{"id":13150,"date":"2012-09-16T00:12:02","date_gmt":"2012-09-16T04:12:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/?p=13150"},"modified":"2012-09-17T13:41:40","modified_gmt":"2012-09-17T17:41:40","slug":"some-florida-school-districts-not-checking-for-k12-problems","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/2012\/09\/16\/some-florida-school-districts-not-checking-for-k12-problems\/","title":{"rendered":"Some Florida School Districts Not Checking For K12 Problems"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_13155\"  class=\"wp-caption module image right\" style=\"max-width: 208px;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/2012\/09\/16\/some-florida-school-districts-not-checking-for-k12-problems\/9-16-seminoleschools\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-13155\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13155\" title=\"9-16 SeminoleSchools\" src=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/files\/2012\/09\/9-16-SeminoleSchools-208x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"208\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/files\/2012\/09\/9-16-SeminoleSchools-208x300.jpg 208w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/files\/2012\/09\/9-16-SeminoleSchools-620x893.jpg 620w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/files\/2012\/09\/9-16-SeminoleSchools.jpg 640w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 208px) 100vw, 208px\" \/><\/a><p class=\"wp-media-credit\">Seminole County Public Schools<\/p><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Seminole County schools surveyed parents to see if they recognized the teacher reported by K12.<\/p><\/div>\n<p><em>Editor&#8217;s note: This story has been updated from the version originally published.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Seminole County teacher Amy Capelle had to make a decision.<\/p>\n<p>Her supervisor at the nation\u2019s largest online school, K12, asked her to sign a roster saying she\u2019d taught 112 kids.<\/p>\n<p>She\u2019d only taught seven.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf you see your name next to a student that might not be yours, it\u2019s because you are qualified to teach that subject, and we needed to put your name there,\u201d wrote K12 supervisor Samantha Gilormini in an e-mail.<\/p>\n<p>Capelle refused, and now state officials are investigating whether K12 used improperly certified teachers and asked employees to cover it up.<\/p>\n<p>Seminole County officials say this problem may reach far beyond their borders.<\/p>\n<p>But many Florida school districts have no way to know whether K12 students are actually being taught by properly certified teachers, according to a review by StateImpact Florida and Florida Center for Investigative Reporting.<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p>Seminole County school officials took a series of unusual steps to check if K12 was being honest about who was teaching its students.<\/p>\n<div class=\"related-content alignleft\"><h4 class=\"related-header\">Related<\/h4><div class=\"links\"><h5>Posts<\/h5><ul><li class=\"link\"><a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/2012\/09\/16\/in-k12-courses-275-students-to-a-single-teacher\/\">In K12 Courses, 275 Students to a Single Teacher<\/a><\/li><li class=\"link\"><a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/2012\/09\/13\/volusia-county-schools-reviewing-k12-teachers\/\">Volusia County Schools Reviewing K12 Teachers<\/a><\/li><li class=\"link\"><a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/2012\/09\/11\/read-the-documents-that-led-florida-to-investigate-k12-the-nations-largest-online-educator\/\">Read The Documents That Led Florida To Investigate K12, The Nation\u2019s Largest Online Educator<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/div><div class=\"topics\"><h5>Topics<\/h5><p class=\"topic\"><img class=\"alignleft\" src=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/files\/2012\/09\/9-10-K12logo.jpg\" height=\"60\" width=\"60\" \/><a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/topic\/k12\/\">Investigating the Largest Online Educator \u2014\u00a0K12<\/a><\/p><\/div><\/div>\n<p>They asked K12 teachers to sign rosters of their students. And they followed up with a survey of K12 parents. Just one in three parents said the teacher listed actually taught their child.<\/p>\n<p>Most Florida districts don\u2019t take those precautions &#8212; and several contacted by StateImpact Florida\/FCIR said they had no plans to do so.<\/p>\n<p>Both Hillsborough and Pinellas county school districts said all online teachers undergo standard human resources checks. Those steps include fingerprinting, a background investigation and providing proof of all teaching certifications.<\/p>\n<p>Neither district has ever done a follow-up survey, such as the one Seminole County schools conducted to identify problems with K12.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, school officials in Brevard and Volusia counties say they are asking parents to verify their child\u2019s K12 teacher.<\/p>\n<p>K12 officials say they always use state-certified teachers, but an internal review found \u201cminor mistakes\u201d in matching a teacher\u2019s grade and course certifications to students.<\/p>\n<p>K12 founder and CEO Ron Packard called the conclusions of the Seminole County schools investigation an \u201cunbelievable amount of rumor-mongering and absurd extrapolations\u201d in a conference call Thursday.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAll teachers teaching Seminole County students were Florida-certified,\u201d he said \u201cIn our internal review we have only identified minor mistakes in matching the appropriate grade and course certifications with specific students in courses.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Why would we have ever hired teachers that weren&#8217;t certified? We have tens of applicants for every job.&#8221;<\/p>\n<h4><strong>New Demand<\/strong><\/h4>\n<div id=\"attachment_13030\"  class=\"wp-caption module image right\" style=\"max-width: 108px;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/2012\/09\/13\/what-k12-told-investors-about-floridas-investigation\/9-13-ronpackardk12\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-13030\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13030\" title=\"9-13 RonPackardK12\" src=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/files\/2012\/09\/9-13-RonPackardK12.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"108\" height=\"161\" \/><\/a><p class=\"wp-media-credit\">K12, Inc<\/p><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">K12 founder and CEO Ron Packard. He says his company only uses properly certified teachers.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>The use of online education is developing faster than the policy regulating it, said education experts.<\/p>\n<p>Most states require online teachers are certified, said Michael K. Barbour, an assistant professor at Wayne State University and Susan Patrick, president of the International Association for K-12 Online Learning. But both Barbour and Patrick said few states require the teacher to be certified in the state where the student is located.<\/p>\n<p>So an instructor in one state could teach a student in another.<\/p>\n<p>Pennsylvania and Ohio allow some online teachers without certification, but researchers said it\u2019s unclear how many other states do.<\/p>\n<p>Luis Huerta, a researcher at Teacher\u2019s College at Columbia University, said the federal No Child Left Behind law increased certification requirements for all educators a decade ago. But since then the move has been away from certifications as for-profit companies, such as K12, seek fewer regulations.<\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s a new demand for online education, thanks to state legislatures in Florida and other states. Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush is pushing states to require online courses in order to graduate high school.<\/p>\n<p>Florida, Alabama, Idaho, Michigan and Virginia all require students take at least one online course.<\/p>\n<p>The Seminole County schools investigation worried the problems they found with K12 would be statewide since the company provided services to 43 Florida school districts.<\/p>\n<p>Huerta believed they are likely happening across the country as for-profit businesses seek to provide services as cheaply as possible.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t think there\u2019s just a few bad apples of K12 management doing this,\u201d Huerta said.<\/p>\n<p>The Florida Department of Education said their investigation is limited to Seminole County.<\/p>\n<p>But a federal lawsuit in Virginia could lead to a national investigation. It charges the company with misleading investors, and if it\u2019s allowed to proceed, lawyers would have access to K12 internal company records.<\/p>\n<h4><strong>Spotty Supervision<\/strong><\/h4>\n<div id=\"attachment_12876\"  class=\"wp-caption module image left\" style=\"max-width: 300px;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/2012\/09\/11\/florida-investigates-k12-nations-largest-online-educator\/9-10-fldoe\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-12876\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-12876\" title=\"9-10 FLDoE\" src=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/files\/2012\/09\/9-10-FLDoE-300x199.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"199\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/files\/2012\/09\/9-10-FLDoE-300x199.jpg 300w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/files\/2012\/09\/9-10-FLDoE.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><p class=\"wp-media-credit\">shawn.bayern \/ Flickr<\/p><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Florida Office of Inspector General is investigating whether K12 used uncertified teachers for online courses. The company says it followed all state laws.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Oversight of K12 is mixed among Florida districts.<\/p>\n<p>Leon County has a typical contract with K12. It requires Florida-certified teachers who are certified in the subject they are teaching.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf the teacher is not both we move (the students) out of there,\u201d said Chris Petley, Leon County schools spokesman.<\/p>\n<p>Petley said the district\u2019s virtual school principal checks to make sure teachers are properly certified. The district has removed one student from a K12 class because the teacher wasn\u2019t properly certified, he said.<\/p>\n<p>But not every school district is checking K12\u2019s work.<\/p>\n<p>Hillsborough County schools spokeswoman Linda Cobbe said more than 2,300 students took courses through the K12-run Florida Virtual Academy. The district has not audited those students to determine who actually taught the classes.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey promise us they meet all of the certifications,\u201d Cobbe said. The district does not require online teachers to sign off that they taught a course.<\/p>\n<p>Pinellas County schools spokesman Melanie Marquez said the district is aware of the state investigation, but has not audited K12-taught courses.<\/p>\n<p>The school district \u201cwill certainly be interested in what the state determines,\u201d Marquez said, but the district does not ask K12 to verify which teachers taught which students.<\/p>\n<p>About 70 Pinellas County students in Kindergarten through 5<sup>th<\/sup> grade take courses through K12.<\/p>\n<h4><strong>Face to Face<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>But some Florida districts are concerned about improperly certified teachers.<\/p>\n<p>Two districts, Volusia and Brevard, are surveying parents of K12 students to check who taught their children.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe know what the issue is and what we\u2019re going to do it see if there\u2019s any discrepancy,\u201d said Gary Marks, Volusia County schools\u2019 director of alternative programs, athletics and security. \u201cWe have no reason to think there\u2019s a problem.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Marks said the district could finish the survey this week.<\/p>\n<p>Other districts have smaller programs which require face-to-face meetings.<\/p>\n<p>Orange and Broward county schools believe they would know if a teacher was not instructing a student.<\/p>\n<p>K12 handles fewer than 80 elementary students in each county. The company uses one teacher for Broward County and two teachers in Orange County.<\/p>\n<p>Virtual program principals in both counties said they frequently meet with teachers and parents and ask for both scheduled and unscheduled updates on student progress.<\/p>\n<p>Orange County schools holds a face-to-face orientation with parents and K12 teachers, said Brandi Gurley, principal of the district\u2019s virtual school. Gurley said she spoke with Seminole County school officials and doesn\u2019t believe the same problems are happening in Orange County.<\/p>\n<p>Gurley said it would be difficult for a teacher to answer her questions about progress if they were not teaching the student themselves.<\/p>\n<p>Broward County virtual school principal Christopher McGuire said the solution is real-life meetings between parents and virtual school teachers.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018\u201dIt\u2019s difficult for me to encounter a parent who says \u2018I don\u2019t know who the teacher is,\u2019\u201d McGuire said. \u201cYou can\u2019t start our program without a face-to-face orientation with the parent and the teacher.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em>The Florida Center for Investigative Reporting is a nonprofit news organization supported by foundations and individual contributions. For more information, visit fcir.org. StateImpact Florida is a project of NPR, WUSF Public Media and WLRN Public Media. For more information, visit stateimpact.npr.org\/florida.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Editor&#8217;s note: This story has been updated to delete a portion of the following quote: \u201cI don\u2019t think there\u2019s just a few bad apples of K12 management doing this,\u201d Huerta said. \u201cThis is a concerted effort.\u201d Huerta says there <strong>may be<\/strong> a concerted effort by for-profit education companies to skirt state laws or regulations.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Editor&#8217;s note: This story has been updated from the version originally published. Seminole County teacher Amy Capelle had to make a decision. Her supervisor at the nation\u2019s largest online school, K12, asked her to sign a roster saying she\u2019d taught 112 kids. She\u2019d only taught seven. \u201cIf you see your name next to a student [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":31,"featured_media":13155,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[16],"tags":[14,1039,1174,1181,103,1055],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13150"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/31"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13150"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13150\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13162,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13150\/revisions\/13162"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13155"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13150"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13150"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13150"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}