Introducing the Online School for Girls

[Brad]

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, CONTACT BRAD RATHGEBER AT [e-mail] OR 301.365.6114

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DATE: June 22, 2009

ONLINE SCHOOL FOR GIRLS LAUNCHING THIS FALL
Nationwide Consortium of independent all-girls’ schools to launch first online school for girls

June 22, 2009… A nationwide consortium of independent, all-girls’ schools announced the creation of the first ever online school dedicated to secondary education for girls, The Online School for Girls. Developed by a consortium of independent, all-girls’ schools including Harpeth Hall School (Tenn.), Holton-Arms School (Md.), Laurel School (Ohio), and Westover School (Conn.), the School will begin offering pilot classes in the 2009-2010 school year.

“Online education is rapidly becoming a cornerstone of the educational experience of the twenty-first century,” says Brad Rathgeber, Director of Technology at Holton-Arms School. According to K-12 Online Learning: A 2008 Follow-up of the Survey of U.S. School District Administrators, more than one million secondary school students enrolled in online courses and 70 percent of high schools had at least one student who took an online class during the 2007-2008 school year.

In addition, Keeping Pace with K-12 Online Learning reports that 44 states have or are in the process of creating virtual secondary schools, "but none of them specifically address the educational needs of girls,” explains Ann Pollina, President of the National Coalition of Girls’ Schools and Head of School at Westover School. "We believe that girls inhabit online spaces differently than boys and that this initiative can combine a powerful, transformative online learning environment for girls with a high-quality, twenty-first century academic experience."

Guided by current research on how girls learn best, the School will focus on several key principles: emphasizing connections among participants; incorporating collaboration into the learning experience; inspiring and rewarding creativity; and engaging in real-world problems and applications while having students probe the social and ethical dynamics that define and stretch our global society.

“Not every girl has the opportunity to attend an all girls’ school,” says Larry Goodman, Co-Director of the Center for Research on Girls at Laurel School, “so our hope in embarking on this initiative is to inspire and challenge girls on a worldwide scale.”

The Online School for Girls officially launches in September 2009, offering two pilot courses in the fall semester and four courses in the spring semester of the 2009-2010 school year. Students from consortium member schools will take and evaluate the initial courses. Courses offered for the first year will be upper-level secondary courses in math, the sciences and humanities. “We envision an educational experience designed for girls that provides vigorous coursework, exposure to new ideas, and a fun, relevant learning environment in an online setting,” says Ann Teaff, Head of School at Harpeth Hall School.

In coming years, the Online School will expand the scope and reach of a traditional girls’ school and work to engage a worldwide and diverse student base, including students who are in need of a more flexible school schedule, are home schooled, or would not otherwise have opportunities available for challenging or unique coursework.

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Founded in 2009, The Online School for Girls inspires girls worldwide to reach their potential by offering exceptional instruction to girls in an online setting. Guided by current research on how girls learn best, the School has dedicated itself to the following principles: Connection, emphasize connection among participants; Collaboration, incorporate collaboration into the learning experience; Creativity, inspire and reward creativity; and Application, engage in real-world problems and applications while having students probe the social and ethical dynamics that define and stretch our global society.

[Lisa Pedicini]

Brad --

Yes. Understood. Also CTY doesn't aim to create a full fledged-school experience.

Your pedagogical goals are fascinating. Will look forward to learning more. Thank you!

--Lisa

[Brad]

Lisa--

Yes, I have seen their courses. All are very high quality. The major distinction that we see between them and what we are doing is not the content but the pedagogy. Just as we know that there are gender differences in face-to-face classrooms, we know that girls interact differently than boys with technology... so we want to create an environment specifically with girls in mind.

- Brad

[Lisa Pedicini]

Brad --

Very interesting! Are you familiar with the online courses offered by CTY and Stanford EPGY? I've only seen one through from start to finish, but the content was remarkably good and the course experience very positive.

[Fred Bartels]

Brad,

Thanks for the information. Interesting about girls and technology. Definitely a big issue in computer programming electives. Looking forward to learning more about OSG.

Thanks,

Fred

[Brad]

Fred--

Thanks for the good wishes. We are quite excited about the possibilities and opportunities available online.

A number of months ago, we came together as a consortium believing that there was a real value in pursuing opportunities for gender-based online education. We see the research telling us that girls' interactions with technology and motivations for using technology are on the whole different than boys, and yet most technology (and online courses) are built with boys in mind. We felt like we had the opportunity and know-how to try something different.

Over the next number of weeks, we will be sending out more information about the OSG, including courses offered in 2009-2010 and how to become affiliated with the OSG (including consortium membership and affiliate membership). If people want to learn more, send along an email to me at [e-mail] and I will send out information as it is released.

- Brad

[Fred Bartels]

Hi Brad,

Good luck with OSG!

Any chance you can share some of the process that led to this endeavor, what tools you are planning on using, training your participating faculty are getting, courses you are planning on offering, etc? As I'm sure you know, online courses for independent school students was the subject of much discussion here on ISEN throughout the 08-09 school year. Many of us are very interested in this concept and would appreciate learning more about your efforts.

Fred