SEELEY LAKE – During Seeley Lake Elementary’s strategic planning cross-over event Feb. 22, Dr. Daniel Farr stated that SLE was going to lose about $50,000 in budget authority because eight students that are home schooled were erroneously reported as enrolled. Upon further review of the arrangement with the distance learning students, Superintendent Daniel Schrock said what SLE is doing is legitimate and it would meet the requirements to count the students with no loss to the budget.
According to Montana Code Annotated 20-9-311: Calculation of average number belonging (ANB) -- 3-year averaging, enrollment in a self-paced program or course may be converted to an hourly equivalent based on the hours necessary and appropriate to provide the course within a regular classroom schedule. Other points that apply to SLE within the code include: enrollment in a basic education program provided by the district through any combination of onsite or offsite instruction may be included for ANB purposes only if the pupil is offered access to the complete range of educational services for the basic education program required by the accreditation standards adopted by the board of public education; Enrolled in an educational program or course provided at district expense using electronic or offsite delivery methods, including distance learning programs, online programs and technology delivered learning programs where the student meets the residency requirements of the district, live within the district and attend school in the district under a mandatory attendance agreement.
“Based on the statue and what we are doing to meet the needs of these students through distance delivery options and an online curriculum and program, it is legit,” said Schrock.
In his preparation for the Strategic Planning, Farr did not know the history so he applied the home school model, which is completely different arrangement than distance learning. Schrock said while the way SLE has been working with distance learners is atypical, it still complies with the law and SLE can receive state funding for the students.
“If they were home school kids, then it would be an issue but they are not, they are distance learning kids through an online program that we provide. We have even given resources to parents in respect to technology to access that program,” said Schrock.
Schrock said the bigger picture in Montana is a shift towards the transformational learning model. House Bill 351 was signed into law May 9 revising Montana’s education laws to support transformational learning. Transformational learning is defined as a flexible system of pupil-centered learning that is designed to meet the Montana Constitutional mandate of “fully develop[ing] the educational potential of each person.”
“They are trying to find more current methods to prove proficiency, increase student ownership and to make it more personalized for the individual students so there is a higher level of ownership and more student-centered education. That doesn’t necessary have to occur within the confines of a brick and mortar school,” said Schrock. “[In this model] teachers are no longer the sage on the stage. They are facilitating this instead of pouring it into students.”
Schrock, who has worked with the standards-based model when he worked in Alaska, believes this is the future for education and it will just be up to the individual schools to embrace it.
“This is encouraging, especially if you aren’t a traditional student,” said Schrock. “It also takes into account home school kids, too, who can now be a part of the District and still attend various things. That is helpful to the social piece of their education, that emotional piece of interacting with their peers as well and then still have the academic piece through that distance learning.”
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