The southeast region of Saskatchewan is quickly becoming a model for cyber learning experiences thanks to a pilot project being undertaken by the South East Cornerstone Public School Division.
Cyberstone, Cornerstone's answer for cyber learning experiences, is moving forward in rapid fashion according to the online school's principal, Peggy Lawson.
The veteran educator was in Weyburn on Oct. 11 to attend the regular business meeting of the Cornerstone's board of trustees and to explain how the project is moving forward and what challenges it is encountering along the way as well as the successes.
Lawson said that Cyberstone is now considered to be Cornerstone's 39th school and that it started as a modest project to provide support for students attending small schools, who could benefit from a wider and more flexible curriculum that couldn't be offered in a facility with just a few teachers.
"But it has grown well beyond that," said Lawson, noting that enrollment is currently swinging between 439 to 450 students.
At present there are eight teachers offering classes, with 6.2 full time equivalent teaching positions being funded.
"There are all kinds of reasons for students to enroll," said Lawson. "It could be a problem between teacher and student, it could be family or work commitments where a young person just needs to get a course credit or a credit recovery opportunity that lets them pick up where they had left off before, rather than making them take a whole semester and repeating what they had already done."
The virtual school is getting to be an important cog in the education delivery machine and the regulations are unfolding along with the experiences.
Students over the age of 22 can pick up classes but are required to pay a tuition fee, usually $500 per semester, to help cover costs.
There are also students from outside the Cornerstone division who are enrolling and Marc Casavant, director of education for Cornerstone, said that is done through agreements with the sending divisions.
Estevan trustee Janet Foord pointed out some regulatory hoops that have to be sorted out regarding children who are being home schooled but are now enrolling in the cyberschool and what their designation will be going forward?
Lawson explained that eventually the home-schooled student will have to register as a Cyberstone student if they continue to take the cyber school courses online.
Lawson later noted that student intake is continual, which is another advantage for the learners. She said one particular faction of the school population takes advantage of Cyberstone and that is junior hockey players who can't always attend regular classes, but still want to complete a full Grade 12 credit program.
"Students can now take a complete high school course online," said Lawson.
"We started with just six online courses a couple of years ago. There are now 32."
It was noted that 35 students from the Estevan Comprehensive School are enrolled in Cyberstone while Rocanville has 57 and Weyburn has 15. There were 20 students in total when Cyberstone was launched with one instructor.
"There needs to be quality programming for them, programs as good as what they would get in a traditional school," said Lawson, who further observed that in early September there is generally a big rush of students registering for the cyber programs, but within a couple of weeks, the pretenders have dropped out and those who are really serious about continuing their schooling, are assigned courses and teachers according to need. She added that on occasion when a teacher and student find it necessary, there will be a face-to-face tutoring session arranged to help a student reach the next level.
"We must remember that a lot of these students were dropouts earlier on in their schooling, but knowing that, the success rate so far is pretty comparable to the traditional school setup," said Lawson.
A lot of progress is being made in English language instruction courses and students are tracked for one year as to what classes they take and what options they pursue. Lawson noted that agriculture and psychology courses are also quite popular and because students can work at their own pace, they are achieving strong success rates. She said that on occasion, outside experts are brought in by a Cyberstone teacher to enhance the learning experience, just as they are in a regular school, which helps maintain interest and add value to the educational experience.
