For‑profit virtual school operator k12 expands curriculum and pilots programs in Philadelphia schools

™ Grade expansion. 12 continues to expand its curriculum and services and plans to begin development of grades 10-12 in the fall of 2006. & ADA funding. The level of funding generally increases at approximately 2% per year. With four times the number of students of its next competitor, k12 is the largest for-profit manager of virtual schools. Virtual Schools Managed by For-Profit Educational Management Companies Public Schools under Number of which are Students in Virtual Company Location Management Virtual Schools Schools k12 McLean, VA 15 15 14,460 White Hat Management Akron, OH 38 2 3,508 Connections Academy Baltimore, MD 10 10 1,081 Pinnacle Education Tempe, AZ 9 1 212 Sequoia Charter Schools Mesa, AZ 11 1 160 Designs for Learning St. Paul, MN 10 1 50 Note: Schools ranked by students in 2004—05 school-year. Source: Harris Nesbitt based on information compiled by Education Policy Studies Research Unit at Arizona State University. 13.4. Curriculum to School Districts of Traditional Classrooms (3% 2006E Revenue) k12 piloted its core elementary school science program for several school districts, including Philadelphia. The initial results of this pilot program were promising. Case Study: William H. Hunter Elementary School Background, In the Spring of 2004 the School District of Philadelphia wished to give a rebirth to one of its lowest performing schools, the William H. Hunter Elementary School. k12 was selected as a partner to provide innovative curriculum and professional development to implement a learning environment that leverages the latest technology. As part of the k12 implementation, the District outfitted each room with high-speed internet access, a ceiling-mounted data projection system, and interactive whiteboards. The goal was to have Hunter become one of the District's, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s, first web-based public, traditional schools. Of Hunter's 600 students, 95% qualify for the federal Free and Reduced Lunch program and 25% study English as a Second Language (ESL). Therefore, the move and the District's initiative truly marked a tremendous opportunity for both Hunter's teachers and students alike. Scope of Services. The fall of 2004 marked the official launch of the program and the k12 curriculum was provided for all math, science, art and history courses. This included providing all curriculum components including text books, teacher guides, manipulatives, equipment, assessments, art supplies and all the online lessons and teaching tools for these subjects. The Hunter teaching staff did an impressive job of effectively implementing the program. k12 trainers worked closely with teachers to adopt the new curriculum and to share best methods on applying the technology. Throughout the year, k12 trainers were invited to attend and help present ongoing staff trainings. Additionally, grade level teams and school leaders worked regularly with k12 to develop coherent plans for boosting student achievement. Results / Conclusions: After the first full-year of implementing the k12 program, Hunter achieved impressive gains on the state math exams.” In third grade, there was a 46 percentage point increase (as *° The Pennsylvania Department of Education mandates all public schools in the Commonwealth implement its Pennsylvania System of State Assessment (PSSA). The PSSA is a standards-based exam for measuring specific skills in math and reading, and beginning in 2006-07 science. 109 HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_024542