Mississippi District To Use Virtual Learning To Alleviate Teacher Shortage
The Greenville Public School District in central
Mississippi will use a new virtual learning program to alleviate some
of the
problems caused by a lack of available teachers.
The
school district has signed Proximity
Learning, an Austin-based virtual staffing company that
supplies virtual
learning with live teachers to about 150 school districts.
The
lack of qualified teachers is a state-wide
problem with the Mississippi Department of Education noting there are
an
average of six teaching vacancies at all of the state's 144 school
districts. Greenville
PSD Public Relations Specialist Everett Chinn said the district, with
14
schools and 5,500 students, has experienced an unusually high number of
teacher
retirements in recent years and fewer college students are choosing to
enter
education.
"It's
a matter affecting school districts across
Mississippi and the U.S.," Chinn said.
Proximity
Learning will supply Greenville with
the equivalent of eight full-time teachers, six teaching math and one
each for
science and French.
"We
are looking forward to seeing how this opportunity to work with
Proximity
Learning will help expand the number of quality courses we can offer
students
in our schools," said Greenville PSD Superintendent Leeson Taylor.
Using
video interface, Proximity teachers actually see the students and the
students see the teacher, emulating an actual in-school
classroom. An
online learning management system also gives students 24/7 access to
curriculum,
homework and interactive activities.
"Our
virtual classes are far
from staring at a computer screen," said Proximity
Learning CEO Evan Erdberg. "They are
interactive, engaging and equivalent in caliber to face-to-face
instruction."
About the Author
Michael Hart is a Los Angeles-based freelance writer and the former executive editor of THE Journal.