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Kay McGovern & AssociatesSuite 117, 314 West Millbrook Road C Raleigh, NC 27609-4380

(919) 870-1600 C FAX 870-1603 C (800) 255-7886

_____________________________________________________________

NORTH CAROLINA STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION

_____________________________________________________________

INTERNAL REVIEW TEAM FOR VIRTUAL CHARTER SCHOOLS

PRESENTATION OF NC CONNECTIONS ACADEMY

_____________________________________________________________

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 17, 2014_____________________________________________________________

State Board Room 755

Education Building

301 North Wilmington Street

Raleigh, North Carolina

11:45 a.m.


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KAY McGOVERN & ASSOCIATES (919) 870-1600

Suite 117, 314 West Millbrook Road FAX 870-1603

Raleigh, North Carolina 27609-4380 (800) 255-7886

A P P E A R A N C E S

Martez Hill, Executive DirectorState Board of EducationMeeting Chair

Committee Members

Eliz ColbertAndrew CoxPaul DavisHelen NanceKevin Piacenza (via telephone)Becky Taylor

Sherry Thomas (via telephone)

NC Connections Academy

Bryan SetserAllison ReavesJay W. RagleyMarcus GreenRuss JonesEric Strother

Office of Charter Schools

Joel Medley, DirectorDeanna Townsend-Smith

Also Present:

David Hostetler, AttorneyPhil Moses, Carolina RailHawks


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P R O C E E D I N G S1

(Transcriptionist's Note: Chairman Hill explained2

the procedure for the presentation and called3

Bryan Setser of NC Connections Academy to the4

podium.)5

Dr. Setser: We will waive our right of a6

presentation, but we will begin with some introductions of7

our team. So in terms of the opportunity, I just want to8

thank the state board in general and also members of the9

committee to give us the time today.10

My name is Bryan Setser. I'm the founding board11

chair. And not with us today from our board team is Donna12

Sullivan. We provided a letter of that absence prior to the13

proceedings. She is taking care of an elderly mother. But I14

do want to say on her behalf that she has a long history with15

the state, particularly a focus in her research and work with16

e-NC in serving rural communities that are underserved with17

technology. So she cannot be with us today, but I wanted to18

acknowledge that.19

And I'll start on my left and work down my right20

with who's representing our team today as well as our board21

and let them briefly introduce themselves.22

Ms. Reaves: Good afternoon, everyone. My23

name is Allison Reaves. I am representing Connections24

Education. I am a part of their school leadership team. I25


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am a director of schools.1

Prior to joining Connections Education, I was the2

executive director at South Carolina Connections Academy,3

which is a school that Connections Education supports in the4

state of South Carolina. Currently I support the school5

leaders and the leadership team members in the states of6

South Carolina, Indiana, Florida, and Massachusetts.7

Mr. Ragley: Thank you. Good afternoon,8

board members. My name is Jay W. Ragley with Connections9

Education. I am senior director for state relations. And10

prior to working with Connections Education, I was employed11

at the South Carolina Department of Education.12

Mr. Green: Good afternoon, everybody.13

I'm Marcus Green. I come from eastern North Carolina, Craven14

County. I've served as a high school mathematics teacher in15

Craven County. I've also served three years as an assistant16

principal in Pitt County and currently finishing up my--or17

writing my dissertation study as a Ph.D. candidate at N.C.18

State. Glad to be here.19

Mr. Jones: I am Russ Jones. I'm20

originally from Greenville, North Carolina, but now live in21

Durham. I am the chief technology officer of a marketing22

company here in the Triangle, and I have three kids right on23

the cusp of starting to enter public schools. So I'm excited24

about helping steer the future. Thanks.25


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Dr. Strother: Good afternoon. I'm Eric1

Strother. I'm a physician by training, but currently an2

online student working on my MBA at East Carolina University.3

I grew up in the eastern part of the state, and both my4

parents were public school teachers for 30 years. So I have5

a strong commitment to public education and in particular6

this virtual model as I'm learning how to be a virtual7

student myself.8

Dr. Setser: And in our final minute, I9

just want to recognize that our board attorney, David10

Hostetler, who many of you know and has a long history in the11

state, is in the audience today and I would like to recognize12

him as well as Phil Moses, who is the lead education13

consultant for the Carolina RailHawks, one of our partners14

that we'll be working with on the physical side of blended15

and virtual learning in our efforts. Thank you.16

Chairman Hill: All right. Thank you. So17

let's open the discussion by looking at section 1, mission,18

purposes, and goals. Are there any questions or comments19

from committee members?20

Ms. Nance: Well, sure. I'll start. So21

I wrote this down, so you've probably had a chance to think22

about it, about this idea of high level of accountability,23

like--what does that mean to you as an organization? When24

you're talking about student test scores on the state exams25


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and the benchmarking you may do, what do you mean by high1

level of accountability?2

Dr. Setser: Sure. First of all, it means3

exceeds state averages. I mean we will set targets at every4

turn to exceed those averages. Second, it means to deliver a5

quality education experience because when we talk about6

accountability, what is the experience of our students,7

what's the experience of parents, what kind of satisfaction8

do they have around the work and the experience.9

And I think third it means being compliant and10

aligned to what accountability is with the North Carolina11

State Board. I mean we want to create future ready citizens12

that are strong in different skills and knowledge and13

dispositions. The metrics we have right now are state14

accountability, but as the state pivots to competency add in15

some other areas, we'll certainly meet those demands.16

The last thing I'd say about accountability is17

we're one of the first organizational boards to get a year to18

year contract with Connections. That's significant because19

we look at results on an annual basis. We don't contract for20

three or five years and then do an autopsy of whether it21

worked. We're going to make decisions year to year on how we22

continue based on that accountability.23

Chairman Hill: Any other questions or24

comments?25


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(No response.)1

Chairman Hill: Okay. Let's move to the2

education plan section.3

Committee Member: Well, I'll start. Since I4

had asked earlier all about the different ways that you can5

use technology in the classroom with these students, can you6

share how--with me how you're going to do that?7

Dr. Setser: Sure. I'm going to defer to8

one of my board members, and then I'll be happy to chime in9

if the answer needs more elaboration.10

Mr. Jones: I'll go ahead and jump right11

in. As discussed earlier, there are lots of different12

options for getting students involved via this virtual13

environment.14

First I think one thing worth pointing out at the15

beginning is it's not like kids who participate in North16

Carolina Connections Academy will sit in front of the17

computer all day long. In fact at the beginning we're18

looking at the younger children, somewhere between 15 and 3019

percent of their time spent in front of the computer. There20

are actually real, handheld learning materials that are sent21

out to children, so there's more to it than just being in22

front of the computer.23

However, what we've done is kept our teacher ratio24

as low as we possibly can, given the funding model. I think25


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we're shooting for around 38 to 1 in the first year and1

trying to move that down as we go, which allows us to engage2

with students in a way that's more like what you would3

expect, a student talking to a teacher over--whether it's a4

phone based assessment or something directly with the screen5

where you're seeing the teacher. There are group classroom6

chats. There's a secure web mail, which is different from7

e-mail, but is within the system.8

So there are tons of different ways that students9

are going to interact with their teachers, and it's going to10

allow teachers to develop plans that work with their11

students' needs in the best ways with which the students12

actually interact.13

Mr. Ragley: In addition to those14

wonderful answers by Russ, I would say that we've studied15

very closely the success of Georgia Virtual and South16

Carolina Virtual; teachers that have a high capacity to blend17

instruction with the methods that Russ mentioned, whether18

they're connecting synchronously over webinar or through our19

system Connexus, but also how they're working with our20

learning coaches and supporting parents at home with21

protocols to help the study habits, follow-up, and22

expectations around communication.23

The other thing I would say is in both the Georgia24

Virtual case and the South Carolina case, we learned that as25


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teachers begin in these environments, hiring teachers who are1

flexible, who understand how to operate both online and2

asynchronously and how to provide feedback asynchronously,3

those are all important.4

But one final add would be if teachers struggle,5

we learned from both of those virtual schools through the6

Connections model that you bring those teachers into your7

core center and you help train them until they're ready to go8

back out and really support remotely.9

Ms. Nance: And just a little follow-up,10

in the section before the education thing, you had that you11

would "work [very] closely with a student's learning coach to12

ensure a steady flow of appropriate activities for students13

working below and/or above grade level." How will you do14

that?15

Dr. Setser: Sure; I think a couple of16

ways. One is we believe in really tight cycle account-17

abilities, so we're going to getting data reports from our18

principal on a weekly and monthly basis.19

Once you start to see dips, your learning coaches20

have had the training they've had, but then you have to add21

professional development to that mix; right? You have to22

make sure that if they're not meeting kids through23

communication and follow-up or the teachers are not doing24

that work that you look at providing more resources in those25


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areas where you have gaps.1

So the application has the budget it has. It has2

the planning it has right now. But as Russ mentioned, one of3

the reasons we took the student-teacher ratio so low is that4

not only do we know that's best practice, but we're going to5

see situations where in some classes we may need to take it6

30 to 1 and change the way our learning coaches support7

students.8

So we'll have virtual office hours. We'll have9

the opportunity for face-to-face regional events. We'll have10

some things in there after hours that really define the day11

in a life, and we'll have some webinars for parents as well.12

Ms. Nance: And you may think this is a13

crazy question, but you said that your ratio is 38 to 1?14

Mr. Ragley: Uh-huh.15

Ms. Nance: If you're doing that over a16

K-12 span, is it the average that's going through the K-12,17

so you have fewer--the ratio is smaller in the lower grades18

and higher in the upper grades or is it 38 to 1 across the19

board?20

Mr. Ragley: Yes, ma'am. That's the21

school average. In the application I think it's--towards the22

end of it there's a requirement to state the school's23

student-teacher ratio across all grade spans, but the law, as24

y'all know, complies says that no more than 51 per class size25


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or for high school I think it's 150 to 1. And so that's what1

you have to comply with. But the total school average is 38½ 2

to 1 in year one, going down to 36½ to 1 in year four.3

Dr. Colbert: So I--you mentioned using--4

sorry. I just---5

Committee Member: No, jump right in.6

Chairman Hill: Jump in.7

Dr. Colbert: So you mentioned using the8

RTI framework around good core instruction, and it's a great9

template. But describe for me exactly what's going to happen10

in Tier 1, like what will the students be doing, what will11

the teacher be doing, what will the parents--what can the12

parents expect.13

And I'm really interested in knowing the specific14

detail kind of things, if you have a handful of examples of15

specific details. I'm curious about teaching strategies,16

that kind of thing, for the core group, the 80 percent that17

should technically be falling in Tier 1.18

Dr. Setser: I'd like to defer to Marcus19

Green, who has also taught online for North Carolina Virtual20

School, about how he handles interventions historically in21

his work. It's also similar to the way we'll handle it here,22

and then I'm happy to add on where gaps may exist.23

Mr. Green: And to kind of loop my24

response--something I feel like is important to mention for25


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the sake of everybody who is considering our application is,1

you know, the nature of good teaching--we talk about the2

similarities between the brick and mortar schools. Some of3

the same skill sets are needed in the online environment.4

And I think that, you know, one of the strengths5

of our board is that we have--you know, we have experience6

both from a consumer's end of taking a lot of online courses.7

I've heard others mention the same, and--but we also8

facilitate a lot of online instruction, develop courses and9

curriculum.10

And again, I probably should have mentioned in my11

introduction that I, you know, have taught with North12

Carolina Virtual School for just about the whole time I've13

been teaching. And I've had a lot of experience modifying14

courses. I've seen strengths, seen weaknesses.15

And you know, what I can tell separates a good16

teacher online are some of the same demeanors that you would17

see in a traditional school. And so what we really haven't18

talked a lot about is about relationships, about, you know,19

kind of going above and beyond--there's a lot of nuts and20

bolts like webinars and, you know, resources and all the21

things that we're limited to. I think all our applications22

probably will mirror similar things.23

However, you know, the teacher--who we put--who we24

end up assigning to as the principal, who the principal ends25


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up hiring, will be ultimately, you know, the most important1

thing to whether our school succeeds or fails.2

But anyway, back to your question, you were3

talking about interventions for Tier 1, Ms. Colbert, for, you4

know, how we would get started with interventions. And, you5

know, just coming from a teacher standpoint, you know, once6

the data suggests--you know, multiple points of data, not7

just your test scores, but it could be participation in an8

online course, lack of communication just in general when9

you're either calling or e-mailing, texting a student and the10

student is not getting back with you right away, immediately,11

you know, begin to--as a teacher, you reach out. You seek12

that child out.13

In terms of like specific interventions, I know we14

list in our application, you know, some of the more15

specifics, and I don't have those off the top of my head. So16

I'll let Bryan---17

Dr. Setser: Sure. I also want to involve18

our board at large, so I'll let Allison---19

Ms. Reaves: Thank you, Marcus. Marcus20

did a fine job of explaining some of the Tier 1 interventions21

that the schools we support use. But just to add to that,22

the schools also have at their access varied levels of23

courses.24

For example, in all of your core courses, you have25


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more of your basic course. Then you also have one that is a1

little bit slower in terms of pacing, so that would be like2

your essential level. But then you could also accelerate.3

You have your honors courses. You of course have your AP4

courses as well. So that's the curriculum component.5

You also have student instructional support6

programs such as Study Skills for Success, SuccessMaker. You7

have your live lesson component where your teachers have an8

opportunity to invite students that may be struggling with9

certain standards. They can differentiate instruction with10

those students and focus on those standards that they11

specifically need the assistance and support with.12

Looking at the teacher perspective, if we see that13

a teacher is not necessarily in tune with some of our supple-14

mental instructional programs, we provide them professional15

development. So we support them in effectively using those16

programs with their students.17

And then finally we've talked a little bit about18

Connexus, which is the platform that our students will be19

using in the school that we'll support here in North20

Carolina. And there is a face code system whereby when21

students have perhaps struggled with their state assessment22

or they're struggling with their formative assessments and23

they need some additional support, those face codes are24

populated in a red, yellow, or a green color. And it gives25


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the teachers an opportunity to realize that they need to1

offer additional support to those students.2

They still may be using that core model. They may3

be still in a Tier 1. They haven't transitioned to Tier 2 or4

Tier 3, but it gives those teachers that extra ability to5

really meet the individual needs of their students.6

Dr. Setser: The only thing I would add is7

that in Tier 1, making sure to assess that positive8

behavioral support with feedback, also having our teachers9

with frequency look at data and then help them with more10

learning opportunities, to scramble our learning coaches to11

address Tier 1 whether we're seeing changes in positive12

behavior support or whether we're seeing changes in13

opportunities that they're struggling with; right?14

So part of it is counting on that principal to15

know what that data report says and then also sharing with16

the board how many we have in Tier 1 and what are the17

intervention strategies.18

Dr. Colbert: So you're saying--Mr. Green19

said something about relationships and you've all talked20

about data and assessment. So those are your teaching21

strategies?22

Dr. Setser: No. Let me get real specific23

on our teaching strategies. First of all, we use methods24

around a mix of inquiry based learning. We use methods25


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around, you know, really good logic on how we put out the1

expectations from the classroom and then what our instruc-2

tional strategies are to match those assessment methods.3

So to give you a specific, granular example, if a4

lesson is designed to let students, you know, think, plan,5

and assess where they go into the content and they deliver an6

example or an opportunity that the lesson meets to a7

standard, well, then a teacher is going to go into that8

standard--let's take something like ELA common core.9

And they're going to look at the writing process10

and they're going to have opportunities to go into student11

papers, to use software, to use applications in our system12

and Connexus to, you know, really make an effort to let13

students have practice time and apply time.14

And then the learning coaches and the teachers are15

going to look at their responses to that and whether that16

meets the standard. And then what they're going to do is17

find alternative strategies to work with them at a deeper18

level if they haven't mastered that standard and look at19

their assessment results over two or three multiple loops.20

If we're seeing data that still has gaps, part of21

our onus is to train teachers in how to have different22

instructional strategies to meet it. So this notion of sort23

of, you know, have a student plan how they're going to attack24

a problem, learn, and apply that problem then gets into how25


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teachers actually apply those strategies back to student1

learning. So a lot of that will be done through professional2

development. A lot of that will be done through cycle work3

week to week on data.4

And particularly regarding Tier 1, you're going to5

have students that the virtual medium will be new for them.6

And parents will have a newness to that, things like signing7

on or where they're supposed to go or what they're supposed8

to do. So we want to make sure we establish frequent9

intervals for the teachers to intervene.10

Committee Member: Okay. I have a couple of11

questions just to--if you can clarify the teachers versus12

learning coaches and how they're assigned to the students,13

and so both will be interacting with the students, both14

learning coaches and teachers, or are the learning coaches15

interacting with the teachers who are interacting with the16

students?17

Dr. Setser: I have an answer, but I want18

to make sure the board also takes this one.19

Dr. Strother: This question for me relates20

back to what we were talking about as far as quality of21

education. I want to share my experience with visiting the22

Georgia Connections Academy and meeting with their principal.23

And what I was able to observe was a young teacher who had by24

all reports been a complete disaster in the brick and mortar25


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classroom, but in the virtual environment this guy had become1

a master instructor.2

And I stood behind him for a few minutes and3

watched him teach this class. And so he has his computer4

screen, he has an image of each student who is in on the5

lecture, and then his whiteboard, which he's showing his6

instructional materials on. So the teachers are going to7

interact with the students in that way.8

The learning coach is any adult, any responsible9

and capable adult in the child's life, who is going to be10

available to help them with their work and help them navigate11

in the virtual world.12

So part of what was really important to me in13

signing on to this program was making sure that our teachers14

had the support and the development that they needed to be15

successful, because you-all have been involved in education16

longer than I have and you know that not everybody can be a17

teacher and not every good teacher can be good in the18

classroom. And so I think it's really important that you19

understand how important it is to us and also Connections to20

make sure that our teachers are good teachers in this21

environment and they have the support that they need.22

As far as the learning coaches go, I think what23

you'll see is probably most of all a parent, but it could be24

any other responsible adult, a grandparent, an aunt or an25


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uncle. And in some cases we've seen groups of parents, who1

need to be able to work in order to support their families,2

share learning coaches or take turns as learning coaches with3

their kids in the same way that you might, say, see a4

carpool.5

So that's my perspective. And it's just important6

for me to be able to say that I think one of the keys to7

success is making sure that we have the right teachers and8

that they have the support that they need.9

Committee Member: So you're not going to hire10

learning coaches. If a parent is not serving as the learning11

coach or there's not another adult in the home serving as the12

learning coach, what happens?13

Dr. Setser: Right. So in a school14

supported by Connections Academy, typically the learning15

coach is the parent. But it could very well be an older16

sibling who's of age to watch the child, to work with that17

student. It could be an aunt or uncle. It could be a18

neighbor. Sometimes it could be--I think about gymnastics19

teams and they're practicing five and six hours a day. It20

could very well be someone at the gymnastics group that might21

be the learning coach.22

Learning coaches--I mean parents in the23

traditional public school, brick and mortar, are also24

learning coaches. We just don't call them that. They do25


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some of the same activities that learning coaches here in the1

virtual line will do.2

What's different is in a traditional public school3

setting, sometimes you don't have a weekly conversation with4

your child's teacher because they're got 35 kids in the5

classroom. They've got bus line duty, lunch room duty, et6

cetera.7

In this model, both the parents, which are8

learning coaches, the student, and the teacher will talk9

usually on a weekly basis, but at least on a--at least every10

two weeks, but usually on a weekly basis. And they're going11

to have a 10, 15, 20 minute conversation about that child's12

progress in the courses.13

And that's--a couple of reasons. One is--or for a14

couple of reasons. One is to verify the child's mastery of15

content. In the application there's discussion of what are16

called CBAs, curriculum based assessments, and there's17

diagnostic CBAs where they try to see where the child is on a18

current level, if they've identified a problem or a gap. And19

then there's VCBAs, which are verification curriculum based20

assessments, where the teachers are working with the child to21

actually see if they have mastered the material.22

And this comes in play a question that came up23

earlier about the academic integrity. Those CBAs and VCBAs24

help inform the teachers and learning coaches about the25


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actual progress of their child.1

So there is a lot of contact between learning2

coach, parent, and teacher throughout the entire process.3

And there can be as much as the child needs. It doesn't4

necessarily have to be just once a week. If the child has5

questions at midnight because they're working on a term6

paper, they can web mail their teacher. And when the teacher7

gets in the classroom the next day, the response is there.8

You can even set up a call, so---9

Committee Member: (interposing) My question,10

though, was--I understand all that. So my question is how11

are you going to deal with it if there is not an active12

learning coach in that home?13

Dr. Setser: Well, they have--it's a14

requirement, though.15

Committee Member: Okay.16

Dr. Setser: That's part of--that's the17

requirement.18

Committee Member: How are you going to deal19

with it if there's not?20

Dr. Setser: Well, that's--at the front21

end when you're looking to enroll in the school, the22

responsibilities for the learning coach are very clear. And23

so that's where the information is transferred.24

In the virtual library within Connexus, there is a25


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whole section devoted to learning coaches for all kinds of1

resources from setting up your child's work area, their desk,2

to "My child is struggling with math. What can I do to help3

at home?" All that is available to the learning coaches.4

But at the end of the day, the requirement of the5

law is there has to be a learning coach. And so someone,6

some caring adult, has to take responsibility on the front7

end before they even get in the door.8

Committee Member: What are you going to do if9

you don't have that is what---10

Dr. Setser: (interposing) We'll do the11

same thing the state done to their virtual school. Every12

virtual school, every virtual school offering, has a distance13

learning advisor at the school. This ranges from a paid14

person to a bus driver that loops in for an hour.15

So what happens is what's the fidelity? Once you16

find out there's very low fidelity in coaching or support to17

a student, typically what happens with the state virtual18

school is they shine an eye on those gaps and targets and19

they look for ways to support them with communication, number20

one. They'll circle back with the principal. They're circle21

back with other people and say, "Here's what we're noticing.22

You signed on to be a distance learning advisor, but you're23

not really meeting the standard of that."24

It's the same thing with the learning coach. Once25


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you've outlaid the process and they're not meeting the1

standard, the first thing you can do is2

communications. You've got to call the parents. You've got3

to make sure the teachers are connected. And they're trying4

to find out why that person is not attending to the materials5

or supporting in the way you want them.6

The second thing you do is if that continues and7

the communication doesn't work and the student continues to8

struggle, then you start to work with relational reachouts9

from the teachers and the local learning coach to say hey,10

you know, you're teaching somebody over here and you seem to11

have a great rapport, can you reach across to this school and12

also team up, to the point made earlier about the virtual13

carpooling like we've noticed four students here who have14

kind of dropped off the learning coaches. Can we combine15

resources?16

If you still have gaps, then you have to work with17

those students to say these are the supports we can provide18

you virtually and here's what we can do to inform your local19

district or your local home school association, whoever we20

see enrolling. And you try to make sure that they can21

provide those supports.22

If that still doesn't work, you look at a model23

like we have with the RailHawks where some of the students24

are going to come from the same cluster. The RailHawk25


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partnership seeks to serve soccer players from across the1

country and soccer players from all over North Carolina.2

They're providing the learning coaching and we're providing3

the virtual content.4

So it's about being explicit for communications,5

looking for gaps, trying to augment resources you have in the6

region or the area. And at the end of the day if all those7

supports do not work, the question I would ask back to you is8

what do we do in the face to face when there's no significant9

parent, no significant support system. We try our very best10

to reach those kids.11

Ms. Thomas: This is Sherry Thomas. I'm12

on the phone. I'm from the EC division. I have a couple of13

questions, if I may add to this line of conversation. And if14

you've already answered this, I apologize. I'm having a15

really hard time hearing the conversation there.16

But regarding the learning coaches, how will you17

ensure that around students with disabilities? I believe I18

read your ratio being about 50 to 1 with EC staff projected.19

And if learning coaches are there to support those students20

and yet the law requires us to provide specially designed21

instruction by a certified, qualified--highly qualified22

teacher of exceptionality, how will you ensure that learning23

coach skill for that child with a disability?24

Dr. Setser: We have a couple of different25


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responses. I'll defer first and then add.1

Mr. Ragley: So this question about 50 to2

1, I want to clear this confusion. There's nowhere in the3

application that North Carolina Connections Academy says it's4

50 to 1. That's the law that says it can be up to 50 to 1.5

There are four exceptional children teachers in6

the budget and there's a manager of special education in the7

budget. That's going to enable the school at a roughly 128

percent EC population, which is 180 students in year one, to9

meet the same caseloads that every other public school in10

North Carolina has. And that's published by DPI's policy.11

So there's--I don't know how the 50 to 1 got in12

the discussion, but there is no suggestion that EC students13

are going to have a 50 to 1 caseload. They're going to have14

the exact same caseloads that are published by DPI in its15

policy.16

Dr. Setser: If you read the IEP sections17

and you think about following an IEP if you're a normal18

traditional school, that IEP has a team. And that team often19

includes let's say an athletic coach. And a lot of the IEP20

meetings happen after school. So does that athletic coach21

have to be there very day or do they have to follow the22

contents of the meeting and the support protocols that the23

IEP suggests?24

So as you look into our public schools, it's very25


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similar on the virtual end. When and where possible, the1

teachers who serve an IEP student will meet with the team2

members. They can call in remotely or virtually, just as our3

EC specialist is today, and they can be a part of those4

conversations.5

They are legally required by the law to follow the6

minutes of those meetings and to make sure those modifica-7

tions are in place. So if we're seeing a gap in our data8

system around the IEP students, one of the first places we'll9

look is what has the participation been at those IEP10

meetings.11

And I want to bifurcate for you the difference12

between a board and a principal in this instance. The board13

is assembling on the requirements of the application and14

looking at what has been best practice in other states around15

IEPs, 504s, and special ed law. But it will be the16

principal's job, once hired, to assure that those students17

who have an IEP also have a teacher that understands those18

modifications, that meets regularly or at least oversees19

those meeting minutes to implement them.20

So again, in mathematics if a student has a21

problem with how they're addressing computation or if a22

student has a challenge in language arts around written and23

verbal expression, then it's up to the teacher to find24

alternative strategies on the technology and also through the25


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phone calls to meet that letter of the law.1

If the teacher is struggling--and that's a part of2

our ongoing training in PD with teachers to shore that3

process up. In many ways you may be talking--among 15004

students in year one, you know, national averages for EC may5

be 10 percent of that build. And then all of a sudden you6

look at the 10 percent and you say, okay, what are our7

specific services and how are we aligning budget to meet8

that.9

So again, year to year data cycles, quarterly data10

cycles, month to month, week to week, and it's up to us--back11

to the original question from Liz around accountability--to12

make sure where we've got gaps, where we're not meeting or13

exceeding state averages, that we put resources towards that.14

Ms. Thomas: Okay. I missed part of that,15

so if I'm repeating a question that you've responded to, then16

I apologize. But what I'm still trying to understand is17

about that service to the child with a disability, meeting18

the goals on the IEP and if that learning coach is with that19

child daily, they are not by law able to provide those20

services.21

Dr. Setser: Part of the answer before--22

and I appreciate the clarification--is our staffing that23

we've done consistent with public schools around certified24

EC, highly qualified teachers, directors, and also the25


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teacher of record.1

So when you think about an EC child that let's say2

has a severe and profound disability or a handicap issue,3

we're prepared to transport that child to a testing center.4

We're prepared to allocate funds to make sure that all of the5

regular conditions of state accountability, testing, and6

support are met.7

When that team of IEP teachers meets, our teacher8

of record will be the teacher on that IEP team. But our9

exceptional children's director and our four EC teachers will10

also be intimately involved with those modifications. And11

their caseloads are very consistent with traditional public12

schools.13

Mr. Ragley: And just to add to that--it's14

on page 52 of application--students that do need related15

services per their IEP, they have them provided to them. The16

school contracts with providers across the state to provide17

those services either in the child's home, if that's most18

applicable, or if the child needs to go to a doctor's office,19

OT, PT, whatever it might be, that transportation will be20

covered as part of the cost.21

So related services are provided and are22

consistent with the IEP and they're provided to the child23

closest to them, so they're not having to travel great24

distances for related services. The contractors, providers25


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if you will, they're all licensed here in North Carolina.1

The school--that's their job. The school's job is to find2

them that provider that meets their needs that's close enough3

to their home so that, you know, they can get those services.4

Ms. Thomas: May I ask one more question5

about delivery of EC services?6

Chairman Hill: Yes, ma'am, please.7

Ms. Thomas: So your application says that8

you will accept all students with disabilities--I'm not sure9

exactly the terminology you used, but basically looking at10

the full continuum of needs, both from the highest needs11

students that may be identified with an IEP to the students12

with a very minimal amount of service that is required in13

order for them to access their general curriculum.14

That being the case, those students with those15

really high needs that are really intensive need kids are16

students who rarely will be in a regular classroom setting.17

Talk to me about how you plan to deliver those services18

virtually.19

Dr. Setser: Sure. I'm going to defer to20

some board members to mix it up, but I have some specific21

responses around how we accommodate that.22

Mr. Jones: I'll take this. This is23

Russ, since you can't see me. Because I have a bit of a24

personal experience with it, growing up one of my best25


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friends had muscular dystrophy. And after having a surgery,1

which he believed would hopefully give him some freedom of2

mobility, it went awry and ended up needing 24/7 nursing care3

and essentially kicking him out of any kind of realistic4

public school situation.5

Luckily, because he has a single mom who has6

dedicated her life to him, he's still with us today, but now7

he learns virtually. He can take his laptop to whatever kind8

of event he needs to be at, whether it's the advocacy that he9

now does as part of his life for trying to help people with10

disabilities or to the next in a series of hospital or11

specialist visits that he's attending daily.12

So I want to say that the portability of this kind13

of education is something that's so unique and so valuable14

that while we can certainly talk about some of the specifics15

in how you coordinate, things become a lot easier when you16

don't have to put a person into a specific room to get the17

education done.18

I can promise you that my friend's mother would19

have never let him out of her sight once he was on a20

breathing tube. And because of that, he was always going to21

have someone there to help him learn. But this kind of22

technology gives him the opportunity to get learning from23

experts.24

Mr. Green: And just on a practical sense25


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from the learning coach question, you know, that learning1

coach is not somebody who's is a special educator, you know,2

professional. However, you know, just like the special3

education teacher in a brick and mortar school, they'll4

communicate with the parent. And in this case that parent is5

the, you know, more of an active role, a learning coach.6

Those strategies--you know, whatever corresponding7

strategies need to be implemented can certainly be--that8

would be a point of training for the learning coaches and a9

point of communication between our special ed teachers and10

the learning coaches.11

Dr. Setser: Yeah, I want to make sure we12

have time for questions, but just the last 30 second turn on13

that would be our team's record is pretty clear nationally14

since 2007. We've worked with almost every special education15

institute in the country during my time as CEO of North16

Carolina Virtual and continued in my day job with17

2Revolutions.18

What we do with special ed populations in terms of19

services over apps, speech to text, how we work on feedback20

loops for students who can't type, there's a really robust21

infrastructure around our technology that provides a lot of22

those services.23

And then when we find gaps of high student need,24

it's not just the learning coach providing that. I just want25


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to echo that. That's a combination of learning coach,1

teacher, our executive director of special ed, and also our2

four teachers who are trained in special ed and highly3

qualified and certified.4

Ms. Taylor: I have a question.5

Chairman Hill: Yes, ma'am.6

Ms. Taylor: So obviously you--7

Connections Academy has experience in other states.8

Dr. Setser: Uh-huh.9

Ms. Taylor: What kind of withdrawal rates10

have you seen with your enrollments in some of the other11

states in a year?12

Dr. Setser: I will let Connections staff13

address it specifically, but in terms of choosing the EMO and14

also looking across the national landscape, there's many15

reasons for virtual withdrawals. And you know, they usually16

fall into categories of students thought it was going to be17

one thing, parents thought it was going to be one thing, and18

it turned into another. Also, students end up, you know,19

choosing another medium or another option.20

But at the same time when you look at our record21

consistently across the United States with withdrawals, it's22

very much in line with what you see in state virtual schools,23

virtual charters, blended charters in terms of students24

trying a new way of schooling. But I'll let you hear from25


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Connections on the specifics.1

Mr. Ragley: Thank you, Bryan. Ms.2

Taylor, nationally, about 25 percent is what the withdrawal3

rate would be. Granted, there are differences in state4

attendance laws across the states. I will say that this5

school year we're seeing a significantly lower withdrawal6

rate because of something called Parent University, which7

many of the schools that we support are implementing.8

So Parent University is not just something parents9

go through during pre-enrollment. It's optional. They don't10

have to do it, but it's highly encouraged. But it kind of11

gives a glimpse of what is it like to be a learning coach,12

what are some of the requirements you have.13

And then once a child is enrolled, there are more14

lab lessons or webinars, if you will, more resources in the15

virtual library for those parents to understand what their16

roles are. So a lot of the Connections Academy schools that17

we support have implemented Parent University and are seeing18

significant reductions in the withdrawal rate this school19

year.20

Ms. Taylor: Has that been written in for21

North Carolina?22

Mr. Ragley: Sure. That's--Parent23

University is something that would be available to the school24

if they choose to use it, yeah.25


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Mr. Cox: And also on the attendance1

front, I---2

Chairman Hill: (interposing) Andrew, speak3

into the mic, please.4

Mr. Cox: Sorry. On the attendance5

front--I know we met some earlier, but I have a question.6

How are you going to define what the instructional day is,7

instructional minutes for the school, and how will you ensure8

that students are in attendance at least half of that9

instructional day to be included in the membership for10

funding purposes?11

Dr. Setser: Sure. I have some thoughts,12

but I'll also defer to a board member.13

Mr. Ragley: So it's a great question. So14

the state board, as I understand it, is still considering a15

policy around attendance and so we're kind of waiting for16

some feedback on that.17

However, as you can imagine in a full-time virtual18

school, school does not start at 7:30 and does not end at19

3:30. Students can take classes, hours, live lessons,20

complete lessons, complete assessments when it's convenient21

for them, although certainly we strongly encourage attendance22

at regularly scheduled live lesson sessions every single day.23

But attendance is not just "I did eight hours of24

work today." Attendance is also looking at lesson completion25


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and assessment completion. And based upon that, the teacher1

and if necessary the assistant principal, which handles kind2

of truancy issues, would be able to verify what that is.3

I think what we've seen in a lot of states that4

works well is the acknowledgement that students will take5

classes on the weekends. And so any hours of instruction6

that are accumulated on weekends would simply be either7

spread out across a five day Monday through Friday system, or8

if the state information system wants to record attendance on9

Saturdays or Sundays, that's certainly a prerogative of the10

state as well.11

But in general, those instructional hours are12

logged in. They're verified by the learning coach. The13

student doesn't log them in. The learning coach does. And14

then the teacher in those biweekly or weekly verification15

curriculum based assessment calls that I mentioned earlier,16

those phone calls, that's where they then get into, well, did17

they really do their 30 hours of work last week because they18

only completed two lessons. And it's not going to take you--19

you know, it's not going to take you 30 hours to complete20

just two lessons, so lots of multiple ways to verify21

attendance and engagement.22

Mr. Jones: I think this actually ties in23

nicely to that previous question about what percentage of24

students stay into the virtual--or stay in the virtual25


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charters. I think that there is this conception that virtual1

education is a cakewalk, that you get to go home and play all2

day, when in reality, as a product of North Carolina schools,3

I knew plenty of public students who would basically log into4

their classroom like you would at Connections by raising5

their hand in the morning when the teacher called their name,6

and then they checked out the rest of the day.7

But with a virtual charter or a virtual education,8

you actually have to complete work for your attendance to9

count. And I think that actually catches a lot of students10

off guard and they realize, "Hey, it was a little bit easier11

for me to just show up at class and put my head down," you12

know, once the bell rings.13

So I'm actually excited about the attendance kind14

of component of this because we have this real live data at15

all times about how engaged the student actually is with the16

course as opposed to just whether their body is physically in17

a particular location.18

Chairman Hill: Let's move to governance and19

capacity.20

Ms. Nance: Can I ask one quick question?21

How do you see your graduation rate, then? And I noticed you22

have college counselors that help students. How many kids in23

other states have actually--what's the percentage of students24

that finish the high school that go on to college? Does25


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anybody know?1

Mr. Ragley: So in terms of--in South2

Carolina--and I have to use a state specific example. In3

South Carolina about 30 percent of the first year--about 304

percent of first time high school students, tenth grader,5

eleventh grader, twelfth grader are credit deficient. So6

they come in already behind. And overall, about 70 percent7

of the high school students who enroll in South Carolina8

Connections Academy will eventually graduate from somewhere9

else.10

So you're talking about--so when we think about11

high school and we say, "I started in ninth grade and I12

stayed all four years," that frankly is the minority13

experience in students in many of the schools that we14

support. When you look at the students who started in ninth15

grade in South Carolina Connections Academy--I looked at this16

the other day--and stayed all four years, about 75 percent17

graduated on time.18

But because that's not the way the graduation rate19

cohort is calculated, the state reports that as about a 5520

percent graduation rate. And why is that? Students who come21

in credit deficient, they want to wait till age 17 and then22

they withdraw and they're the last school that they stop on23

before they withdraw.24

So graduation calculation rates that all the25


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states are using now don't frankly accurately adjust for the1

virtual school environment. But if you looked at, again, a2

ninth grader who stayed all four years on average, at least3

in South Carolina, it was about 75 percent. And similar4

states--and other states have similar results.5

Ms. Nance: And did many of those go to6

college because it says that you have somebody who works with7

the colleges to educate them on what you're doing to try and8

get them accepted. And you have students who are accepted.9

I just wondered---10

Mr. Ragley: (interposing) Correct.11

Ms. Nance: ---if that's a lot or that's12

an abnormal thing.13

Mr. Ragley: So depending upon the state14

you're in--and I apologize I don't have the information for15

it in front of me and data--but some states don't track16

postsecondary attainment. They're supposed to per a federal17

law that passed a couple of years ago, but those data systems18

are still coming online. So I don't really have data on how19

many go to college per--on average.20

I can tell you the high school curriculum does21

prepare you for colleges. We've had many students go to the22

highest level--Harvard, Wellesley, Air Force Academy--here in23

North Carolina as well. So they're prepared for colleges.24

Dr. Setser: I'm going to answer that a25


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little bit differently by saying that one of the exciting1

parts about the pilot is to figure out the value add for2

North Carolina.3

In other words, there's a kid this week in a4

county in North Carolina who has no access to quality5

teachers, who has no access to advanced courses, who has no6

access to changing the odds in their situation. That's7

actually in our state as many others.8

And that kid is sitting there with the family and9

he's saying, "Okay, how do I change the odds," right? So10

you're going to see percentages of kids in the pilot that11

make it all the way through and take the full virtual12

curriculum. And you're going to see kids who two years in13

say, "You know what? I've really got this. I've made some14

headway and I'm matured a little bit and I want to kind of15

exit."16

And so nationally that's a tough data point17

because people enroll for a lot of different reasons. If18

you're familiar with the freshman results and research19

around--you know, that's the critical year in terms of20

dropout rates, the critical year in terms of efficacy on21

return.22

A lot of those kids benefit socially, ninth, tenth23

grade from being in a virtual environment, mature, and then24

all of a sudden re-enter. So what we want to do is be real25


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smart with our metrics around true graduation cohort rates of1

people that stayed all four years versus kids that enter and2

exit.3

Ms. Nance: Okay.4

Chairman Hill: Okay. Let's move to the5

governance and capacity section.6

Ms. Taylor: Well, I would like to know if7

you have an opportunity to participate in this pilot in North8

Carolina and having had experience in other states and, you9

know, what you've learned in those instances, what would you10

bring to North Carolina and do differently?11

Dr. Setser: That's a great question,12

Becky. You know, I had the opportunity to meet Connections13

for the first time in 2005. And through the various14

affiliations I've had internationally, I've continued to work15

with members of their team from Mickey Revenaugh to Pat16

Laystrom, et cetera.17

And what I would say is over that time, almost18

nine years, their model has evolved. I mean it's become more19

blended. It's become more hybrid. It's become more about a20

balance between really great teachers and still taking the21

very best of virtual education.22

So I'd like to make this statement outright for23

the board to be completely transparent. I was very excited24

to do it differently here, and one of the things we did very25


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early was say we want a one year contract. We want to make1

sure that when we start hiring principals and teachers and we2

start changing the way that your systems work in terms of the3

blended supports and what we do with learning coaches, et4

cetera, that we can prove this. We can prove that it can5

work.6

The other thing I would say is really being a nice7

partner with North Carolina Virtual, reaching out and saying,8

"You guys are serving X number. You're having gaps with9

certain teacher sections or, you know, parts of the state10

where you want to reach down and serve more middle school11

students," I think that should be a very explicit part of the12

pilot, that we can be a nice supplement to the supplemental13

program, particularly in the middle grades.14

The other thing I would say is that we've been15

given a lot of access to Connections on the product16

development side and also informing what works and what17

doesn't based on best practice. And they've been great about18

reaching across and saying how would you do it differently.19

And I think the other thing is, so blessed to have20

gone to Georgia Virtual and South Carolina Virtual and seen21

how they deal with professional development and bringing our22

teachers back into our center in Durham, which we'll most23

likely be located, and saying, "You know what? 25 percent of24

our model is not working in this first year and we've looked25


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at three rounds of data. How do we improve that and how do1

we reshift the budget?"2

So we're going to make sure that as we hear from3

our principal in the reporting, you can be assured that you4

have a very experienced board that's not going to put their5

reputation and brand on "Well, we'll see how it works in6

three years. And if we were guinea pigs on all these kids,7

you know, who cares? It was a nice experiment." We're8

looking at it year to year and making sure that we can pivot9

as we need to.10

Ms. Taylor: All right. May I ask a11

spinoff of that real quick? And I know I'm really spinning12

off. I appreciate what you just said. That's probably the13

most important thing I have heard all day today out of14

anybody's mouth.15

And so I'm going to ask you, if you had the16

luxury--because, you know, this came to us. We're going to17

do a pilot and we're trying to do it like we've been told,18

but I want to do it right. And it sounds like you do.19

If you had the luxury of designing how this really20

should be done, what would you say? Would you structure it21

with less students, certain grades, certain whatever? Can22

you take just a moment to answer that? Is that all right?23

Dr. Setser: Yeah. That's another great24

question. I think for me in any endeavor it always comes25


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down to outcomes, measures, and supports; right? So what are1

the outcomes? What's the vision that we want?2

And I think we're not there yet on the funding3

model. We need to collaborate in this pilot year and say,4

"You know what? We learned that this funding was off by $5005

a kid." Now, that's an arbitrary number, but I think we're6

going to find out that data, right, like we're going to know7

where the supports are needed and where they're not.8

The second thing in the design would be we already9

have a great virtual school. We already have a lot of human10

capital and technology in this state that we're not11

leveraging smartly across all of our jobs or our efforts.12

And we need to do pull-ups, quarterly and yearly, to kind of13

say, "You know what? Just as we did it in North Carolina14

Virtual"--we partnered with MCNC for our servers. We never15

paid for that; right? That ought to be true of a state16

virtual pilot too, and we ought to think of ways to share17

efficiencies and make that make sense.18

I think in terms of student and teacher ratios, we19

need to get out of the cohort model. The state is already20

moving to competency. And we need to think about the ever21

changing role of the teacher. So what I'm seeing nationally22

and internationally in my work, teachers are going to be23

highly skilled, face-to-face experts. But you're also going24

to see teachers who are great virtual instructors and25


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assessors. And if you follow the proliferation of Uber, we1

are moving to a 1099 model where our coaches, our tutors, our2

contractors can all support the state in a better cost3

effective way.4

So I would be the first to volunteer my service to5

any e-learning commissions or cross-functional groups that6

are looking at this virtual charter in line with the depart-7

ment's mission and objectives.8

Ms. Taylor: Thank you.9

Chairman Hill: All right. Yes, ma'am.10

Committee Member: Can we talk a minute about11

teachers? So you talk in spots all across the application12

about teacher development, incoming teachers, et cetera. So13

talk about that.14

How do you get them ready? What does the great15

online teacher look like to you? What are they doing? What16

are they not doing? Because the medium is different, for17

lack of a better word, and some teachers great--who are great18

in the brick and mortar struggle in the online and vice19

versa, you know. So what does it mean? What does it look20

like? How do you get them ready?21

Dr. Setser: I think the first answer, and22

then I'll defer to a board member, is, you know, 90 percent23

of our folks will be North Carolina certified and we'll be24

really looking to close that gap all the way to 100 percent25


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as we move up, and in that 10 percent area trying to make1

sure that we look at who we're recruiting, who is staffing2

these schools, and what is their profile.3

So yes, you need to be strong in curriculum and4

pedagogy and instructional strategies and have certain5

demeanors that meet, you know, high quality teacher6

standards. But you also need to be a flexpert. You need to7

be really savvy with technology. You need to make sure that8

you understand Marzano's high yield strategies, providing9

time and quality feedback.10

So whatever our PD continuum becomes with our11

principal--it's not really the board's job to kind of say,12

"Well, you know, we're absolutely endorsing today what that13

model is A to Z." But we have some very clear ideas for the14

principal in terms of what we want to create with these15

teachers.16

You know this better than anybody, but I tell this17

story quite often. I went to lunch in 2007 as CEO of North18

Carolina Virtual and I came back from lunch and we had 17,00019

students enrolled. So how do you get teachers ready to20

support that type of environment? And as you scale--you may21

have 80 sections of math. They know the content, but do they22

know how to teach math online?23

So a lot of our PD will be in our centers. It24

will be in our communications. We have a lot of great ways25


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through our messaging system in Connexus to both give them1

information, but we do virtual PLCs with our teachers too.2

And we also do virtual digital learning communities where we3

invite them in to our webinar clients and work with them on4

strategies to increase student results, not just in5

academics, but in noncognitive skills, in a host of areas.6

And then finally we look for those teachers who7

are savvy on social media and can have a growth mind-set and8

learn themselves. So I'm real excited about the hiring and9

recruiting process.10

You know, as you know, we have a lot of teachers11

that want to teach for North Carolina Virtual and they can't12

get a section because you guys have such great scale and such13

great quality, but they're great teachers and we need to put14

them somewhere. So we need to kind of share those ideas and15

collaborate with you as well.16

Chairman Hill: So we've reached the ten17

minute mark and we still have to cover operations and18

financial plan. So we can come back to these questions if19

necessary, but let's go ahead and move to operations. Yes,20

sir.21

Mr. Davis: I'll try to make this an22

operational question. Operationally there are rules,23

regulations, policies, procedures in place that surround24

accountability in state testing. In a school where you have25


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possession of all those kids, it is a daunting task.1

Now you're talking about having kids across 1002

counties, the communities throughout all those counties. Not3

only do you have kids that are taking regular testing4

administrations, but you also have the EC 504 kids that are5

going to be testing with accommodations.6

Address how you're going to take care of test7

security, training of proctors and administrators, and how8

are you going to come up with all those different settings to9

make sure these students are tested equitably and fairly10

across the state?11

Mr. Green: It's a logistical concern, a12

major logistical concern. We have a testing coordinator as a13

position. You know, first of all, that would be hired by the14

principal, if I'm not mistaken, to carry out that role. And15

you know, that's their bread and butter.16

Geographically, you have, like you just mentioned,17

students from all over the state. So we would have to be18

smart in placing testing locations so that, you know, we can19

serve as many kids without them traveling, you know, too far.20

Mr. Jones: Yeah. I can add a little bit21

to that. I mean for starters we'll have at minimum one22

testing location in each of the eight areas. It's worth23

saying that that question has been asked and answered in24

other states by Connections Academy, and transportation is25


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provided in a large number of different ways.1

First off, one of the cool things that we often2

forget about is that we have teachers from across the state3

too. So they can participate as either providing the4

proctoring of the tests as necessary, so they'll get the same5

kind of testing procedures--or training as you would expect.6

If students can't provide their own transportation, we've7

budgeted for the ability to provide that transportation or8

meet any kind of specific needs.9

It's difficult. We get that. But if you think10

about it in comparison to other kinds of transportation11

issues like the fact that thousands and thousands and12

thousands of kids every day somehow make it to a school. And13

we're talking about as a school only having to do this once14

or twice a year. It's difficult, but it's definitely doable15

and we've done it before. I think there are some specifics16

that probably Bryan can address.17

Dr. Setser: Yeah, you know, this is the18

old principal hat. Whenever testing administration came19

around, you have one person that's sort of been, you know,20

hiding in the closet for four weeks and then she comes out21

and she's a master scheduler and understands logistics and22

you get them. And there's a training paradigm of getting23

everybody ready. And then there's an accountability to make24

sure it's delivered with fidelity.25


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Well, if you think about our enrollment numbers--1

let's take 1500 in year one and let's do a heat map across2

North Carolina. And we realize that we've got three students3

in Halifax, 100 in Charlotte-Meck, 12 in Edgecombe, whatever.4

One of the ways we do that is having a central point of5

contact in that school system or district.6

In that sense it's broader than just testing7

administration. It's also with things like what we call wet8

science labs, like how are you going to give students the9

skills and knowledge and dispositions they need if it's all10

virtual? Well, the answer is you're not. You're going to11

reach out to those centers and say what does our talent look12

like in Edgecombe, do we have two teachers that are also in13

Edgecombe, do we have a partnership with that high school,14

and also do we have somebody regionally that can assist.15

So in many ways our coordinator of testing will16

comply with all the law, you know, all of the legalities that17

you would expect from a regular coordinator, but their18

logistics job is now instead of 115 classrooms in a massive19

high school, 115 counties.20

And so we've got to be smart around how we deploy21

those resources and in many cases train the trainer, right,22

like reaching out to those districts and saying in CMS to23

Hope Johnson, you know, "You've got 100 kids of ours and we'd24

love to piggyback on your proctor and testing procedures.25


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And what does that look like and how do we staff that with1

you?"2

Some of those relationships exist in my world from3

a long time, you know, certainly being a citizen and worker4

in the state in this field, but also some of them will be5

new. And it's not a problem that any of our other state6

virtuals, state virtual charters don't face as well, so we'll7

borrow from a lot of their good practice too.8

Chairman Hill: Any other operations9

questions?10

(No response.)11

Chairman Hill: Let's look at the financial12

plan.13

Committee Member: This is really a simple one,14

but probably you'll figure that one out. It's interesting15

when I look at the two different applicants and I'm looking16

at the insurance liability quote, whoo.17

First of all, to have your comprehensive liability18

insurance at $1500 is a pretty good deal if you're talking19

about--because I know you're dealing with homes and--so I20

don't know if your quote is low and the other person is like21

way extremely high, but that's something that going to need22

to be tweaked on somebody's end. It may be that both of23

y'all need to be in the middle because, you know, you're24

looking at insurance quotes of $4700 versus $37,000. It's25


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huge. So that was a line item that needs to be evaluated.1

Dr. Setser: Absolutely. I think part of2

it is the practice we've seen in other states within the3

budget we have. And just as our personal policies go up and4

down depending on features and configurations---5

Committee Member: (interposing) Right.6

Dr. Setser: ---we're trying to7

approximate there. And so getting back to your design8

question, it's like, you know, ideally ten years out we are a9

part of an ed service for the state. And the virtual pilot10

is supplementing a lot of the programs that we run in the11

state, and we can share just as you're considering an ed12

tech, common purchasing, and those types of things.13

But what we began with was kind of what we were14

doing in other states and what that amount was and then the15

amount that the pilot put out in specifications of the16

budget. So in a true pilot we'll find out where that norm17

is, if that makes sense.18

Committee Member: Uh-huh.19

Mr. Davis: Could you share the successes20

or challenges that you've had in other states at the21

elementary, middle, and high?22

Dr. Setser: I'll let Connections speak23

and then I want to add something to that.24

Mr. Ragley: I'll let Allison speak as25


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well as being a former school leader. I'll say that, you1

know, Connections supports 29 full-time public virtual2

schools in 25 states and has done that since 2002, when we3

began with a school we supported in Wisconsin that is still4

open today and still serves students. This year we'll serve5

around 54,000 or so students.6

As far as performance goes, you see on average7

reading and language arts proficiencies at or above the state8

average in most of the states. You see the same in science9

when they have a science assessment. And when it comes to10

math, math is harder for everybody and so some schools are11

doing very well in math, right at state proficiency, and some12

schools need some additional supports.13

Allison, I know you work quite a lot with a lot of14

different schools, so---15

Ms. Reaves: Just to echo that, we find16

that in the schools that we support nationwide. But another17

feature that we've talked about is the high school students18

and the numbers of students that come in that are perhaps off19

cohort. They come in for a season, they come in for a20

reason, their needs are met, and then they leave, and we21

don't have the opportunity to have the staff have that22

journey with those students and have that quality experience23

with those students from beginning to end.24

That's probably one of the biggest challenges25


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because with the schools that we support, we find that our1

teachers really create relationships. And when we're looking2

at the high school students, they really are responsible for3

their learning and they are creating those close relation-4

ships and having those conversations with their teachers,5

engaging in, you know, those plans for college and going into6

the workforce and those sorts of things, so ways to, you7

know, maybe share with those students, that maybe we need to8

be more of a long term option for them.9

Chairman Hill: Andrew?10

Mr. Cox: I notice that for teacher11

salaries for the four years here in the budget, you have12

average salary the same for those four years. Being that13

teacher salaries is a hot topic, how do you justify keeping14

them the same for four years?15

Dr. Setser: Well, we've quite frankly16

struggled with the funding limit. You know, from the17

beginning I think it's worth mentioning that we applied for18

the regular charter approval process. And when the state19

board heard our charter application, they questioned whether20

we were in the right bucket, which is fine. And we kind of21

pivoted and went through this process.22

And so we know we're going to have to adjust that23

as we move forward. Our hope is that, back to Ms. Taylor's24

comments, we can say, "You know what? We're having some25


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struggles attracting talent at this rate." And what we need1

to look at based on our results of year one--and again, these2

are not the right numbers, but a 5 to 10 percent bump in3

those salaries or they've earned a recalibration because4

we're doing right by students and we have high parent satis-5

faction and all those things. So to be quite frank, we're6

trying to meet the constraints of the budget.7

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