More thoughts on the value of Distance Education

I met Ron Hitchcock in May 2000. At the time he was the Principal at Escalante High School. I had been with UEN for about three months and was on my initial tour of the educational facilities around the state, so I was in a learning mode.

The first story Ron told was about how some magazine had determined that Escalante is the most remote town in the United States. Ron, and his students, were a long way from anywhere. He had a big challenge to provide his town with a quality education and he knew it.

I was visiting the Southwest part of Utah with my UEN peers. Laura Hunter, Ed Ridges and I were being shown the area by Cory Stokes, the SESC regional director. The night before our Escalante tour was spent at Ruby's Inn near beautiful Bryce Canyon. It was my first time visiting either place.

Ron took time to tour his facility with us. We observed one young lady taking a class using the Ednet video system. She was the only student on site, however, she had the opportunity to participate with other students around the state.

We also met Clint, the science teacher. He was using a Palm Pilot and some attachments to measure conditions at a local stream. These data were uploaded to a PC and the students were tracking the environmental health of the area.

While observing this project another Ednet class began in the science area and we were compelled to leave the room. This is when the story really got good. We all sat down with Ron in his office and he told us his distance education story.

Escalante High School typically has 25 students per grade each year. Ron had worked with a local business to arrange for any and all of his students to be able to take college courses through the Ednet system. The local business would pick up the costs of books and any other incidental expenses incurred. They did this as a community service project.

On the approval form the requirement read:

Must have a 3.25 grade point average or the Principal's signature.

Ron understood this to mean that he had some discretion as to who would take advantage of concurrent enrollment. (Enrollment in College courses.) So he did what any good Principal would do and signed the form for any interested student.

62 of 75 sophomores, juniors and seniors at Escalante High School took and passed college classes that year. One young man, with a 1.86 grade point average was able to receive a passing grade in the class he took. Ron felt very good about what was happening in his school.

He felt that there was a real sense of accomplishment and pride. The students also build a sense of community. They took pride in being able to score as well, on average, as the students taking the classes at the College campus.

This success was not universally appreciated. The Colleges were less than thrilled that someone with a sub 2.0 GPA could/would take and pass one of their courses. The Chief Academic Officers reviewed the Escalante situation over the summer. The next year the enrollment form requirement read:

Must be a Junior or Senior and have a 3.25 grade point average AND the Principal's signature.

Or something similar.

The young man with the low GPA returned the next fall with an excitement for education. He had realized that a college education was within his reach. Informed that he could no longer enroll in college courses, he dropped out of school.

That next year only 27 students were able to pass concurrent enrollment classes. Ron laughed about the situation, but was obviously not happy. Our visit in May was at the conclusion of the second year. Before the next school year could begin, Ron was gone. He took a job in Oregon.

I was sad to hear that Ron had left Utah. He was a capable person with a good concept of how valuable distance education could be. It was a big loss for Escalante and the state of Utah when he left. Although Ron is gone, his insights and story still have a big influence on me.

One person really can make a big difference.

That's all for now........
5:05:49 AM    comment []