Just recently, with the support of the Utah Legislature and groups like the Utah Private Schools Association, he has actually made some great strides. The most recent– and most noteworthy– comes from what some might consider an unlikely source: a series of partnerships in between Utah schools and ASU Prep Digital, a recognized online K-12 school based in surrounding Arizona.

Utah Education Landscape

” We motivate kids to dream huge, and to grab the stars,” Stephenson said. “But then on the other hand, in so lots of parts of the country, we fall woefully short on providing them the right tools, and more specifically, the best curriculum, they need to complete and prosper. This is where a program of ASU Prep Digitals caliber makes all the distinction. It works exactly as the Statewide Online Education Program was planned, offering students the possibility to take world-class courses in such a way that finest fits their requirements.”

In 2011, Stephenson promoted the Statewide Online Education Program, which was initially passed to increase access to quality, customized online learning options for students attending public schools. 2 years later, the program was modified to include funding for homeschool and private school trainees.

Stephenson, who finished with a class of 22 trainees from a little rural high school situated 3 miles south of the Utah/Arizona border, recalls taking TEMAC Programmed Learning Material courses by correspondence– an experience he describes as “painful”– to complete coursework to make himself stick out to college admissions committees. That was years earlier, a far cry from the level of competitors that todays trainees encounter.

Partnering for Opportunity

Stephenson is the very first to acknowledge that his role in bringing higher chances to Utah students is not a solo act. Dr. Galey Colosimo, Principal of Juan Diego Catholic High School in Draper, and Executive Director of the Utah Private Schools Association, also plays a pivotal role in Utahs education neighborhood.

ASU Prep Digital has developed collaborations with 21 schools in Utah and 138 in other U.S. states. For more background about its tailored partnerships with schools in Utah and throughout the country, click on this link: asuprepdigital.org/partnerships.

To complement the combined course design, Juan Diego also uses concurrent courses through ASU Prep Digital, offering trainees the opportunity to make college credits that will move to most accredited universities. These courses are taught collaboratively by an ASU college professor and Juan Diego teacher, trainees from the most recent term averaged a 96% pass rate on the courses they took with ASU Prep Digital.

Meanwhile ASU Prep Digitals Private School Partnership in Utah continues to grow, also, expanding curriculum throughout the Diocese of Salt Lakes 19-school system..

Upon finding out that independent schools, like Juan Diego, and smaller rural schools might take part in the Statewide Online Education Program, Colosimo began forging relationships– first with the close-by Canyons School District and more just recently with the Juab School District– to formulate more collaborations with ASU Prep Digital.

About ASU Prep Digital.

With Juan Diegos success as inspiration, Canyons School Districts board, through the leadership of Superintendent Rick Robins, recently voted in favor of establishing its own collaboration with ASU Prep Digital. The collaboration will release for the 2021-22 school year, with almost 3,000 trainees taking part in courses like algebra, biology, chemistry, geometry, and more.

” ASU Prep Digital has actually allowed us to partner and advance instructional chances for countless K-12 students who might not have otherwise had access to the courses, instructors, credits, and coaches we use,” Crow stated. “The persistence these champions of education have actually shown in combining our curriculum and resources with regional Utah schools is a design for the rest of the state and the country, for that matter.”

Through its collaborations, Juan Diego offers the “in-class” part of the material and the teacher for the class itself. In numerous ways, the blended-learning online classes look like other classes provided at Juan Diego. Nevertheless, the whole-classroom design is a special however effective application of ASU Prep Digitals curriculum, which historically has actually served individual students or groups of trainees outside the traditional class.

For Juan Diegos part, there are differences. Unlike a standard course, students have 24-hour virtual access to the learning products (handouts, interactive discussions, tests, test-preps, etc) with faculty present (in the classroom and online) to establish, guide and supply a digital dialog with trainees as they advance through the rigorous coursework. They likewise benefit from access to highly helpful Learning Success Coaches at ASU Prep Digital, who bring a level of personal attention and encouragement that is not practical in a lot of standard school settings.

ASU Prep Digital also serves personal schools, single public schools, and whole districts nationwide, with innovative partnerships that use an extensive K-12 curriculum and individually instruction in a virtual environment.

Started by Arizona State University, ASU Prep Digital also serves private schools, single public schools, and whole districts nationwide, with ingenious collaborations that use a strenuous K-12 curriculum and individually guideline in a virtual environment. Today, 4 of his grandchildren have actually utilized the program in Utah through ASU Prep Digital partnerships; one is currently registered as a full-time ASU Prep Digital high school student. (Although his granddaughter, Jayda, is a full-time ASU Prep Digital high school trainee, she still swims for her local high school team and participated in junior senior prom this year, thanks to legislation that was passed years ago to make such inclusiveness possible.).

Designated by the Utah State Office of Education as an approved online service provider taking part in the State Online Education Program, ASU Prep Digital is an accredited online K-12 school that enables students to take a single online course or enroll in a full-time, diploma-granting program. Begun by Arizona State University, ASU Prep Digital also serves private schools, single public schools, and whole districts nationwide, with innovative partnerships that offer a strenuous K-12 curriculum and one-on-one guideline in a virtual environment. For schools like Juan Diego, ASU Prep Digital offers students an edge in preparation for college and access to advanced coursework in their areas of interest.

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” We just might not have embraced online education without the aid and support of Canyons and Juab School District,” said Colosimo. “Our collaboration with ASU Prep Digital brought us a first-rate online curriculum and expert training for our instructors that has actually made all the difference. At Juan Diego, every class is now a mixed online learning class.”

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Looking Ahead

ASU Prep Digital is a certified online K-12 school that offers a single online course or enrollment in a full-time, diploma-granting program. ASU Prep Digital also serves private schools, single public schools, and whole districts nationwide, with ingenious collaborations that provide a strenuous K-12 curriculum and one-on-one guideline in a virtual environment.

Arizona State University President Michael Crow is understood as a leader of online education. Years before the pandemic forced schools and universities to move online, Crow had produced a tech-enhanced learning environment at ASU. His choice to start offering classes online came from the awareness that lots of trainees with potential were unable to get the opportunity to pursue college. He wanted to include a more varied group of trainees crossing age, culture, socioeconomic status, and nationality. Online education provided a brand-new path to accomplish that goal.

When Senator Stephenson championed the Statewide Online Education Program in Utah in 2011, he might barely expect how close to home the program would ultimately strike. Today, 4 of his grandchildren have made use of the program in Utah through ASU Prep Digital partnerships; one is currently enrolled as a full-time ASU Prep Digital high school student. (Although his granddaughter, Jayda, is a full-time ASU Prep Digital high school student, she still swims for her local high school team and participated in junior prom this year, thanks to legislation that was passed years ago to make such inclusiveness possible.).

” The effective collaborations ASU Prep Digital has created in Utah are evidence that with determination, and a range of resources, we can offer our students all of the resources and tools they need to be successful,” stated Stephenson, who now acts as an advisor to ASU Prep Digital. “With forward-thinking leadership and technology advancements, there actually are no limits to the chances we can offer to Utah trainees.”.

The most recent– and most notable– comes from what some may think about a not likely source: a series of partnerships between Utah schools and ASU Prep Digital, an accredited online K-12 school based in neighboring Arizona.

Coming Full Circle.