Conroe Independent School District trustees approved a transition to an independent learning model for its virtual school, citing attendance challenges and expected enrollment growth.
The Conroe Independent School District's virtual school will switch from structured, synchronous classes to an independent learning model. Trustees passed the change by a vote of 6-1 on Tuesday, with the goal of getting more students to attend and meeting rising demand.
The district's virtual campus opened in August 2022 for kids in grades 5 through 10. It now has about 250 students. It is expected that 1,000 people will have signed up by 2027. Each student pays about $300 for the training.
Leaders in the district said that the current plan for real-time classes doesn't give families who depend on virtual instruction enough freedom. Mark Murrell, who is the assistant director for high schools, said that the format has made attendance problems worse because students have to log in at set times to be counted present.
"They are counted absent if they are not logged in," Murrell said, adding that students who are in class can also be marked absent virtually if they miss online lessons.
With the new plan, students will be able to do their homework whenever they want while still meeting daily academic requirements. To track success, Murrell said, the district will look at completed tasks instead of login times.
It doesn't matter to Murrell whether it happens at 2 a.m. or 10 p.m. They need to do those jobs.
The change is also meant to help kids who have medical needs, special education needs, or different ways of learning that don't work well in regular classrooms. Officials from the district said that some scheduled instructional support will still be available, especially for younger kids who need more help.
Murrell stressed how important it will be for parents to be involved in the new system. The school district is going to make agreements to make sure that families stay involved in their children's growth.
Lindsay Dawson, a trustee, backed the move and said it was an important step toward updating the way schools teach.
Dawson said, "This is the future, and we need to be able to change with it." "I like that we are trying to plan ahead and come up with solutions."
The only trustee who didn't agree was Marianne Horton. The officials did not go into more detail about her worries at the meeting.
The district is getting ready for the independent plan to go live as its virtual program continues to grow.
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