An Overview of Kirkwood High School Completion Programs

"Real" Online Learning

Is online learning as "real" as face-to-face learning? I'd say yes, and more so, but it's my preferred learning method. Other people may say that face-to-face learning trumps online learning any day and still others may say that blended learning is the merging of two ingredients like peanut butter and jelly that makes the perfect combination.

As I am writing this, I recall a conversation I had not too long ago with another mom. She's planning to go back to school when her youngest starts kindergarten this fall. She was telling me that there's a program only about an hour away, but she didn't know if she'd want to commit to that. Of course, I said that she didn't have to that she could probably do some classes online. I was surprised that she thought employers would look at online learning as a "fake" degree.

Although online learning is different, it's not fake. It is very real and just as you can zone out in face-to-face classes, you can also lurk in online classes. Basically, you get into what you put into it - which could be a lot or it could be very little. It depends on your investment.

That brings me to another point though - not all online programs are created equally and you definitely should research the programs! Some programs are cost-efficient, where others will try and make a profit. Don't be caught in a dangerous trap, do your research!

So now that we've covered that online learning is real, but different and to research your investment, what other items are key in online learning? First, is motivation. Remember you get out what you put in. Try and stay motivated! Have a plan - and stick to it.

Having a plan and sticking to it can be easier said than done. How many times do you commit to moving more and eating less on January 1 to have it all crumble into a pile of cake crumbs by January 15th? The same is true for online learning - sticking to the plan will be hard, but try - and the best way to do that is to find someone who will hold you accountable. 

Now that you're motivated, have a plan, and have an accountability partner, you're ready to start online learning. Students who start strong in a course, finish the course! Here at Kirkwood HSDL we say try to spend two hours per day in your class most days per week (as in treat it just like a regular face-to-face course). Let us know what you do to stay motivated in your online courses.

WIOA - No Wrong Door

The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act often referred to as WIOA is a way to bring together puzzle pieces to form a complete picture and allow job seekers to enter as the top left corner piece, the bottom right corner piece, or the center of the puzzle and be connected to the resources they need to find a job. There are seven elements to this:

• Element 1 – Work up-front with employers to determine local or regional hiring needs and design training programs that are responsive to those needs. 
• Element 2 – Offer work-based learning opportunities with employers—including on-the-job training, internships, and pre-apprenticeships and Registered Apprenticeship as training paths to employment. 
• Element 3 – Make better use of data to drive accountability, inform what programs are offered and what is taught, and offer user-friendly information for job seekers to choose what programs and pathways work for them and are likely to result in jobs. 
• Element 4 – Measure and evaluate employment and earnings outcomes. 
• Element 5 – Promote a seamless progression from one educational stepping stone to another, and across work-based training and education, so individuals’ efforts result in progress. 
• Element 6 – Break down barriers to accessing job-driven training and hiring for any American who is willing to work, including access to supportive services and relevant guidance. 
• Element 7 – Create regional collaborations among American Job Centers, education institutions, labor, and non-profits. 

Each piece of the puzzle is unique and offers services that not all the other programs offer, but can connect with those around to help bridge the needs of job seekers to those of the different services provided. 

So let's take a look at Element 5. How do we offer our job seekers/students seamless transitions from one stepping stone to another? Is it co-location? Is it co-programming? It may be - but, the real intention is to put less burden on the clients.

In our adult ed program, we already build bridges with other programs fairly well; however, we still don't understand every name, acronym or service that all entities under the WIOA law have. So under our adult high school completion program umbrella sits adult basic education and ESL. Under a different umbrella: Skills to Employment sits adult and youth dislocated worker, training pathways, and some tuition assistance. These two programs have some co-location with the Iowa Vocational Rehabilitation Services and the Iowa Workforce Development offices. However, job seekers and students don't always enter the best door to meet their needs on the first try. How can we make the bridge smoother in the areas that have a lot of bumps so that there really is no wrong door?

Treat Others as THEY Would Like to Be Treated

We've all heard the teacher, parent, or other adult say to a child, "Treat others how you'd like to be treated" - but what if the way you want to be treated isn't the same as the way someone else wants to be treated? Sure, there are some things that are fairly universal - hitting isn't nice; but what about the cultural differences that clash with our "norms?"

In the U.S., we want to see eye contact from our students. In other cultures, it is disrespectful. So how do we bridge the two? Can we honor culture and understand that not everywhere expects the same of their children, while still teaching to the customs of our society - or should we?

What happens when you're so worried about treating everyone else how he/she wants to be treated and you don't feel anyone reciprocating? Personally, I struggle with this - especially with phone calls versus email. My preferred method of communication is email. I can see the problem, figure out how to solve it and generally resolve it within a few seconds. With phone calls, I am being interrupted from my thought process and it's at least 10 minutes before the issue is entirely resolved. Unfortunately, phone calls are a necessary part of my job and there's a handful of people who always call - even when what needs to be said would be more efficient in an email or a text.

So, how can we embrace the new golden rule of treating others how they want to be treated, while encouraging others to treat us how we want to be treated?

Don't Hate Math

image from iClipart for Schools

Who remembers the timed tests that showed who the fastest person at math facts were? Twenty-five years ago, I remember sitting in a classroom surrounded by students who were rushing through trying to compute math facts at a rapid pace and get the whole sheet completed in under a minute. I wasn’t a student who struggled, but I was a friend to many of the underdogs.

Our education system was set up for ranking of students and not to appreciate the growth. Even students who may go from completing one problem to solving two problems in a minute have made 100% growth – and by simply assigning correct versus incorrect we’re not showing students that with effort, they can be good at math.

As Valerie Strauss explains in Stop Telling Kids You’re Bad At Math. You are spreading math anxiety ‘like a virus’:

Mathematics surrounds us, yet we have become accustomed to avoiding numerical thinking at all costs. There is no doubt that bad high school teaching and confusing textbooks are partly to blame. But a more pernicious habit does the most damage. We are perpetuating damaging myths by telling ourselves a few untruths: math is inherently hard, only geniuses understand it, we never liked math in the first place and nobody needs math anyway.

Too often, especially in adult education, we see the students come in to our classes with the conviction that “I’m not good at math.” As adult educators, it’s our job to help students see that they can be good, even great, at math. Gone are the days when the teacher’s way of solving a problem is the only way to solve a problem. I hear it every day from one of our high school completion instructors – “If you have a question, or a different way to solve a problem, please share. It’s likely that someone else has the same question or will benefit from seeing a different way to solve the problem.” Let’s embrace the uniqueness that we each have and show students that they really can be great at math.

As for those timed-tests in math, I’m not sure I’ve used them very much – especially since I can carry a calculator with me nearly everywhere I go. 

5 Ways to Be a Successful High School Equivalency Student

5 Ways to Be Successful

image from iClipart for Schools

It happens. You drop out of high school. Down the road, you need to pick up the pieces, but you aren't sure where to start. Each state has their own program designed to help students who have dropped out of a traditional high school get their high school credential. Here are five steps that you can do, no matter where you live, to help be successful in high school.

1. Be ready
2. Know your support system
3. Recognize barriers
4. Attend class regularly
5. Look ahead

Be ready

The only person who knows if you're truly ready to embark on the journey to finishing high school is you. You need to decide if you want to accept the help that adult high school programs can provide. The programs can guide you, but you're the one doing the work - so you need to be ready.

Know you support system

Connect. Connect with family, friends, mentors, teachers, counselors, pastors, and classmates. If you don't already have a great one, find or make a support system. Use the support system that will help propel you forward. It might be hard to ask for help, but those people who are truly supporting you will gladly offer their support. 

Recognize barriers

Recognize that there will be barriers to success, but have a plan for encountering those barriers. If there are things you are doing, people you associate with, or crisis that you might face, what can you do to confront them - and then move past them?

Attend class regularly

One of the surest ways to have a support system is to attend your classes regularly. Regularly means that you are in class at least 95% of the time. That means that out of 10 days of class, you're present at least 9 1/2 days!

Look ahead

Set a goal for yourself beyond getting the diploma. Where do you want to go next? What's your next adventure? Sure, you want to get the diploma, but you'll get it much faster if you know what your next step is.

Microsoft Access - Work Smarter, Not Harder

There are some things in life that one must work hard at - such as maintaining a healthy lifestyle. However, there are somethings that can be accomplished by working smarter - and Microsoft Access can help bring that efficiency to the forefront.

Five years ago - almost- when I started in my role as the High School Distance Learning Instructor, there was paper everywhere! It was a generational difference, as the person running the program was getting close to retirement and I respected her need for paper-based items. Slowly, I moved toward a more paper-reduced program (due to the nature of High School Distance Learning we can't go entirely paperless). I began by moving our log book into MS Excel (it just counted the number of students). Next, I made the registration process easier on me by putting labels on the top of columns in excel. Once we'd transitioned for a year and my colleague said her final good-bye, I planned for the next move toward less paper - a database.

Between self-teaching and help from a resident expert, I never attended a Microsoft Access class until last night - and my life at the end of each quarter just got easier! I had figured out the basics of tables, forms, and queries; but, I did not know that I could easily generate a report with a few mouse clicks. Now, I can run a report that summarizes all the information that I would spend between 8 & 10 hours on manually and I have saved myself time and am working smarter.

Image from iClipart for Schools