K12 Inc. is a for-profit virtual charter school chain that trades on the New York Stock Exchange. It was founded by Michael Milken and Lloyd Milken. It is funded with taxpayer dollars. It advertises and recruits heavily to keep enrollment up. It has a high attrition rate.
Its cash-cow operation is the Ohio Virtual Academy. Look for significant lobbying in New Jersey, Illinois, Connecticut, Kentucky and New York, according to the investor conference call.
I don’t know about you, but I had a hard time reading this transcript. They might just as well have been discussing a corporation that sells tires, toothpaste, bundled mortgages, or manure. These guys are profiting from taxpayer dollars that are supposed. To pay for public schools, for bands, for nurses, for guidance counselors, for reduced class sizes, for libraries. They are taking money away from real instruction, real children, real schools. Have they no sense of shame? Would any of the investors on this call put their own children in a K12 virtual charter school? Bet not. Bet their kids are in really nice suburban schools or elite private schools.Not sitting in front of a computer and calling it a “school.” It’s not. It’s a business, and the kids it recruits don’t get an education.
NOTE: I just learned that I am allowed to quote only 400 words from the transcript, so accordingly, I will count 400 words and delete what remains.
http://investors.k12.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=214389&p=irol-reportsannual
RISK FACTORS (Page 33-48)
Page 42
“We generate significant revenues from two virtual public schools, and the termination, revocation, expiration or modification of our contracts with these virtual public schools could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operation.
“In fiscal year 2013, we derived approximately 11% and 14% of our revenues, respectively, from the Ohio Virtual Academy and the Agora Cyber Charter School in Pennsylvania. In aggregate, these schools accounted for approximately 25% of our total revenues. If our contracts with either of these virtual public schools are terminated, the charters to operate either of these schools are not renewed or are revoked, enrollments decline substantially, funding is reduced, or more restrictive legislation is enacted, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected.
“Note at a k12, inc investor conference call on 10/9 the company addressed the loss of the management agreement for Agora Cyber Charter School in PA. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/01/charter-schools-k12_n_5914580.html
“The school will continue to use the k12, inc curriculum, but will self-manage.
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/k12-inc-awarded-contract-to-be-curriculum-provider-for-agora-cyber-charter-school-2014-10-09”
Here is the transcript of the investor conference call. Grab your vomit bag.
http://seekingalpha.com/article/2559155-k12-inc-2015-guidance-update-call-oct-09-2014?part=single
K12, Inc., 2015 Guidance/Update Call, Oct 09, 2014
Oct. 9, 2014 3:30 PM ET | About: K12 Inc. (LRN)
K12 Inc. (NYSE:LRN)
October 09, 2014 8:30 am ET
Executives
Mike Kraft – Vice President of Investor Relations
Nathaniel Alonzo Davis – Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
James J. Rhyu – Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President
Timothy L. Murray – President and Chief Operating Officer
Analysts
Jeffrey P. Meuler – Robert W. Baird & Co. Incorporated, Research Division
Corey Greendale – First Analysis Securities Corporation, Research Division
Jason P. Anderson – Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated, Research Division
Trace A. Urdan – Wells Fargo Securities, LLC, Research Division
Sou Chien – BMO Capital Markets Canada
Operator
Greetings, and welcome to the K12 Inc. Guidance Conference Call for Fiscal Year 2015. [Operator Instructions] As a reminder, this conference is being recorded. I would now like to turn the conference over to your host, Mike Kraft, Vice President of Finance. Please go ahead, sir.
Mike Kraft – Vice President of Investor Relations
Thank you, and good morning. Welcome to K12’s Fiscal Year 2015 Guidance Conference Call. Before we begin, I would like to remind you that in addition to historical information, certain comments made during this conference call may be considered forward-looking statements made pursuant to the Safe Harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and should be considered in conjunction with cautionary statements contained in our guidance release in the company’s periodic filings with the SEC.
Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that may cause actual performance or results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements.
In addition, this conference call contains time-sensitive information that reflects management’s best analysis only as of the day of this live call. K12 does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements.
For further information concerning risks and uncertainties that could materially affect financial and operating performance and results, please refer to our reports filed with the SEC, including, without limitation, cautionary statements made in K12’s 2014 Annual Report on Form 10-K. These filings can be found on the Investor Relations section of our website at http://www.k12.com.
This call is open to the public and is being webcast. The call will be available for replay on our website for 60 days.
With me on today’s call is Nate Davis, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman; Tim Murray, President and Chief Operating Officer; and James Rhyu, Chief Financial Officer. Following our prepared remarks, we will answer any questions you may have.
I would now like to turn the call over to Nate. Nate?
Nathaniel Alonzo Davis – Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Thank you, Mike. Good morning, everyone. Thanks for joining us on the call today. We wanted to provide you with an update on our fiscal year 2015 count date enrollment as well as a guidance for the first quarter and for the full year.
Today’s guidance is a reflection of the trends in the markets that I outlined during our fourth quarter earnings call. Specifically, we saw a couple of our charter schools deciding to self manage their online learning programs. We’re also seeing more traditional school districts offering their own full-time online programs, along with supplemental learning options and online summer courses.
Education is evolving for the better, and families today have more choices in choosing full-time or part time virtual programs for their child. We believe that overall demand for virtual options in education is increasing, and this is translated into stronger demand for our institutional group, Fuel Education or FuelEd, which provides content and curriculum to school districts as well as private and charter school operators. At the same time, these market dynamics have also created a challenge to enrolling students in our traditional managed programs. And to help you understand this transition, we’re providing new guidance on student enrollment and revenue to clearly outline how K12 is participating in the growth of online learning use in public school classrooms.
Student enrollment and revenue data will now be provided for Managed and Non-managed Programs. Managed Programs are where K12 provides substantially all of the administration and education program management for an online program. Non-managed Programs include schools where K12 is the primary provider of content and technology and we may even provide instruction, management or other educational services, but K12 is not providing primary administrative oversight for the virtual school program.
And as you can see from the data we provided in this morning’s release, the 4.7% reduction in student enrollment from managed schools reflects this new market dynamic. It also reflects the events in Tennessee, where the state imposed an arbitrary enrollment cap midway through the enrollment season; and in Colorado, where our school partner took longer than expected to finalize their charter and subsequently, the curriculum contract with K12. We believe that enrollment in these 2 states were impacted by over 4,000 students this season. Also, this year, K12, in collaboration with the school boards we serve, made a concerted effort to keep students enrolled only if they were truly engaged and ready to learn, which also affected Managed Program enrollments.
Our partners are serious about running high-quality charter schools, with students who realize this is hard work. And they want to succeed by putting in the work. And while this is slow to growth in the near term, it better matches students to our core curriculum strengths and improves our reputation as a firm who is serious about providing high-quality education.
Even with the market evolution that’s beginning to unfold, we continue to see strong demand in Managed Public Schools. This year, we saw solid growth in select markets, including Texas, Michigan, Florida and Georgia. And at some point, we believe states like New Jersey, Illinois, Connecticut, Kentucky and New York will become states that allow online charter schools, although these states could take quite some time before opening up.
We will also attempt to be one of the educational management organizations chosen in North Carolina as that market commences an online charter trial next year.
[NOTE: I deleted the remainder of the conference call to abide by the guidelines of the company that supplied the transcript. It was hard to know which words count towards the 400 permissible, like instructions, the operator’s comments, the names of participants, etc. I cut copiously.]
Diane Ravitch's blog 
“Have they no sense of shame?” Diane, you are kidding aren’t you? Michael Milkin of the junk bond/S & L debacle that resulted in the end of the S & L industry and the loss of billions from investors that ultimately also cost innocent savers and home owners (with many senior citizens among them) their savings and retirement nest egg. Milkin is a convicted felon and not allowed to profit from public dollars as I understand it. Somehow he found a way around the prohibition possibly by partnering with his brother. He’s anything but principled. He seems to have an amazing ability to sniff out profitable ventures and that is all he cares about no matter the damage.
Milken is shrewd; after all, he went to Wharton like Trump. He is an opportunist, and he realizes that this public-private hybrid with little oversight is a great opportunity to profit. If people are dumb enough to give him their money, he is smart enough to take it. Instead of selling junk bonds, he is now selling junk education!
Milken was/(is?) under investigation in 2013 by the SEC for possible violation of the ban from securities industry by partnering with Guggenheim Partners. Don’t know if still ongoing.
Evidently, Arne is either dumb or corrupt because DoEd keeps funneling money in his direction:
http://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/us-department-education-awards-30-million-grants-support-teacher-and-principal-d
I’d say Duncan is both dumb and corrupt! (emphasis on dumb)
Michael, the felon & his take-one-for-the-team brother Lowell own NIET, a “non-profit” education foundation that in 2012 received $40 million in teacher incentive fund grants from DoEd. Our scarce education research dollars are being funneled to finance the Milken brothers fraudulent TEAM/TAP system. (Yes, the TEAM/TAP efficacy data are fraudulent but TN bought the whole package to evaluate & train teachers)
http://www.niet.org/niet-newsroom/niet-press-releases/niet-expands-scope-with-new-teacher-incentive-fund-grants/
Note that the Milkens are “fiscal agents” for 2 impoverished, rural school systems.
WILL SOMEONE PLEASE INVESTIGATE Arne’s DoED?
From the NIET website:
The National Institute for Excellence in Teaching (NIET) announced that it will work with districts and schools in Iowa, Minnesota and Tennessee through nearly $40 million in new federal Teacher Incentive Fund grants to develop effective educators in high-need schools. In this most recent round of TIF grants, NIET will build on more than ten years’ experience in developing and sustaining educator talent through TAP: The System for Teacher and Student Advancement, one of NIET’s signature initiatives.
Introduced in 1999, the TAP system revitalizes the teaching profession through leadership opportunities, professional development, evaluation and performance-based compensation.
NIET will serve as fiscal agent in partnership with the primarily rural Central Decatur and Saydel Community School Districts in Iowa; the Emily O. Goodridge-Grey Accelerated Charter School, Sojourner Truth Academy, Hmong College Prep Academy and the Partnership Academy in Minnesota; and Athens City Schools and Morgan County Schools in Tennessee, both rural districts.
Ohio Virtual Academy got RttT money. The online schools have huge drop-out rates.
The federal government funded a program thru RttT where they paid for “family engagement” so K-12 can go round up the escapees and put ’em back on the books.
Truly incredible.
Pennsylvania’s Agora Cyber Charter, managed by K12, Inc. never made adequate yearly progress under No Child Left Behind
· In 2006 its AYP status was Warning
· In 2007 its AYP status was School Improvement 1
· In 2008 its AYP status was School Improvement 2
· In 2008 its AYP status was Corrective Action 1
· In 2010 its AYP status was Corrective Action 2 (1st Year)
· In 2011 its AYP status was Corrective Action 2 (2nd Year)
· In 2012 its AYP status was Corrective Action 2 (3rd Year)
·
In 2013 (no more AYP) Agora’s Pennsylvania School Performance Profile score was 48.3 on a 100 point scale; Acting Sec’y of Education Carolyn Dumaresq has indicated that a score of 70 is considered passing.
In addition to never making AYP. Agora’s 2012 graduation rate was 45% while the Philly SD graduation rate was 57%.
http://thenotebook.org/april-2013/135820/cyber-charter-graduation-rates
School Choices: K12 Inc execs taking $2K per student in salary. 8 execs, 75K students, $21M in salaries. 20% of revenue in 8 pockets.
Morningstar Executive Compensation
http://insiders.morningstar.com/trading/executive-compensation.action?t=LRN
“…, you’re framing it up that mission #1 is always improving academic outcomes, which — it’s the good and noble thing to do, absolutely, no disagreement there. But I’m just wondering, is your view that — you guys are deploying a lot of capital. Is this a business that is capable, while investing in academics at the necessary level, that you can return — generate returns on capital in excess of your cost of capital?”
In other words, if the returns are not high enough, it is not worth pursuing “academic outcomes” – what we outside the boardroom call kids, learning, and the future generation.
Absolutely, at least not as a profit-making venture.
I’m surprised you didn’t include this pullquote from the response to that question. It’s spicy:
“We have a curriculum that is very broad, from kindergarten to eighth grade. We’re very proud of that. We think we’re actually the only one that has done it as broad as we have. However, clearly, there are some portions which are more critical than others. And I’d like to spend our capital in the critical areas.”
Economists and CEOs should study Joni Mitchell for a better grasp of utility and money as a full measure of worth. “Don’t it always seem to go, you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone”. Something is very wrong with the system. Businesses get so wrapped up in the stock price, they cannot see past an EBIT or options valuation. Their myopic bubble becomes reactionary and destructive. The schools focus on long term and are stabilizers beyond a capital asset pricing. When all schools are run like a business, that will be lost.
MathVale,
For the most part economists don’t think about money. The true cost of anything is the opportunity cost of it, the things that have been given up in order to get something. I will not mention money in any class this semester.
Very true, and probably increasingly true, about publicly traded companies. (I wouldn’t lump economists together with CEOs, though. Extremely different kinds of jobs, and very different personality types.)
I seem to remember indifference curves and measures of utility, and I tend to think money should not be mentioned as measures of learning. The opportunity costs of denying education are high and money is a poor proxy for knowledge. But Reformers believe everything has a monetary valuation, every student is a revenue center, every teacher is a cost.
MathVale,
You remember corectly about indifference curves, based on an original view of ultility. Budget constraints are based on endowments of goodies and barter terms of trade. No mention of money at all. There Are, of corse, opportunity costs. A person who devotes thier life to teaching can not also devote thier life to finding a cure to ebola.
FLERP! Now that gave me a chuckle – economists and CEOs together. It is when economists sell out to ideology and CEOs become idealists that stuff happens. Both can stop with the junk science and mythical free market intrusions into my classroom and let me teach.
In my experience, CEOs aren’t big on theory. They’re Big Men on Campus, real men who solve real problems. The economists are just eggheads. In the big banks on Wall Street, the eggheads have some measure of statues among the financial, but the Big Swinging D!cks don’t respect them because they make no money for the firm. It’s the football captain versus the chess club.
FLERP!,
I prefer the term “Worldly Philosopher” to egghead. Folks might remember the often quoted statements by Lord Keynes:
“
The ideas of economists and political philosophers, both when they are right and when they are wrong are more powerful than is commonly understood. Indeed, the world is ruled by little else. Practical men, who believe themselves to be quite exempt from any intellectual influences, are usually slaves of some defunct economist.”
“In fiscal year 2013, we derived approximately 11% and 14% of our revenues, respectively, from the Ohio Virtual Academy and the Agora Cyber Charter School in Pennsylvania. In aggregate, these schools accounted for approximately 25% of our total revenues. If our contracts with either of these virtual public schools are terminated, the charters to operate either of these schools are not renewed or are revoked, enrollments decline substantially, funding is reduced, or more restrictive legislation is enacted, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected.”
What a great business model! They’re totally dependent on corrupt and captured lawmakers in Ohio and Pennsylvania brutally ripping off their citizens, then?
Gosh, I sure hope we don’t elect anyone with any integrity. There goes this ed reform model.
For the sake of argument, let’s stipulate that K12 doesn’t provide a worthwhile education. The fact remains that online courses are a rapidly increasing percentage of the curricula offered at non-profit schools as well, especially for post high school education. My son is earning dual high school/college credits at a community college; all those credits will transfer to the highly regarded flagship public university in my state. Next semester, four of five courses he’ll take will be completely online – no classroom time at all. The professors are available to take questions and do what is, in effect, individual tutoring as needed. But most of the course materials are online, the homework is online, and the tests and quizzes are online.
The bottom line: online learning is not just a for-profit phenomenon. It’s a growing part of the education experience everywhere, and when done properly, it’s widely regarded as being as effective as classroom-based courses. Not for every course – science labs and some others being exceptions.
No disagreement but a caveat. Your son, like those who succeed in online education, appears to be highly motivated. Most do not fit that criterion in education.
Community college instructors I know have noted the following things about online classes: dropout rates are significantly higher in college online courses than traditional courses, the quality of work tends to be weaker, students rarely take advantage of instructor access and there is little to no guarantee that the work submitted is by the actual person taking the course.
So, yes, it should be an option, but quality is highly dependent on the student.
Steve, You are definitely correct that motivation is a critical factor in online education. The problems that the CC teachers cited are endemic to community colleges: a distressingly high percentage of students aren’t all that motivated, whether their courses are classroom or online based. That’s true at most four year colleges as well. A majority of so-called college students are just there for the credential, with actual education a very secondary concern, except for those majors/future occupations that require demonstrable knowledge and skills (accounting, nursing, engineering, etc.).
I wish that my son were highly motivated. He gets his work done, and so far he’s doing very well in his dual credit program. But a fair amount of that success is due to the fact that his father has a flexible work schedule and can oversee how he spends his time; he’s technically a college student, but his “dorm” room is 20 feet down the hall from his parents’ bedroom, i.e. he’s under our thumbs. We’re hoping that he’ll soon not need our hectoring to get his schoolwork done. In the meantime, if you know of any cattle prods that are legal to use on teenagers, buy one for me and I’ll pay you double whatever your cost is, plus shipping charges.
My son started college in NJ, and has finished in FL at a state school. He’s bright and motivated. Florida has incorporated many online offerings among the course selections. My son’s opinion is that the NJ courses were more interesting and engaging. He has a 4.0 here at the Florida school, but the tests are very rote. He has never seen a “blue book,” a staple of my college years. I guess that is how Scott plans to offer his $10,000 degree: hire mostly adjuncts and offer as many online courses as possible.
Retired Teacher,
Florida requires online courses for graduation because Jeb Bush’s foundation is a darling of the tech industry. There is zero evidence for the value of online courses in K-12. None. Wherever they are required, it is because of campaign contributions to politicians.
As you know, kids in Florida can take gym classes online.
The vast majority of community college students are woefully unprepared, which differs from unmotivated.
And thus we get back on the carousel of college readiness.
NJ Teacher,
I suspect you’re right that the vast majority of community college students are woefully unprepared. I also suspect that, in most cases, they’re unprepared because they were unmotivated students in K-12.
There are problems with teachers who shouldn’t be in classrooms. But a much bigger problem is students who can’t be bothered to make the effort to accomplish anything worthwhile, no matter how good the teacher is. We shove way too many young people into higher education who have minimal desire to learn anything that requires meaningful work. It would be better to let them learn the hard way that poor education gets you nowhere. Educate them seriously when and if they’re willing to study and learn.
College is not for everybody. Back in the day when I was in college, they experimented with open enrollment. Nearly all of those students dropped out.
Since I am employed on both sides of the equation, I could easily point out the elementary students likely to be doing remedial work in college. A big part of the equation is weaknesses in vocabulary.
NJ Teacher,
If only you had thought to contribute to this thread: https://dianeravitch.net/2014/10/14/jcgrim-is-your-child-pre-school-ready/
The transistion from high school to college is tough for many. In high school, if a student fails, it is the teacher’s fault. In college, it is the student’s fault. That sink or swim shift is quite a shock and many lose hope and confidence, dropping out. Especially those students without family support or saddled with challenges, regardless of ability. I am finding the support for my own kid at community college very sparse if at all. IEP-like accommodations are simply ignored. Adjuncts are overworked and underpaid with little time and may work many classrooms and even different colleges. The state here gives lip service to funding community colleges and increasing college success, but no real action. My kid has some great adjuncts, but the system is set up to fail him, not support him.
Another caveat is that your son is in high school. K12 is marketed, as per its name, to parents of kids as young as kindergarten. Who in their right mind thinks kindergarteners should be taking online classes?
I have a neighbor child who couldn’t read well until he was past nine years old. He had been in an online “school” for about three years at that point. His reading ability suddenly shot up. Guess what? It was at the same time that he went back to a traditional brick and mortar school. Coincidence?
One of the issues with online instruction is the inability to determine who is actually doing the work.
My state has put the two basic math classes that all university graduates must pass totally online. The failure rate is astounding. Students are taking the classes three or four times. A huge cash cow, but not good for students.
And that’s college. High schools are even worse. When I get a kid that comes back from an online “school,” which happens a few times a year, that kid is ALWAYS behind. Always.
Threatened,
Do you mean that some of the state schools teach some math classes on line or do you mean that all state schools teach all math classes on line. If memory serves, some of the community colleges in Utah teach “college arithmetic” and have classes in fractions.
Possibly the community colleges have live classes, but the public universities have all online classes for the two basic math classes that all students must take the graduate from the university. I don’t know if the community colleges have those two classes available with actual live teachers. The other option is to take the two classes as Concurrent Enrollment while still in high school. That way, the student gets an actual teacher. We’re looking into that for my son.
Threatened,
Here is the University of Utah’s course schedule for mathmatics this semester: http://www.math.utah.edu/schedule/fall14/
They seem to be offering traditional classes in all the remedial topics. Which classes are you referring to as the ones all must pass?
I follow Arne Duncan’s sales pitches when he’s selling “blended learning” product and I regret to inform you that the Obama Administration considers the EAA in Detroit “blended learning” program, where they crammed 100 kindergartners into a class and stuck them in front of screens to cut staffing costs, to be a “model” for US public schools.
You cannot make this stuff up. The EAA, which has been extensively covered in Michigan media as a disaster, is Arne Duncan’s dream for your public school.
I don’t know if it’s cluelessness or actual malice.
http://www.classroomtechnologynews.com/education-advocacy/teaching-our-teachers-arne-duncan-on-bridging-the-digital-divide
“Individual tutoring”…? That’s a joke, right? I’ve worked as a teacher for K12. I made a little over $35K a year and had to keep other jobs to afford that K12 position — a position subsidized by other schools, if you think of it that way.
I am glad to hear, even as a former employee, that your child is getting a good education, Rodgers12. However, if you look at the student outcomes, you will have to realize that your child is an outlier, not indicative of the majority of K12.com student outcomes.
Teachers at K12.com are required as part of their employment, regardless of subject or certification area, to man the company tech support lines. Did you know that? There’s a minimum number of hours you’re required to put in each week. We were instructed never to reveal that we were not tech support people. When an understandably frustrated parent or mentor would initiate a chat with us over technical issues, teachers not answering e-mail, problems students were having with content, we would do what we were instructed to do, which was to submit “trouble tickets” so that the actual tech support could address them. Sometimes those tickets came back unanswered, prompting yet another call to “tech support.” I can’t tell you what percentage of students left K12.com’s “school” because of that frustration, but in my anecdotal experience, it was not a few.
When students can finish a year of studies in a matter of months, if not weeks, that is not quality education. It is a HS diploma mill and taxpayer defrauding dodge. I knew teachers who taught for OHVA. They were routinely instructed to exempt huge amounts of assignments. When they complained that students were using inappropriate language in submitted assignments and the laughably few, woefully underattended live classroom sessions, they were told that the OHVA was a “paying customer,” and therefore must be indulged. What any other school would call “hate speech” was even tolerated. When a student would submit almost an entire semester’s worth of work within the last few days of the course before their completion dates, teachers were told they still had to get that work turned around in the requisite 72 hours, never mind the almost complete lack of learning that happens when you try and do a semester’s work in a few days. Ohio Virtual Academy was a “paying customers,” after all.
So, again, while I am glad, as a former teacher, to hear that your student is having a positive educational experience with their K12.com school, Rodgers12, that is the exception,not the rule. Never in my life have I felt more ashamed to be a teacher (more like a customer service representative) than when I “taught” at K12.
You misread my comment. My son isn’t enrolled in K12. He’s classified as a full-time student at both the neighborhood public high school and a nearby community college. He’s earning dual high school/college credits. These schools are, of course, non-profit.
My middle son enrolled in a K-12 class (subcontracted out by a neighboring public school district) while in high school. It was a required class for graduation and the virtual class gave him the freedom to schedule other classes that he wanted to take. His evaluation was that the course was a reasonable one.
My son took an online class (not through K12) in order to do that same thing. He took geography, and I’m a geography teacher. Even he admits he learned nothing, except to never take an online class again.
Threatened,
I suspect the same thing might be said about some traditional public school classes, especially the ones that are required for graduation.
NOT MINE, TE! Geography is required for graduation, and my students learn a great deal. I get comments from students years later about the fact that they have used a lot of what I taught them. Please do NOT impugn the incredibly hard work of myself and my other colleagues by implying that the students in classes required for graduation do not learn anything. The online class my son took was totally busy work. I don’t do that in my classes.
Threatened,
Interesting that geography is required for graduation. I have no doubt that many of your students learn a great deal in your class.
Love how you totally skip the part where you implied that students don’t learn in their required classes. It’s insulting and demeaning. I shouldn’t be so upset, because I know you love to twist words and imply that K-12 teachers are slackers.
Threatened,
When you said your child learned nothing in the K-12 class, was that insulting and demeaning to all teachers or just K-12 teachers?
That’s funny (not ha, ha), because the ads for online schools around my area tout the “personalized” part, and say, “When was the last time a teacher answered your email in less than 24 hours? When was the last time a teacher REALLY cared about your education?” Those are actually lines directly from these ads. I yell at the radio, “ALL THE TIME!!!!” I hate the implication of these stupid ads: that only online “teacher” cares about students. Oh, and now the ads have stopped, because it’s after the October 1 student count.
“There’s more of an effort on our part and the schools’ part to push those (students) out. So yes, there is a little bit higher retention — I mean, withdrawals in that period. So the mix has changed a little bit on it and some of that’s been on purpose, obviously.
Thanks to you and seking alpha for this disclosure.
I cN come get you. Bsil come up. 16
Sent from my iPhone
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We’ve beaten back K12 Inc so far in Illinois, and I stand ready to do battle whenever these vandals appear at the schoolyard gates again. Is there anyone else from Illinois that would join me in this fight for our children’s future?
The last thing NJ needs is online charter schools. At my community college, I am one of 350 adjuncts. Word is they are no longer offering tenure to full timers in my department. They used to allow adjuncts nine credits. Now we are restricted to six.
NJ Teacher,
If I had to guess it is the Affordable Care Act at work. The community colleges may be trying to avoid the requirement that they provide health insurance. Those extra hours become very expensive to the institution.
Yes, TE! That is the reason.
The stock market and education- forward earnings asks the human heart….to dance.
K12 sounds like a joke, but the day may come when online magic does perform much better and human teachers will be jettisoned for all but the rich. The gales of “creative destruction” have had their way with almost every other industry; will education be the place where society takes a stand and says, “Enough, you reckless capitalists. This institution is off-limits.”? Can anyone think of another part of society that has repelled a hostile takeover by excited capitalists?
Now you can evaluate the Heath and Human servives committe Ie EDU & Child protection. Let me know how many disabled children where sent to cps(foster care) from schools. Per failure to use federal funds appropriately to assess and educate disabled children. And tell me how much they spent on foster care ect because of the failed system. Discriminating against children legally is not a better system. K12 continued development and progression of the education system will in fact change the educations of millions left behind. Therefore it may take millions to make it happen..Progress! Right here in Silicon Valley where it all started! The computer industry globalized and modernization for Children! Thank God!