Intermediate Unit 1’s Cyber Solutions Initiative (CSI) is crossing boundaries and spreading its success to Hancock County, West Virginia. CSI, an online learning program established in , provides school districts in Fayette, Greene, and Washington Counties with the ability to build capacity and fully integrate online learning into their schools.
As evident by the growing number of students enrolled in cyber schools, there is an undeniable need for all schools to embrace online learning as a viable option for students. Unlike the typical third party online learning vendor, CSI enables schools to keep students enrolled in their home districts and take classes taught by district teachers.
“Intermediate Unit 1 is very excited to partner with the Hancock County Schools and the West Virginia Education Department to help them in offering quality online programs to their students and parents. It is a worthwhile educational option to meet the diverse needs of the twenty-first century student,” says Intermediate Unit 1 Executive Director Charles F. Mahoney. When IU1 and Hancock County Schools conclude the project, teachers and administrators will have a prototype that can be replicated throughout West Virginia.
“The Hancock County superintendent and her team had the vision that they could provide cyber education for students in their home schools. They are to be commended for this proactive approach,” says Mahoney.
The CSI Hancock County Virtual Academy—a collaboration between the Hancock County high schools and IU1—began in as a one-year grant funded by the Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation.
“The Hancock County Virtual Academy will provide teachers with an alternative delivery system, while giving students the opportunity to meet their credit requirements,” says Intermediate Unit 1 CSI Coordinator Jordan Lozosky. It is the first of its kind in West Virginia.
Twelve West Virginia history, math, science, and English teachers from Oak Glenn and Weir High Schools volunteered for the program. With the assistance of IU1 CSI multidistrict content instructors, they build courses in . “The support of IU1 in the development stage was invaluable,” says Hancock County District Superintendent Sue Smith. Students from Oak Glen and Weir High Schools logged on to begin classes in early .
“Intermediate Unit 1 and Hancock County Schools are doing great work together. The Virtual Academy provides opportunities for students that otherwise would not be available to them,” says West Virginia Department of Education (WVDE) Chief Technology Officer Sterling Beane.
“Hancock County is just the starting point for the West Virginia online learning program. We hope to reproduce the Academy throughout the other 55 West Virginia counties,” says WVDE Assistant Director of Instructional Technology Rebecca Butler.
IU1’s CSI is not only enriching education in Fayette, Greene, and Washington Counties, but across the border into the state of West Virginia as well.