Virtual Arkansas presents supplemental model; district cites math gains, senior attendance concerns
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Summary
Representatives from Virtual Arkansas described their supplemental statewide program to the FORREST CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT board and answered questions about student supports. District leaders reported higher GT growth scores and described interventions for struggling seniors and tested courses such as geometry.
John Ashworth, executive director and superintendent of Virtual Arkansas, told the FORREST CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT board that Virtual Arkansas operates as a supplemental state program that allows local schools to use its teachers and content.
"We are nationally classified as a state virtual school. We're not a school though. We're a supplemental program," Ashworth said, adding that Virtual Arkansas serves "94% of all public schools in the state" and has had about "315,000 enrollments" since 2013. He described a model in which students remain enrolled at their home school while taking online classes and noted Virtual Arkansas operates concurrent-credit and career-and-technical (CTE) campuses tied to regional co-ops.
The superintendent of FORREST CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT (name not specified in the record) and board members pressed Virtual Arkansas on supports for students who arrive unprepared for higher-level classes. Board member Sandra Taylor asked about students who earn high marks in some classes but struggle in courses such as coding and English. Ashworth described teacher access to data and a "mastery grade book" that tracks standard-level mastery over time: "Every time they engage that standard the rest of the year it's continuing to track that student." He said teachers provide feedback and interventions where possible but that "wraparound services" (for example, local in-person remediation and counseling) must be provided by the local school.
District staff described additional in-person supports for FORREST CITY students taking Virtual Arkansas courses. A district speaker said the district increased synchronous contact days from two days a week to four for many classes and uses Fridays as extra support for students. The district reported that in tested subjects such as geometry, Virtual Arkansas teachers meet with students daily via Zoom and a co-teacher or additional staff can provide targeted interventions. The district also said Arkansas Virtual staff make site visits and that the district sometimes brings in content coaches and counselors for one-on-one help.
District materials presented in the meeting showed current-year results across virtual classes: the presenter said there are 22 Virtual Arkansas courses for the district; "of all virtual classes we have, there's only 2 classes that are below 70% passing. And there's only 4 total that are below 80%." The board asked specifically about geometry: the superintendent read a classroom-level tally, saying "I have 118 students, 102 passed" and that equates to "86% passed."
The board also discussed seniors' attendance and course completion. A district speaker flagged a high number of seniors not on track and said some students have missed many days; the superintendent reiterated that attendance procedures and outreach (phone calls, conferences, principal interventions) are being used and that some students are at risk of not graduating due to attendance and missing course work. The record shows the district is documenting attendance and outreach and planning follow-up after spring break.
The presentation closed with the district inviting Virtual Arkansas to make additional site visits and with Ashworth saying, "If y'all need us to come to school again, we'll we'll be here."