Distance Learning Profile:
Houston Independent School District's Virtual School
by Mitchell Levine
The Houston Independent School District
may be in fact the geographically largest of Texas' brick-and-mortar
school systems, but that didn't stop it from developing a
virtual education portal that's not just a clearinghouse
for curricula delivery, but, as Project Manager and Program
Director Jo Beth Harris describes it, an "interactive
learning resource for parents, teachers and students."
"Originally, the courseware was developed for the middle
school program in April of 2000, with the Texas state standards
as our model. Texas is known for the rigor of its standards,
and we actually customized the program specifically to meet
the challenge points of the TAKS exams (Texas Assessment of
Learning and Knowledge)." The state assessment program-created
with the intent to both measure and promote higher level thinking
skills and abstract reasoning -was used as a baseline for the
school's lesson plans, an initiative known as Project Clear.
As Harris says, "Project Clear's developers cross-referenced
it by the standards, and added detail to enhance the content
and organize it as a modular series of lesson plans for grades
6-8," including language arts, science, social studies,
and mathematics.
Using the very popular Blackboard
enterprise system for Internet delivery, the Virtual School
has expanded the program's scope to include individual classes
for high school students in grades 9 ®¢12, with
not only the standard general studies sequences but classes
in study skills, test preparation for the SAT, PSAT, and
ACT exams, and a fourteen Advanced Placement classes for
possible college credit as well.
Harris points out that the Virtual School, beyond simply welcoming
out-of-town students, offers state-certified teachers to offer
additional support and online assessment to their distance
learners, all with a 24 hour turn-around time. Although the
program is primarily designed to provide individual courses
for secondary learners, it is possible to earn a certification
diploma, under a contract with student's local school district.
When asked for a brief summary of
the program's philosophy, Ms. Harris quickly replied, "The
Virtual School was intended to make available for all students
interactive learning anytime, anywhere!" For more information
visit the school's site at www.virtualschool.houstonisd.org.
