Pickens educator named online teacher of the year

Dr. Tasha Christmas, a teacher with the South Carolina Virtual School Program, has been named the state’s High-Quality Online Teacher of the Year.

The award, given by the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB), recognizes school leaders who exemplify high quality online instruction and are committed to online learning.

“Working with students in an online environment is challenging and fast-paced,” said State Superintendent of Education Jim Rex. “Dr. Christmas is a teacher leader whose expertise is recognized by her peers and whose skills and dedication have won her the respect of her students. I applaud her efforts.”

Christmas, who is from Pickens County, is the instructional team leader for all online teachers with the South Carolina Virtual Schools program. With more than 12 years of experience in the classroom and seven years as an online educator, she teaches college prep Honors English, SAT critical reading and SAT math.

David Spence of SREB said, “We recognize how difficult it is to be a digital pioneer. As an online teacher, Dr. Christmas is at the forefront of a new and rapidly growing way of providing quality instruction to students across South Carolina. We commend her hard work and commitment.”

The South Carolina Virtual Schools Program offers online courses in collaboration with local school districts for high school credit. Instruction is given online with the teacher separated from the student by time and/ or distance. The teacher communicates with students online via telephone, e-mail, instant messaging or through real-time web conferencing software. Courses are interactive and provide a wide variety of activities, assignments and assessments. All final exams are proctored by the local school district.

Ideally, a student taking an online course will be a part of a learning team that includes an online teacher/instructor, a virtual school sponsor, a school-based mentor and a parent (s) or guardian (s).

In South Carolina, virtual schools:

· Expand the range of courses and opportunities offered to students;
· Provide additional support and extended time to students who might benefit from this added support;
· Allow juniors or seniors who need a course to be able to graduate within the four-year period to make up that course;
· Present high quality instruction to students in special education, alternative education settings, or home and hospital instruction;
· Offer courses for students when no qualified teachers are available to teach the courses of their regular school;
· Allow students to take a course when there are too few students who need a certain course to be able to assign a teacher to teach that course; and
· Provide courses for students who have schedules that prevent them from taking a course when it is offered.

Christmas will be recognized by the State Board of Education at its April monthly meeting.

South Carolina online learning program ranks 17th in nation

South Carolina is ranked 17th in a new survey of online learning policies and practices across the 50 states. The survey was conducted by the Center for Digital Education to examine what it called “the overall landscape of online learning in U.S. schools.”

The center’s findings are based on interviews with officials from each state. The survey found that 15 states (including South Carolina) offer state-led programs, while 16 states provide multi-district online learning. Two states are in the planning stages and 17 presently have no online program.

Other southern states with high rankings include Arkansas and Louisiana at fourth and fifth, respectively; North Carolina, ranked eighth; and Virginia, listed in 12th place. Alabama is 23rd and Georgia is 26th.

State Superintendent of Education Jim Rex pushed for expansion of South Carolina’s virtual school program for online learning in 2007 as part of his plan to offer students and parents more public school choice.

“The virtual school gives more choices and flexibility in what, when and where students learn,” Rex said. “We’ve shown that the demand for online classes can be met without sacrificing quality or accountability. It’s a great example of using innovation to improve student achievement.”

South Carolina has enrolled nearly 7,400 students for online learning, with enrollment growth of 350 percent since the beginning of the program. The state earned favorable marks in the survey for allowing all students to have access to online learning opportunities, for making online learning part of school reform strategy, and for offering teacher training online.

Unlike the online learning programs offered in some other states, South Carolina’s virtual school has a structured curriculum aligned to state standards, state-certified teachers, testing and transcripts.

The Center for Digital Education said its survey and rankings show that online education will become more prevalent as states and school districts continue to face the challenges of meeting student achievement levels, finding qualified teachers and preparing the next generation for
careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.