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Portage outlines PACE virtual program to retain students and offer flexible learning
Summary
District leaders presented PACE, a personalized online high‑school program that pairs Portage teachers as mentors with Subject.com coursework, plans a local drop‑in site at the high school and intends not to charge families for enrollment.
Portage Township Schools officials on April 14 presented PACE, a proposed district‑run virtual school aimed at students needing flexible scheduling or at risk of leaving the district for other online providers.
Community director Mr. Proski and other presenters said PACE (Personalized Academics Customized Education) will enroll students one course at a time in four‑week modules; teachers serving as Portage mentors will monitor weekly progress and provide two‑way communication that counts toward attendance. “What we’ll be doing at PACE is we're going to be enrolling students at one course at a time,” Proski said, describing a model intended to improve course completion compared with enrolling students in multiple courses simultaneously.
Presenters said Portage will license course access through Subject.com, a commercially available online curriculum platform, and that Subject provides both live teachers and an AI homework helper. The district said Subject was piloted this semester with high school students and was preferred over other platforms for engagement and dynamic assessments.
PACE will use Portage teachers as mentors rather than the primary course instructors. The district said Subject performs grading and primary instruction while Portage mentors provide a local human touch — checking progress, scheduling required in‑person supports and coordinating IEP accommodations. “The teachers we’re talking about are gonna be mentors… a real Portage touch point for these kids,” the presenter said.
Administrators said the program will include a staffed drop‑in site at the high school with a separate entrance, assistants and a teacher so students who need a workspace or extra engagement can attend in person. The district also described plans for outreach and branding, a separate PACE website and marketing to internal and external families in Northwest Indiana. The presenters said they will not charge families for enrollment if students are Portage residents.
Questions from trustees addressed special‑education eligibility and staffing ratios. Presenters said they are coordinating with the special‑education director and DSS staff to accommodate students with IEPs; they cited Subject.com features that allow teachers to make accommodations such as removing distractor answers and providing multilingual supports. On staffing, presenters said they are discussing mentor‑to‑student ratios and expected to start at roughly 10 students per mentor.
Cost estimates discussed in the presentation said Subject licenses run about $400 per license (licenses move between students once completed) and compared that with an approximate $300 per course cost the district currently pays for other online providers. Presenters said they would return to the board with licensure totals and enrollment plans before any final contracting.
No final board vote to authorize PACE implementation appeared in the recorded transcript excerpt; presenters said the program’s staffing and marketing steps would continue pending board action scheduled later on the agenda.
