Prescott Unified School District, Arizona
A+ Success Story
Download the Official Published Story Here
A+® Helps One District Put an End to Declining Enrollment
When students have more options to recover credits, everyone is pleased.
At A Glance
School Location: Prescott, Arizona
Challenge: To improve the declining student enrollment.
Solution: Implementing the A+nywhere Learning System® created online-learning opportunities and flexible scheduling that students desperately needed.
Result: Successful implementation of an online schooling option for credit recovery, credit acceleration, summer school, and elective lab time has retained existing students and enrolled new students, which increased enrollment.
Faced with losing students to surrounding school campuses and online schools, the Prescott Unified School District in Arizona knew it needed to make some changes. The district offered no online schooling, had limited flexibility for students that needed to recover credits, and had no program in place for students who needed credit acceleration. Clearly, things had to change.
In addition, Prescott USD was aware it was behind the times in terms of incorporating technology throughout the district and into instructional materials. The administrators knew that other schools were offering these options, and that students could also access online schools. That’s why they decided to offer these same services to their students; otherwise, they knew their students would continue to seek alternative schooling.
Peak Learning Opportunities
Originally established in 1994 in response to an intergovernmental agreement, PEAK brought a much-needed dropout prevention program to three school districts, one of which was Prescott USD. Prescott and the other two districts did terrific work, but times changed and there was a need to offer new alternatives for students.
Robin Stockmar, a PEAK teacher, knew the district had to find ways to hold onto its students so she, along with department chair Craig Niece, began researching ways to take their current program to a technology-based program that would allow students the flexibility they were seeking.
Stockmar and Niece met with many technology-rich instructional companies, including Mesa Online, Plato, Odyssey, and Compass, and discussed implementation solutions; however, the only one they found that met all of their requirements was the A+nywhere Learning System® (A+LS™ or A+®).
Some of the requirements the district was looking for include state-standard alignment, comprehensive curriculum covering all core areas and electives, Internet-based delivery, and self-paced coursework. The district wanted to eliminate the need for teachers having to respond before a student could progress.
In 2008, after five months of research, PEAK adopted A+ as the new online solution. With the new technology and opportunities available to students, PEAK did not have to limit its focus on dropout prevention. Thanks to the 88 online licenses it now shares across the district, PEAK is now capable of offering dropout prevention, credit recovery, summer school, A+ elective lab, and PEAK after school program. “A+ has opened a world of opportunities for students without having to increase staffing,” says Stockmar.
A Smooth Implementation
In the spring semester of 2008, the district began implementation on a small scale so it could observe the program and ensure it delivered on its promises. After that successful semester, PEAK amped up for the 2008/2009 summer school sessions once it became evident they would be successful using A+.
Now in the third year with A+, PEAK offers students alternative education solutions with a streamlined approach and well-developed program requirements. After successful trainings and building the courses in a customized format, administrators, teachers, and students are grateful for the opportunities A+ has offered their school.
With new-student orientation every six weeks and three yearly sessions available to students, PEAK currently has 250 enrolled students and the numbers are growing. “A+ is appropriately challenging for the program options we offer,” Stockmar says.
How It Works
Each student that enrolls at PEAK is required to go through an orientation that includes goal setting, syllabus review, and a one-on-one with their teacher to determine completion date and an overview of class-completion requirements. Depending on the program they are enrolled in, students have the opportunity to work on campus, off campus, in a lab during school hours, or in a lab after school hours. For students who work from home, a teacher is available Monday through Friday until 6:00 p.m., via email or phone for questions or one-on-one assistance. While many students choose to work remotely, every student must take all final exams on campus—a feature that pleases both administrators and teachers.
The success and popularity of A+ has grown at the PEAK campus and throughout the district. Students who were required to take only one class on A+ have returned to take additional classes. Parents have thanked the teachers for the flexibility that has allowed their children to recover missed credits, accelerate by earning additional credits, or even take a traditional class online to accommodate scheduling needs.
As state requirements have changed, PEAK has adapted to those changes, reviewed new concepts, and implemented successful strategies to deliver curriculum and instruction to their students through the use of technology. As Stockmar says, “A+ offered us a huge opportunity that met many of our needs including curriculum, instruction, budgeting, and staffing. For that, we are thankful.”
Prescott Unified School District, Arizona
A+ Success Story
Tags: Arizona Online Learning, Arizona Online Learning Success Prescott, Arizona Prescott PEAK Program, AZ A+ Online Learning, Prescott, Prescott Online Learning, Prescott Unified School District A+