Calvert launching HS, looking for input

[umsami]

Hi Everybody:

 

I received an email from Calvert with a survey about their new high school program. They're launching 9th grade in 2014, I believe. Lots of questions on what you'd like to see, what you'd value... textbooks (paper), ebooks, stuff loaded on a tablet, etc.

 

Figured you guys might have better input than I did, as we still have 4 years to go until H.S.

 

https://us1.us.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_aadll9W7jzAkD89

[Lanny]

During April 2012, Calvert was one of 4 or 5 schools that I contacted. I received the email, asking me to fill out their survey. One thing you should know is that the Distance Learning (home schooling) part of Calvert was sold, to another company. I believe that was late in 2012. Whether or not that changes how Calvert operates is something you should investigate, thoroughly. GL

[umsami]

During April 2012, Calvert was one of 4 or 5 schools that I contacted. I received the email, asking me to fill out their survey. One thing you should know is that the Distance Learning (home schooling) part of Calvert was sold, to another company. I believe that was late in 2012. Whether or not that changes how Calvert operates is something you should investigate, thoroughly. GL

 

Oh wow...I totally didn't know that. Interesting. :) Seems to be that they are becoming more and more involved in the state-run virtual companies.

[Butter]

Calvert is mostly concerned about their brick and mortar private day school in Baltimore. That is their first priority. They sold the distance learning portion to an investment firm, but maintained an economic interest in the distance learning (which makes it sound more like getting capital investment in exchange for part of the profits rather than being sold outright). The curriculum (PK-8) is still what they use in the day school. Part of why they sold is so they could develop high school. The high school portion is not being developed by the investment firm. It is being developed by people at Calvert School.

[Catwoman]

The biggest problem with the new high school program, as I see it, is that while they are promising to release a new grade level every year, students who are the first to use the ninth grade program will be in some real trouble if Calvert gets behind schedule and the 10th grade program isn't available to those students when they need it.

 

We used Calvert for a few years when ds was much younger, and I have nothing but good things to say about their elementary program, but because the grade levels for the high school program aren't being released all at once, that's a big concern to those of us whose kids will be in ninth grade in the fall. I'm sure they fully intend to release the other grade levels, but if the program doesn't catch on as well as they'd like, or if they simply run into technical difficulties and can't get the subsequent levels ready in time, it will be a major problem for the kids who were counting on having those levels available when they need them.

[Sebastian (a lady)]

The biggest problem with the new high school program, as I see it, is that while they are promising to release a new grade level every year, students who are the first to use the ninth grade program will be in some real trouble if Calvert gets behind schedule and the 10th grade program isn't available to those students when they need it.

 

We used Calvert for a few years when ds was much younger, and I have nothing but good things to say about their elementary program, but because the grade levels for the high school program aren't being released all at once, that's a big concern to those of us whose kids will be in ninth grade in the fall. I'm sure they fully intend to release the other grade levels, but if the program doesn't catch on as well as they'd like, or if they simply run into technical difficulties and can't get the subsequent levels ready in time, it will be a major problem for the kids who were counting on having those levels available when they need them.

 

This is a really good point. I took the survey, even though I'm unlikely to ever buy an all in one school option. I also noticed that while they had options to prioritize rigor or AP courses, it didn't ask about what math classes my 9th grader would be taking. There is such a wide spread from pre-algebra for those who are a bit behind to algebra to geometry to algebra 2 or even beyond. I wonder how they will accomodate this spread and what their plan is for students who are starting at advanced levels but still want 4 years of math courses.

 

I'm not all that bothered about for-profit education companies, provided there is competition. My grocery stores are for profit too, as are the vendors at my farmers' market. That is a great incentive for them to bring me products I want to trade money for. It's the not-for profit state monopolies that don't seem to be serving me so well.

[G5052]

We used Calvert early on, and I have no regrets about it. I'm always leary of a first-run program though.

 

And I wouldn't want an all-in-one high school program. My kids are as different as apples and oranges, and I don't know how much customization they're going to allow, especially with a new program.

 

It might be a long-term option for some though. I think that there is plenty of room for rigorous high school programs that are pretty structured. Not everyone is happy sending theirs to public school, and some of us can't afford private school tuition.

[Lanny]

I wonder if the new High School courses will be accredited, when they are made available, or if that process takes months or years. I believe the old K-8 courses were accredited by Middle States. If they begin to offer High School courses, are those automatically accredited, or, will Calvert need to seek accreditation for the new High School courses?

[Catwoman]

I wonder if the new High School courses will be accredited, when they are made available, or if that process takes months or years. I believe the old K-8 courses were accredited by Middle States. If they begin to offer High School courses, are those automatically accredited, or, will Calvert need to seek accreditation for the new High School courses?

 

That's an excellent question, Lanny -- I'm sure they're pursuing accreditation, but I would assume that there's some sort of process for it, and that a new high school program would have to be specifically approved before Calvert could say it was accredited. It would seem pretty shady if it was somehow just grandfathered in, on the basis that the early grades are already accredited. Also, if Calvert doesn't have a brick & mortar high school, they have no track record at all, so I would guess they'll have to jump through some hoops in order to gain accreditation. (At least I hope they do!)

[Lanny]

That's an excellent question, Lanny -- I'm sure they're pursuing accreditation, but I would assume that there's some sort of process for it, and that a new high school program would have to be specifically approved before Calvert could say it was accredited. It would seem pretty shady if it was somehow just grandfathered in, on the basis that the early grades are already accredited. Also, if Calvert doesn't have a brick & mortar high school, they have no track record at all, so I would guess they'll have to jump through some hoops in order to gain accreditation. (At least I hope they do!)

 

 

@Cat The more I think about this, the more I believe that the Calvert High School will NOT be accredited, when it begins. There will probably be some sort of process, as you wrote. The school that DD attended here, in K4, K5 and First grade ($$$$$), is SACS accredited. I remember that every 2 or 3 years (?), SACS would send some people down here, to check out what was going on in the school. If Middle States is as demanding as SACS (I hope they are!) they probably will not just grandfather accreditation for a brand new high school, as you wrote.

[Lanny]

I received the email Calvert sent out on May 2^nd, “â€Calvert High School Survey - We value your input!†which includes this sentence: “We are excited to present you with a first glimpse of our Calvert High School with 9th grade launching in the fall of 2014.â€

Now that I’ve taken their survey, if my DD were ready to begin 9^th grade in the Fall of 2014, and, if we were not happy with TTUISD (we are very happy with TTUISD), based on the questions in that survey, there is NO way that I would consider the new Calvert High School for my DD.

Based on my taking the Calvert Online survey, at this time, they seem to be totally clueless, about what they will offer, and they are approximately 16 months from their launch of 9^th grade.

We know that creating high quality courses takes a lot of time. We have been waiting, a long time, for a new Online History course, because DD prefers the new Online courses, over the old Print courses. We bought the textbook for the new Online History course. We know another TTUISD family and they have been waiting a long time, for a new High School Spanish course to become available Online.

Creating this new curriculum, and the infrastructure and hiring and training the staff to support it, will not happen in a few months at Calvert, or in any other school. I doubt that it will happen in 16 months. unless their priority is speed and not quality.

 

 

[Butter]

They actually did some beta testing of high school a year or two ago so this isn't the first they've worked on creating high school courses. At the time they said it was too big a job and not the direction they wanted to go to focus their time and money. Then they got the capital from the investment firm specifically to create high school. Honestly, even though we love Calvert and use them, I'm not sure I'd do a Calvert High School. Their PK-8 curriculum has been around a long time (though I did notice that they changed some of the 7th grade books to simpler ones than they had even just a couple years ago when my daughter did 7th) and is well tested. I know people have been begging for Calvert high school for ages. Maybe by the time my kindergartener or second grader is ready for high school I'd go with it.

[Lanny]

The thing that impressed me with this thread is that everyone who had used Calvert (K-8) is apparently very happy with the program and that is what counts.

 

Regarding how long it takes to create *quality* courses. Finally, a new History course we thought would be ready, last November, is in the Final Editing stage and should be available soon. We bought the textbook for that course, last September. Calvert may have 9th grade courses available, during the Fall of 2014, and the quality of those courses will, hopefully, be very high, but that will be known, late in 2014 and in 2015.

 

This is OT, but it is another thing we did not like about Calvert, after requesting information from them, during April 2012. They send occasional emails, offering discounts, on materials they do not want to use in the future. My wife and I love discounts, but the message we receive from this is "we have replaced these materials with something we think is much better, but if you want to use them for your kid, you can save some $. I just received an email from Calvert: "We're cleaning up and so can you! Save 20%* on your entire order when you enroll by Friday, May 17" We want our DD to have the best that we can get for her, and not something they consider to be inferior.

[Lanny]

This is a correction to my previous post #13 in this thread. They are not in the "Final Editing stage", of the new "Online" History course, as I wrote earlier. This is what they wrote to me: "We are in the final stages of proofing the course. It should be ready in the near future, but I cannot set an absolute date. I will keep you posted."

 

Creating a new course takes time, and lots of it. It is not something that can be done well, by a large group of people.