March 2010
"Attendance Policy
and Truancy Procedures of an Online School"
Article
The
definition of truancy at an online school
does not mirror the definition of truancy
at a traditional school. At the
traditional school, students arrive at
school or do not arrive at school, sit in
classes or do not sit in classes, and
either attend school or are considered
truant if their lack of attendance does
not fit into the excused categories
provided by the laws of the students’
states of residence. Attendance is
considered physically sitting in a seat
for the determined number of minutes or
hours that the school holds academic
programming. State legislators have
written truancy laws with traditional
schools in mind; however, students
attending online schools must adhere to
these laws as well. This article will
examine how these laws apply to online
students and the role of online schools in
the enforcement of these laws. In
addition, this article will advocate for
online schools to take the lead in
providing a clear definition of attendance
as well as to cooperate and to collaborate
with state departments which oversee
truancy enforcement. One should note that
the information in this article will
illustrate these concepts using Minnesota
truancy laws and the policies and
procedures of Wolf Creek Online High
School, an online hybrid charter high
school in Minnesota.
Click here for full article
March 15, 2010
Wolf
Creek Staff at the Capital
Wolf Creek Online High School Director
Tracy Quarnstrom and Special Education
Teacher Kelly Legg spent a day over spring
break visiting the capital in St. Paul to
discuss the importance of quality charter
schools in the state of Minnesota.
Tuesday, March 9th was
recognized as Minnesota Charter School Day
at the capital and over 400
representatives from various charter
schools around the state were in
attendance for the event. The event was
sponsored by the Minnesota Association of
Charter Schools. It was designed to
showcase the high quality charter schools
that are present in the state of
Minnesota.
Minnesota currently has 150 charter
schools in existence with 4 new schools
approved for the fall of 2010. Charter
Schools offer students choices in
education and are approved under the
premise that they offer something new and
innovative for educational communities.
Charter Schools are public schools in the
state of Minnesota and receive funds in
much the same way as residential school
districts receive funds. Charter Schools
also follow the same requirements of
public school entities such as testing and
enrolling all students based on ability
levels.
Quarnstrom and Legg met with both Chisago
Lakes legislators, Representative Jeremy
Kallin and Senator Rick Olseen, during
their time at the capital. Since Legg
resides in the Apple Valley/Rosemount
district they also met with several of her
legislators. The day was very productive
and many enlightening conversations were
started on that day.
Wolf Creek Online High School is
Minnesota’s only hybrid high school model
where students have an opportunity to come
to school for as much at two days per
week, and spend the remainder of the time
working from home on computer based
curriculum. Wolf Creek has a continuous
learning year, which means that they offer
a summer session in a variety of areas for
enrichment purposes. If you are
interested in learning more about Wolf
Creek Online High School please visit our
website at triowolfcreek.com
February 8,
2010
Education is
Changing ..... Wolf Creek Online High
School is Leading the Way.
Can you imagine a world without change; a
world without microwaves, the
interstate highway system, or digital
cameras? What if there was no internet,
cell phones, or television? In the
article, “Getting it Right & Doing it
Better,” Bryan Townsend stated,
"Reasonable people understand all change
is not progress. However, we must concede,
all progress is change." He goes on to say
that change is a two step process.
Progress comes from those who are
determined to do their thing and they are
insistent about getting it right. Then
these determined people insist on finding
ways to do it better. Those who are
constantly and consistently looking for
ways to improve are the ones who bring us
progress and innovation.
Wolf Creek Online High School works in
much the same manner. Wolf Creek has had
many areas of change and progress. Wolf
Creek opened in 1996 as one of the first
distance learning schools in Minnesota as
a school with-in a school at Chisago Lakes
School district. Wolf Creek was part of a
three year study with University of
Minnesota to see if students could learn
online. The conclusion of the study was
"yes, students can learn online!" From
that point this distance learning school
has blossomed. In 2002 Wolf Creek received
its charter school designation
and has been growing, gaining ground, and
bringing progress and change to students
ever since.
Today Wolf Creek Online High School's
campus is located at 10363 Liberty Lane in
Chisago City, MN. This small tuition-free
public online charter school is busy
educating approximately 125 fulltime
students in grades 9-12, up to age 21,
across the state. Another set of
approximately 25 students are enrolled
part-time using supplemental services and
the online learning law. These students
can take up to 50% of their classes at
Wolf Creek while remaining enrolled in
their traditional brick and mortar
district.
Wolf Creek Online High School’s curriculum
is available 24/7 online, and students
have the option to work on campus each
week. The school is based on a "small
community" philosophy; students are
assisted by one individual who helps them
in academic as well as non-academic areas
of their lives. This individual is called
a Learning Manager and is the center of
the school's model. Each Learning Manager
works with about 25 students both on and
off campus daily. Wolf Creek enrolls a
variety of students; these students range
from those who are excelling to graduate
early to those who are working hard to get
caught up. Students like the change to
online learning due to the flexibility and
ease of accessibility. Wolf Creek is a
great option for students who are
independent and self-motivated.
Kalli Frost is one of those independent
and self-motivated students; she is a
junior and has been enrolled at Wolf Creek
Online for the past two years. Kalli says
that her Learning Manager, Lindsay
Jarombek, is fantastic and she helps her
with everything, not just coursework. She
is
there to talk about academics, college,
and future plans anytime. Kalli says a
typical day for her involves getting up at
about 8 am and working online in her
pajamas or getting ready to come to campus
to work. She likes the option of working
at home several days per week. She enjoys
the comfort of working in her own home, as
well as being able to have whatever food,
music, and work time she desires. She has
her mom available at home for assistance
if needed and her Learning Manager is
always a text, email, chat-room, or phone
call away. She comes to campus
weekly to meet with her Learning Manager,
to get help with classes, and talk about
future plans. She also attends campus to
meet with other students and work in the
computer labs on specific assignments.
Kalli says her favorite thing about Wolf
Creek is "the flexibility and the
ability to be on her own schedule. She is
able to move ahead in courses if she wants
to do that."
The staff at Wolf Creek Online High School
is dedicated to progress and innovation.
Wolf Creek is accredited by NCA, CITA, and
NCAA. Instruction is innovative and
technology based, and the course work can
be completed on or off campus. Wolf Creek
has Continuous Learning Year status from
the Minnesota Department of Education;
therefore, students are able to complete
course work throughout the year;
applications for summer school are
currently being accepted. If you are
interested in learning more about Wolf
Creek, please visit their website at
triowolfcreek.com or stop by for a tour on
Tuesdays at 10 am.
