.
Challenge
School districts in Arkansas are facing a teacher shortage, particularly in critical areas such as science, mathematics and foreign languages. Data compiled by the state legislature do not project a reversal of that trend until at least 2025. Arkansas school districts are also being asked to offer a broader array of courses and to employ a more highly qualified faculty than ever before to address Federal requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act and State mandates that resulted from Arkansas’ Lake View Decision. (In Lake View, the Arkansas Supreme Court held that the State had failed to offer a substantially adequate and equitable education to all of its students.) The ASMSA Office of Distance Education exists to help districts meet the challenges of NCLB and Lake View and to help students thrive.
Solution
In accordance with §6-47-404 of the Arkansas Code, ODE programming is designed to meet the following criteria:
• To help alleviate the increasing shortage of available qualified teachers,
• To provide additional course-scheduling opportunities,
• To provide an opportunity for students to access an enriched curriculum and additional courses beyond those mandated by the Standards for Accreditation of Arkansas Public Schools, and
• To develop and make available online professional development and instructional resources for all teachers and administrators.
ODE accomplishes these State-mandated goals by providing districts and students with:
• Rigorous and affordable instruction in virtually all disciplines,
• Supplemental Educational Services and remedial studies at all grade levels,
• Courses correlated to state frameworks,
• Flexible scheduling,
• Fully certified, Highly Qualified teachers, and
• College Board-approved AP© courses and concurrent enrollment opportunities,
Results and Innovations
ASMSA’s Office of Distance Education was Arkansas’ first K-12 distance education provider with a statewide mission and now ranks as one of the largest programs of its kind in the nation. One of the nation’s first state-approved distance education providers of Supplemental Educational Services and one of the first distance education providers in the nation to receive College Board approval to offer AP© courses, ODE’s strategic partnerships have brought more than $5,000,000.00 in distance learning equipment and infrastructure to Arkansas. ODE is clearly a pioneering distance education program with a history of distinction.
Contact Information
Chris Robbins, Director of Outreach, Arkansas School for Mathematics and Sciences
University of Arkansas System, Hot Springs, Arkansas 71901
Phone: (501) 622-5130 Toll Free: (800) 345-2767
crobbins@asmsa.org