By:Submitted Report
news@wbcowqel.com
Started as a credit recovery program for students needing to regain traction in their educational pursuit, the Bucyrus City School District’s Educational Options program will be expanding to serve more students in the district.
Secondary School Principal Dr. Mark Burke and Director of Educational Options Kevin Fourman provided a program briefing to the Board of Education during the regular meeting May 22.
Since the program’s inception at the start of the 2013-2014, 71 students enrolled in the Educational Options program.
“The basis of the Educational Options program is to provide multiple opportunities to Bucyrus students to obtain their education in the district,” Fourman said. “We have the ability to provide students with opportunities that meet their needs.”
Students completed 140 semester hours during the 2013-2014 school year. 69 high school credits were awarded via the online curriculum.
“We are providing a personalized education to every student in the Bucyrus City Schools,” Burke said. “The implementation of this program has led to an improved atmosphere in the entire Secondary building because students previously disengaged in the traditional classroom are now engaged through the non-traditional classroom opportunities provided by this program.”
In addition to the completed semester hours and high school credits awarded, this program has helped an additional nine Bucyrus City School District students position themselves to receive their diploma with the graduating class of 2014.
“While we have had students in grades six through twelve take advantage of this program, we are most proud of the fact that nine more students will be graduating this year,” Burke said. “This is the measurable success we envisioned achieving when we implemented the program.”
Now, as district administrators and staff prepare to begin the second year of the Educational Options program, the focus will expand from credit recovery and attainment and include credit advancement for the 2014-2015 school year.
“Our level of excitement and anticipation about the second year of the program is higher than ever,” Fourman said. “We will be offering all Secondary School students the opportunity to take advantage of the online curriculum and create a truly blended learning experience.”
The online curriculum is being expanded to include 46 new elective course offerings from which students can choose. Building administrators have received 102 course requests from 53 students entering grades ten through twelve.
“We are offering these electives because we realized that a large number of students had multiple study halls during the school day,” Burke said. “Our goal is to limit the number of study halls throughout the day by giving all students the opportunity to personalize their education in the Bucyrus City School District.”
New courses being offered through the Educational Options program range from Anthropology to World Literature. The most popular requests have been for courses in the field of criminal justice.
“One of our major goals in the 2014-2015 school year is to extend unlimited access and academic support to students and teachers inside the traditional classroom setting,” Fourman said. “This will allow our staff to utilize portions of the online curriculum in an on-demand environment.”
Along with expansion of the program, the district has reached a partnership agreement with a major service provider that will provide a substantial increase in mobile technology through the use of laptops that will be able to provide the customized, individual learning opportunities for our students both in the district and beyond.
“We are really excited about the opportunity we have to expand the use of mobile technology,” Bucyrus Superintendent Kevin Kimmel said. “This will provide students and staff with unprecedented access to the online curriculum anywhere in the district, the city, county and beyond. These laptops, coupled with the online curriculum, will provide students with the opportunity to personalize their education in the Bucyrus City Schools and beyond.”
To learn more about the Educational Options program, please contact Kevin Fourman at 419-562-7721 or email k.fourman@bucyrusschools.org.