Governor Napoltano's P-20 Committee Goals and eLearning

Eb60831P20GoalsandeSATS

One of the foundations of the eSATS elearning design for K-12 education is to assure that it reflects and supports the implementation of current K-12 policy at the highest levels. The fun part is to anticipate and react to ever evolving policy.

Arizona’s lead education policy group is Governor Napolitano’s P20 Council. At their meeting August 22, 2006 they discussed their vision and two sets of goals.

Vision:

The freshman Class of 2012 will the first to graduate every student work and college ready for the 21^st century.

During the P-20 Council retreat in June the following five goals were developed (my summary):

http://www.governor.state.az.us/P20/documents/Agendas/082206_CouncilAgendaPacket082206.pdf

1. Align education from preschool through post secondary to life long learning;
2. Students achieve new graduation requirements with Algebra I in 8^th grade and many other vehicles such as individual education programs;
3. Academic success through parent and student support with communications and involvement;
4. Increase teacher capacity and supply especially in math, science and literacy, including teacher professional development;
5. Robust decision system with expand data capacity integrated with formative, summative, longitudinal and continuum assessment.

Governor Napolitano also presented eight of her top education issues that focused on the P20 council goals (n) from notes:

8^th grade Algebra I (2);

Zero dropouts with school attendance required to age 18 (2-addition);

Four year degree programs (1);

Teacher capacity and supply (4);

Math and Science pathway - college grants (1-additional);

Formative assessments for students, teachers and parents (5)

High school exit with two years of algebra – college success predictor (2-additional);

Data for decisions (5).

eSATS believes that this set of goals is comprehensive and if fully implemented could meet the P-20 Vision:

The Vision emphasis is on “every.” The Arizona centennial (1912-2012) freshman class will be the first, but they will not graduate until 2015. That gives Arizona ten years to transform K-12 education into a truly “no child left behind” operation.

We know that major statewide change takes place with situation assessment, alignment of leaders, vision, goals and objectives. Let’s assume the current work-results of the P-20 Council has put a cap on this part of the process.

Then creative individuals/small teams of champions (stewards) and strong legitimate leadership (governor+) develop strategies and implement the transformation. Transformation is required. Continuing the trend of academic improvement using reform, restructuring and continuous improvement with legacy methods are not good enough. Over the past twenty years their successes have been small.

The break transformation envisioned by P-20 demands major advances each year over the next ten years. The P-20 goals are nothing more than full graduation with mastery or competency learning to every Arizona standards with mostly B’s and A’s. The long accepted (non-grade inflated) bell shaped curve with a few F and a few A students with the rest in the middle is now out the window.

How to implement transformation?

Fortunately the complementary engines of transformation: systems design and eLearning methods are rapidly gaining strength and acceptance. The eSATS eLearning based systems design has been developed over many years. It has had significant components funded by the legislature and federal government over the past decade.

The neat aspect of a systems design is that it addresses all major issues simultaneously. It analyses strategies for timing with sequenced and parallel implementations; and specifies synchronized changes in process, systems, people, organizations and funding. For example the ten year (coincidence?) eSATS financial model addressed the new direct costs for effective adoption of eLearning for all Arizona students. It found that teachers could be give a 20% raise while cost savings with eLearning over legacy education would play about 80% of the total ten year eLearning adoption burden.

The other aspect of this comprehensive and ever improving eLearning System for Arizona’s Teachers and Students is that it provides the means to fully meet every P-20 and Governor Napolitano goal.

Let’s wrap up with some examples of eSATS eLearning implementation for each of the 5 goals:

1. Digital learning portfolios will follow the students through their life span, supporting no only individual learning plans but formal and informal relearning of material whenever needed.

2. eSATS’ SB1512 (2006) is investing $3million into an eLearning middle school math pilot system for 10,000 students that will address 8^th grade algebra I within the 6^th through the 9^th grade digital curriculum with online support.

3. Full 21^st Century communication systems will be established when 250,000 four year old computers are recycled annually into student’s homes – filling the digital divide. The eSATS design will be implemented using consulting advice from as the Learning Ecology Team from within the eSATS university based Digital Curriculum Institute.

4. Teachers will be funded for one mentor-master per 50 teachers and $1250 annual for professional development and education compared to the current $125 (pitiful for any information worker in the 21^st century.) Also the 20% extra salary will assure we can attract and retain our eLearning savvy and certified teacher. Our colleges of education will be transformed to educate eLearning savvy students, a big incentive for enrollment of best and brightest freshman.

5. The $2.5 funding of the data warehouse system at the Arizona Department of Education will be extended to a $30 per student range ($30 million) with significant expansion into comprehensive system that supports classroom, school, district and state. Decision support data that is formative, summative, longitudinal and granular will be accessed by all members of the student’s ecological learning system, including parents.

Note: All these above examples (including the focus on digital curriculum in 2) were developed years ago and incorporated in the initial 2003 eSATS 140 page system design.