The document summarizes the evaluation work of the Friday Institute regarding the North Carolina Virtual Public School (NCVPS). It discusses conducting annual surveys of stakeholders and focused studies of NCVPS pilot initiatives. Many recommendations from the evaluation are aimed at activities needed at the district and school level to support virtual schooling. NCVPS also works with pilot districts to help them implement virtual schooling successfully through strategic planning, marketing, technology support, and coordinating virtual course access.

1. NCVPS Evaluation
Kevin Oliver, Assistant Professor of Instructional Technology
NC State University

2. Overview
• Friday Institute has received annual contracts
from DPI to assist with the evaluation of the
North Carolina Virtual Public School (NCVPS)
• recurring surveys of stakeholder groups (i.e.,
students, teachers, distance learning advisors,
and high school principals)
• also, focused studies of NCVPS pilot initiatives:
– efforts to design and develop course modules for
elementary-middle school
– student success courses to transition 8th graders

3. Focus of Recommendations
• while some recommendations from the
evaluation are tied to NCVPS-directed
activities (i.e., improving course content,
offering new professional development),
many recommendations are tied to activities
needed at the district and school level:
– promoting NCVPS, setting e-learning goals,
ensuring appropriate technology is available,
screening and orienting students, ensuring
security without barriers to innovation, etc.

4. NCVPS Work with Pilot Districts
• since the success of virtual schooling is
largely dependent on the leadership and
support of districts and schools, NCVPS has
a program in place to prepare pilot districts to
successfully implement virtual schooling
• currently working with its second wave of pilot
districts (Jan 09-Dec 09); first wave of pilot
districts complete (Jan 08-Dec 08)

5. Pilot Districts to Date
Jan 08 - Dec 08 Jan 09 - Dec 09
Catawba County Alamance-Burlington County
Cumberland County Columbus County
Duplin County Edgecombe County
Iredell-Statesville County Franklin County
Lincoln County Guilford-County
Onslow County Mitchell County
Pender County Montgomery County
Vance County Scotland County
Wake County
Watauga County

6. Overview: Five Purposes for Pilots
• leverage strategic district and school teams
for strategic planning
• plan student support services
• plan registration and enrollment strategies
• plan promotion and marketing strategies
• leverage statewide e-professional learning
communities (eLC) for building e-learning
best practices

7. Pilot Activity: Teaming
• districts create strategic teams for planning,
including superintendents, principals,
technology directors, and a designated
distance learning advisor for the district
• schools create strategic teams for planning,
including principals, counselors, computer lab
facilitators, media coordinators, testing
coordinators, and a designated distance
learning advisor for the school

8. Pilot Activity: Strategic Planning
• districts and schools create strategic plans
embedded in improvement plans
• define instructional needs and barriers
• set e-learning goals
• define plans for marketing NCVPS/LEO
• define strategies for student support
• define technology solutions

9. Pilot Activity: Marketing, Enrollment
• plan strategies to ensure students and
parents are aware of NCVPS opportunities:
virtual open houses, student orientations,
Web sites, phone messages
• link Web sites to NCVPS
• set enrollment targets
by mutual definition with NCVPS
for credit recovery, Learn and
Earn Online (LEO), AP/Honors

10. Pilot Activity: Resourcing
• helping districts and schools plan their
budgets to accommodate textbooks,
materials, and technology (labs/laptops)
students will need in order to access NCVPS
courses
• helping schools plan to ensure students with
individualized education plans (IEPs) have
the software or technology needed to access
NCVPS courses

11. Pilot Activity: Infrastructure
• meeting network requirements
• ensuring security, while
minimizing problems created
by firewalls in terms of blocking
course material

12. Pilot Activity: Coordinating
• school-level distance learning advisors
advisors (DLAs) and counselors screening
students for academic qualifications
• school-level DLAs scheduling students for
courses, providing for orientation to tools
• DLAs and counselors learning to support
student needs, regularly checking progress
• coordinating AP exams

13. NCVPS Support for Pilot Activities
• provide leadership training around strategic
planning through Blackboard course
• provide DLA training in supporting students
through Blackboard course
• provide pilot districts with 3-4 person regional
response team to facilitate the development
of a student support model

14. NCVPS Support for Pilot Activities
• use of synchronous collaboration tools such
as Wimba and Pronto for bi-monthly e-
learning collaboration
– sharing what works and what
doesn't work
– progress reporting
– book studies
– Web 2.0 modeling

15. Your Turn: Other Barriers
• in your break out groups, take a few minutes
to discuss the pilot work shared here
• which of the pilot activities are most critical to
support virtual schooling at the district and
school levels?
• have you experienced or heard of other
barriers to virtual schooling that a pilot
initiative might help to offset?

16. Resources
• see session wiki for the following resources:
• presentation on NCVPS pilot initiative
http://tinyurl.com/mdgo3c
• copy of the memorandum of agreement
between pilots and NCVPS, defining roles
• pilot application information from fall '08 and
contact information for Don Lourcey, Pilot
Initiative Director