So far, however, the district’s expense reports put the number at over $3 million. Altogether, Tech Trep and Harmony each charge Oneida a per-unit price of $68,075 Overture charges the district $66,491 per unit.īecause enrollment fluctuates during the school year, it’s hard to say how many tax dollars Oneida’s partners will receive by the end of the school year. For example, 40 kindergartners comprise a unit. Onedia pays its online partners according to “unit” pricing broken down by grade. Much of the money goes to Tech Trep, Harmony and Overture as they provide services from student registration to online coursework. This year’s enrollment surge will bring Oneida’s state allocation from $7 million to over $11 million. The price tag of Oneida’s home learning academy Here’s a breakdown of Oneida’s current online enrollment, per curriculum provider: Oneida’s brick-and-mortar student population hovers around 950 students. Today, the district’s Idaho Home Learning Academy serves 1,533 K-8 online learners. This school year, the district signed another contract with Idaho-based K-8 digital curriculum provider Overture. The new partnership, along with snowballing enrollment through Tech Trep, has boosted Oneida’s 2018-19 enrollment by an unprecedented 958 kids. Oneida’s quest to serve online students hasn’t stopped. The partnerships raised the district’s annual state funding from $4.7 million in 2013-14 to over $7 million in 2017-18. The partnerships brought Onedia’s online enrollment to 563 students, a 37 percent increase over two years. In 2017-18, the district partnered with another Utah-based provider, Tech Trep Academy, to bring in an additional 158 students. The rise of virtual learning in OneidaĪ 2017 Idaho Education News investigation found that Oneida had partnered with Utah-based digital curriculum provider Harmony, boosting its 2016-17 K-8 enrollment by 405 students. The Idaho Public Charter School Commission governs 11 of Idaho’s 17 virtual schools. The commission’s schools account for 73 percent of virtual enrollment in Idaho, or about 4,400 students, with school districts - predominately Oneida - enrolling the rest. Like brick-and-mortar schools, online schools report attendance to the state and receive a commensurate measure of funding to cover program costs. Parents are supposed to help and keep their children on task. Once enrolled, kids gain access to certified Idaho teachers who provide instruction and grade assignments remotely, via the internet. Students enroll in virtual schools through school districts and charter schools that have partnered with digital curriculum providers. Moore acknowledges his digital learning program “has it’s challenges” but asks, “where might these students be without the resources we are providing for them?” How virtual learning works So far this school year, Oneida has shelled out $3 million for outside services.Īnd those services come under scrutiny when the online students perform well below their brick-and-mortar peers on standardized tests. Much of the money goes to for-profit curriculum providers. The increase in enrollment comes with millions in state funding. Idaho’s attendance-based funding model allows districts and charter schools to receive a full measure of funds for online learners, even though these students don’t typically enter brick-and-mortar schools. Oneida partners with for-profit digital curriculum providers to enroll hundreds of additional students from cities as far away as Coeur d’Alene, Twin Falls and Payette. “We were shocked,” Oneida Superintendent Rich Moore said. Oneida is headquartered in Malad, a sleepy East Idaho town of only 2,000 people near the Utah border. Since 2017, Oneida has grown faster than East Idaho’s four largest and growing school districts - Bonneville, Pocatello-Chubbuck, Idaho Falls and Jefferson County - combined.įueled by its online learning program, the district this year grew by 67 percent, adding nearly 1,000 students to its roster. Statewide, K-12 enrollment grew by nearly 5,100 students since last year. Rather, the rural and remote Oneida School District topped Idaho’s statewide district-growth comparisons for the second year in row. MALAD - Idaho’s fastest growing school district isn’t located in an area of booming population growth, such as Meridian or Boise.
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