Fall Coalition Update

We hope you all are having a great fall. Our coalition has been gearing up for another great school year full of advocacy activities to help protect our choice in public education - online public schools.  In the days and weeks ahead, we'll be hosting informational events, planning for our annual Day at the Capitol and much more. We want to be YOUR source for information on online learning in Colorado, so keep an eye on your email and our website for more information.

Upcoming Legislative Session

The economy is all over the news lately and it is hitting close to home with Governor Ritter's announcement of the state hiring and capital construction freeze. A budget crisis in Colorado is looming and that means budget cuts. We don't want to see public cyberschools disproportionately affected by any possible cuts. We need your help to make our voices heard about this matter to make sure that our children continue to receive the best education possible!

Spread the word, get involved, stay engaged!

• Tell other parents about the Coalition and encourage them to join.
• Volunteer to testify during the legislative session.
• Attend OLAB meetings.
• Tell us about some of the great things you are doing - send us your pictures and stories to share with legislators and the media. Send us an email at families@coloradocyberfamilies.org.
• Plan to attend the Day at the Capitol in Denver on Tuesday, February 24^th.

What's New

We have updated the Links page of the website to include more resources for Coalition members, such as:

• § The North American Council for Online Learning (NACOL) the nation's leading resource for information about online learning across the U.S.
• § CollegeInvest, Colorado's not-for-profit higher education financing resource.

Check it out at www.coloradocyberfamilies.org/links.

Are you on Facebook? We are too! The Coalition now is a group on Facebook, with a discussion board and a place to post your events and pictures. To find us on Facebook, log on and search for "Colorado Coalition of Cyberschool Families" in Facebook Groups.

Looking For New Board Members

The Coalition is seeking new board members. We currently have four members and would like to expand the board to seven members in our efforts to incorporate the voices of parents from every cyberschool across the state and every corner of the state.

Interested? Contact Lori Cooney, Board President, at ljcooney3@comcast.net or 303.699.5797 for more details.

Colorado Coalition of Cyberschool Families CollegeInvest Video Contest

We're pleased to announce our first video contest for Coalition families! Children of Coalition members are eligible to enter and win one of three $500 529 college savings plans from CollegeInvest, Colorado's not-for-profit higher education financing resource. Winning videos will be edited and distributed to legislators and media during the legislative session to help show how online education is working for Colorado families.

Stay tuned - details and contest rules will be sent out soon!

Online Learning Advisory Board Meeting Recap

The Governor's Online Learning Advisory Board (OLAB) held a meeting on September 23^rd.   Our coalition president, Lori Cooney, is the parent representative on the board. Since the Board was formed in November 2007, they have met eight times.  The Board is charged with advising the Colorado State Board of Education on policies, statutory requirements and the progress of the Unit of Online Learning at the Colorado Department of Education.  For more information on OLAB visit www.cde.state.co.us/onlinelearning/olab.htm.

During the most recent meeting, the board discussed a variety of topics.  A quick recap of some of the key topics is below:

Online Advisory Board discussion of Title I funds and portability issues

Title I funds provide financial assistance to schools with high numbers or percentages of low-income students to help ensure all students can meet standards.  The district concern is that charter schools take their students and Title I dollars. Districts don't want to give up the money with the students. The school concern is that they sometimes go without Title I funds and still enroll eligible students.  

Data Collection

The Board will revisit the issue of data collection regarding income levels of student populations for Title I funds. 

Seat Time

The board did not provide a clear direction on the issue of seat time.  This will be discussed more at the next meeting.

Districts and Financial Issues

Financial issues and district concerns were discussed. Districts with their own single-district online program are limited to 10 out of district students, if they have more than 10 students, they lose funding.  This is not applicable to multi-district programs.  Statutory change is needed to change the 10 student limit.

Next OLAB Meeting

The next meeting is not set yet. It will either be Tuesday, November 25^th or Tuesday, December 9^th.

Save the date!

The Joint Budget Committee will be meeting twice in December regarding the Department of Education.  On December 9^th there will be a budget briefing and on December 15^th there will be a budget hearing.  We expect cyberschools funding to be part of these discussions.  Coalition members are encouraged to listen in online. We will send details when we have them.

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