By B.C. Manion
Cascade DuSel sits near her computer, telephone in hand, talking to a student, while clicking away on her keyboard.
Welcome to Spanish class, eSchool-style.
The Pasco County educator teaches 120 students online, including Spanish classes for middle school, high school and Advanced Placement students.
DuSel uses a lot of technology to deliver her instruction. In addition to the curriculum delivered in online lessons, she uses instant messages, Skype, e-mails, texting, telephone calls, audio files and her cell phone to get the job done.
One of the beauties of eSchool is its flexibility, said JoAnne Glenn, an assistant principal who oversees Pasco eSchool.
It can cater to the pace of individual students. Some students need more time to learn, and they can take it. Others may be able to zoom ahead, and they’re not stymied.
“It’s not a passive learning experience,” Glenn said. There are lots of ways for students to be engaged, and teachers are able to see if students are logging on, what they are doing when they are logged on and whether they are on pace to succeed.
eSchool also offers a safety valve to the school district to enable students to take a class that has been capped at a traditional bricks and mortar school because of the state’s strict class size limits.
“Kids don’t necessarily have to settle for a second choice,” Glenn said.
This year’s eSchool enrollment is roughly 30 percent more than last year, which Glenn attributes primarily to the class size limits.
“I think we (eSchool enrollment) will continue to creep up in the next few weeks,” she added, to accommodate more students who must shift into a new class because of the state’s cap.
Enrollment for the program includes 53 full-time elementary pupils and about 160 full-time high school students. Overall, there are about 500 sixth- through 12th-grade students enrolled in at least one class. Ten district teachers are assigned to the eSchool program.
The enrollment figures also include children who are being home-schooled, or who are enrolled in private or charter schools.
eSchool gives students the option of taking a class that isn’t offered on their campus or doesn’t fit into their school day.
“Classes are available 24/7. The digital learner wants to be able to learn all of the time. They’re used to be able to access information all of the time,” Glenn said.
While students can work at all hours of the day and night, the eSchool school year complies with the school district’s calendar, Glenn said.
Students who are interested in eSchool can try it without penalty, Glenn said. There’s a 28-day grace period, so students can try eSchool without penalty. If eSchool is not for them, Pasco eSchool will work with the county’s traditional schools to work something out for the student.
eSchool gives students an avenue to complete their course work while pursuing special interests.
For instance, one of DuSel’s students wants to be a professional golfer.
“He is up 4 or 5 in the morning, he does an hour or two on the computer and then he’s out playing golf for 6 or 7 hours, then he’s back and does another 6 or 7 hours on the computer,” DuSel said.
“He’s taking Spanish 2 and he’s an eighth-grader.”
His mom told DuSel that she likes eSchool because it allows her to be involved in her son’s education.
DuSel said the mom told her: “I know everything that he’s doing. I know all of his assignments. I know when they are going to be due.”
eSchool not only encourages parental involvement; it demands it, Glenn said.
eSchool teachers must talk with their students’ parents at least once a month, said DuSel, who lives in Wesley Chapel. That’s not required of teachers at bricks and mortar schools.
eSchool also requires lots of reading, so it is not a good option for students who are lagging behind in those skills, Glenn said.
DuSel loves teaching students online.
“It really is everything that I love about teaching and none of the stuff that I don’t really love so much.
“I loved being in the classroom. I loved my kids. I loved my schools. But this is just pure subject matter. They’re not coming up to me and talking to me about other stuff.
There’s no, ‘Sit down. Put your gum away. Get that dress code appropriate. Go to the office.’ There’s none of that stuff.
“When I’m talking to a kid on the phone, I can talk to him purely about subject matter,” DuSel said.
Glenn said people frequently wonder whether the district offers physical education and driver’s education courses through eSchool.
Both classes are offered, Glenn said. Driver’s education is available, but does not include behind-the-wheel instruction. Physical education is available, too, but the students get to choose their own physical activities, which can vary widely.
Another benefit of eSchool is that lessons within a course can offer a wide variety of options, enabling students to have more choices in the work that is done to satisfy course requirements, Glenn said.
eSchool is not for everyone, DuSel said.
“This is not for kids who do not want to learn. If the parents don’t have the time, or the parents are not involved, and the kid is not motivated – that is not a good combination.”
