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Berkeley County Schools to restructure virtual pathway using Pearson Connexus
Summary
School officials presented a plan to reconfigure the district's virtual pathway program using Pearson Connexus, consolidate staffing, and emphasize district oversight, while confirming accommodations and testing plans for special-education students.
Berkeley County Board of Education officials on Aug. 4 outlined a plan to restructure the district's virtual pathway program by adopting the Pearson Connexus platform for kindergarten through 12th grade students who choose a full-time virtual option. District staff said the change will centralize curriculum delivery while keeping key student supports inside the district.
Officials said the district will remain accountable for enrollment, academic placement, counseling and state testing. The district-appointed teacher of record and district staff will provide instructional support and special-education services tied to existing IEPs, officials said. Mrs. Holly Branch was identified in the presentation as the assistant director of virtual school and the district's point person for program oversight.
District staff said Pearson Connexus will supply the k-12 course catalog, NCAA-eligible high-school courses, live reporting for student activity and grades, and marketing and recruitment support. The district will assign teacher-of-record duties, set student schedules and provide counseling through the students' home schools. Officials said k-5 students in the program total roughly 70 and will be split into two groups of about 35 for synchronous support; secondary enrollment was described as about 130 students. Presenters said roughly 20 percent of the current virtual program population has special-education needs and that those students' IEPs and testing requirements will be followed within the new delivery model.
Board members asked how the new platform differs from the prior model; staff said the district will now contract for a platform and course catalog instead of maintaining a larger adjunct teacher pool, and that the restructure reduces the number of lead teachers while preserving district responsibility for placement and diplomas. Staff said the shift should reduce recurring curriculum maintenance costs and streamline grading and reporting. The district also said it will continue to offer homebound instruction for temporary medical or psychological needs on a separate platform.
Officials described the implementation as a transition year and said the district may consider additional synchronous cohort instruction models for elementary students in future years. Staff said principals will lead training on high-impact instructional practices and that families and parents will retain access to real-time student activity and grades through the platform.
The board received the presentation for review and discussion; there was not a recorded vote on program adoption during the meeting.
The district said it will provide additional implementation and staffing details, including how lead-teacher assignments and schedules will be organized, before final program decisions.
