1. An EdisonLearning Success Story
EdisonLearning partnership provides innovative
online learning options for Pennsylvania students
The Capital Area Intermediate Unit Story
The Challenge
School districts in Pennsylvania were facing two challenges.
First, many districts did not have the resources to provide
students with online learning programs. With no option in
the district, increasing numbers of students were leaving to
attend virtual charter or other non-district schools. Secondly,
small districts were struggling to provide expanded course
selections for their students. Courses, such as AP courses and
foreign languages like Chinese, were not available due to lack
of means to hire teachers for these specific topics.
Capital Area Intermediate Unit (CAIU) wanted to help its
member districts address these challenges. They sought to
redesign their high school offerings to increase learning options “Our districts love the opportunity for customization
for high school students through online learning. and the flexible options available. They can do what
works best for each student and each school, and rely
The SoluTion on the support CAIU and EdisonLearning to make their
CAIU established the Capital Area Online Learning Association program a success. Of the providers I have worked with
(CAOLA) in 2009 to provide flexible online learning options to in the past, none have offered that kind of flexibility.”
its member districts. Partnering with EdisonLearning, they - olly Brzycki, Supervisor of Online
H
expanded their high school offerings through EdisonLearning’s Learning Capital Area Intermediate Unit
eCourses. CAOLA was also able to offer a full-time online high
school program through EdisonLearning’s eAcademy.
objectives for an online program
The ReSulTS When CAOLA set out to select and online program, the top
• In its first year, CAOLA program had 13 participating districts. objectives were to find a provider with:
The program has now grown to 17 school districts in various
regions of the state with more growth in the fall of 2010. 1) a wide variety of courses that would greatly expand what
students could take
• The program started with 17 students successfully earning 2) increased options for instruction in various learning
summer school credits. CAOLA now has 230 students enrolled modalities and environments
in over 70 different courses. 3) options for credit recovery, interventions and alternative
• The CAOLA model has proven to be cost-effective, saving education
districts thousands of dollars when compared to dollars 4) a full-time online program to decrease student migration
they would need to spend on sending students to virtual to virtual and non-district schools
charter schools.
The providers’ ability to coordinate the program across
The STepS along The Way multiple districts with different needs and varying numbers
of students in the program was also considered.
CAIU is a regional educational service agency in Pennsylvania,
serving 24 member districts, 2 vocational technical schools
Furthermore the program needed to begin quickly, be highly
and over 50 non-public schools in Cumberland, Dauphin, Perry
scalable and sufficiently meet the needs of all types of
and northern York counties.
students from gifted to credit recovery.
CAIU was looking to redesign their high school offerings
a solution to fit online learning needs for all districts
with a vision of “Engage – Achieve – Succeed: Options for
With over 100 courses available in 2009 (with 85 more
Every Learner”. CAIU established CAOLA to provide flexible
expected to be added by end of year 2010) and a unique
online learning options to member districts and the students
modular structure that allows courses to easily be applied in
they service.
different learning situations, EdisonLearning provided a good
choice for CAIU.

2. Holly Brzycki, Supervisor of Online Learning at CAIU, found By offering this highly competitive full-time online program,
that EdisonLearning eCourses aligned well with CAIU needs districts now have the opportunity to retain and even bring
and objectives for online learning. Ecourses were chosen back students who would have otherwise left the district to
because of their high quality, consistency in structure and attend virtual schools. The flexible schedule that eAcademy
design, course selection, diversity of uses, and multi-modal provides also helps districts accommodate students with
content. “The quality of the program is above and beyond issues, such as family obligations or health problems, that
anything I have ever worked with,” states Bryzcki, “The require missing significant classroom time.
course content is rigorous and the structure is consistent and
very easy for students to understand. I can’t say that about The EdisonLearning program was implemented quickly; with
other online course providers I’ve worked with.” classes starting just two months from when the agreement
was finalized.
According to Bryzcki, the key to the success of the program
has been the flexibility of the EdisonLearning solution to fit The BoTTom line
any online learning need or environment, including:
Working with EdisonLearning to provide an online program
that creates enhanced options of course availability, meets
• Hybrid classroom opportunities a variety of special student needs and also serves as an
• Supplemental and unique STEM and foreign language courses alternative to virtual charter schools has allowed CAOLA the
• Credit recovery, AP and summer school chance to realize its vision.
• Options for half-day and vocational students CAOLA has proven to be a collaborative, flexible and
• Options for students with disabilities cost-efficient solution for districts to bring a wide variety
• Flexible schedules for students with jobs, family obligations of online learning options to their schools with minimal
or children administrative resources and maximum autonomy.
Superintendents, program coordinators and students have
• Instruction for students with health or other issues that all given positive feedback on the quality of the program
require missing significant class time
and the opportunities it affords students.
Through the EdisonLearning solution, districts get the support
Brian Griffith, Director of Curriculum at CAIU, states, “A
and flexibility they need to implement the program on the
quality, well-implemented program, especially in its first year,
scale that works for them. As Bryzcki further states, “Our
is essential to opening the educational community’s minds to
districts love the opportunity for customization and the
the fact that online learning is here to stay, and offers many
flexible options available.”
great opportunities for both students and teachers.”
Full-time virtual school available
Brian Griffith sums it up by saying “Quality is the most
In addition to supplemental programs, CAIU also partners
important part of this program to us and that is why we
with EdisonLearning to offer an option for full-time virtual
chose EdisonLearing.”
students through EdisonLearing eAcademy. eAcademy is
a true end-to-end solution for online learning, combining
The CAOLA program and its partnership with EdisonLearning
a state-of-the –art platform with strong curriculum and
is poised for growth. In the coming year, CAIU hopes to
assessments. With eAcademy, there is only minimal
make the CAOLA program available to more districts and
administrative need from districts.
intermediate units throughout the state of Pennsylvania.
“The CAOLA program has helped our students to access courses that they typically would not be able to take, whether
it is due to limited offerings or scheduling conflicts. This year one of our students was able to take a Chinese course.
Financially, it doesn’t make sense for our district to hire a teacher to teach this course, but eCourses in the CAOLA
program gave our student the opportunity for a valuable learning experience.”
- evin Roberts, Director of Curriculum CAOLA
K
Site Coordinator Big Spring School District
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