REAL RESULTS: OREGON
Roseburg Public Schools Expand Online Curriculum Offerings to Meet the Needs of Their Families
The Challenge: Finding the Right Online Learning Partner to Ensure Students Receive a High-Quality Education
For years, administrators at Roseburg Public Schools (RPS), the largest school district in Douglas County, Oregon, considered adding a virtual learning option as many of their families left to attend local charter and private schools. However, when the pandemic hit, the district had to quickly pivot to ensure its students could continue their learning. After a year of emergency distance learning, students and parents still wanted a virtual option, but administrators knew they needed help to develop a robust online learning experience.
The Solution: Implementing a Hybrid Learning Model
In the 2021-22 school year, RPS partnered with FlexPoint to develop a hybrid learning option, now known as Roseburg Virtual School (RVS), for their K-5 students that included comprehensive digital courses, teacher training, and technical support. With these combined elements, the district ensured their students received a high-quality education and their staff felt supported and comfortable teaching in an online setting.
Knowing that socialization was important for their elementary families, RVS developed an intentional hybrid schedule that combines synchronous and asynchronous learning through individual study time and daily live lessons with their teachers and classmates. With the school’s mascot of a bee, their hybrid learning model incorporates one in-person learning day, known as a “Hive Day,” for additional academic and technical support and socialization with friends from school.
One of the keys to success that RVS found was to ensure their teachers and staff had the training and support they needed to feel confident teaching online. FlexPoint offered self-paced professional development and training for RVS teachers so they could learn how to navigate the learning management system (LMS), digital courses, and more.
"FlexPoint’s customer service is amazing,” said Dani Jardine, Roseburg Virtual School Principal. “Even now, any time I reach out, there’s an immediate response."
The Bottom Line: Student Success
Roseburg Virtual School has made a significant impact on their students’ and families’ lives. Many of their students experienced challenges learning in a traditional school setting due to distractions, bullying, and a lack of one-to-one support. With the flexible learning environment, their students now work collaboratively in a setting where they feel comfortable and safe. Due to the positive feedback they received about their online elementary school, Roseburg Virtual School recently added online offerings for students in grades 6-8.
Another key to success that RVS found was asking for feedback from their families and teachers. Administrators sent a survey to their families to understand what was working well. One RVS parent said, "I like that [my child] gets in-person time with his classmates to socialize. I also really like the small class sizes, as I feel like the instruction is really catered to each student."
In addition to students feeling confident and comfortable, the environment has also allowed their students to thrive academically.
"Our virtual students are on-track or, in many cases, out-pacing our in-person students. There's no lack of learning within virtual," said Jardine. "We’re removing distractions so that students can focus on their learning."
With its students' academic and social success, Roseburg Virtual School hopes to continue to grow its program to meet the needs of all students in the district.