By MARK TODD - Staff Writer - mtodd@starbeacon.com
CONNEAUT — Another way of learning is finding favor — and additional students — for the Conneaut Area City Schools district.
The Conneaut Digital Academy, based at the Southeast building, offers 92 local youngsters an option to traditional, classroom-based instruction. But instead of a teacher standing in front of a class, students receive a customized, educational program via computer.
“It’s all very individualized, based on the student’s needs,” said Diana DiPofi, CDA supervisor.
The Academy was launched a few years ago to give students who weren’t successful in a classroom setting a way to stay current with their studies. In the beginning, the program was aimed at kids who had social or disciplinary issues or suffered long-term injury or illness.
“In lieu of expulsion, we want to keep students in school,” DiPofi said. “They can come here to receive an education, earn credits and not put themselves in a rut.”
Students log on for about 25 hours a week on computers, splitting time between instruction provided by Southeast teachers Stan Wojtowicz and Janet Sauers and home study. “It’s on par with the instructional time they would spend in a classroom,” DiPofi said.
This school year, CDA is adding something new. The program now makes attendance at Southeast an option for families that want to home-school their children. In those cases, lessons are carefully monitored by parents as well as a teacher hired by the county. Home visits, letters and telephone calls help staff keep tabs on the student’s progress.
There’s plenty of checks and balances built into the academy. Providers of the computer curriculum provides feedback on the student’s compliance and progress. If a youngster borrows a school-owned computer for use at home, built-in software makes sure the machine is used only for its intended purpose.
While open to kindergartners to seniors, the bulk of CDA students are older kids, DiPofi said. Some of them are high-schoolers who have been suspended and are required by school board policy to attend the academy before they can return. Counseling sessions can supplement the instruction, DiPofi said.
Some students split time between CDA and their school. In those cases, the goal is to put those kids back into their school full-time as soon as possible.
“We’re working to transition students back into regular school,” DiPofi said.
The academy offers many of the perks of traditional school. Advanced placement and foreign language classes are available, as well as electives. CDA students can participate in many extracurriculars (athletics excepted), attend graduation ceremonies — even dances.
The program is catching on with parents who want their children schooled at home but don’t want to deprive them of the fun aspects of group education.
“They can be part of our educational society,” DiPofi said. “They can make friends and have relationships.”
The Conneaut Area City Schools district also benefits. CDA students allow the district to receive the state funding attached to every pupil. Also, academy enrollment helps the district’s drop-out and attendance statistics that appear on state report cards.
There’s room for more students, DiPofi said. The district is trying to attract students who are using other virtual academies.
“Our goal is to bring those kids to Conneaut,” DiPofi said.
The CDA is merely one way the Conneaut district teaches local children, DiPofi emphasized. It’s a district-endorsed alternative, backed by teachers and administrators, that carries no stigma or negative label.
“It’s an option the district offers,” DiPofi said. “Our students are Conneaut residents who have a right to an education just like anyone else. Some just choose to receive their education through technology.”
