ECOT applies to become online dropout recovery school after ODE “claw back” of $60 million
The Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow (ECOT), an online Ohio charter school, has now applied to become an online dropout recovery school in the midst of a $60 million penalty from the Ohio Department of Education (ODE).
The website, School Choice Ohio, defines charter schools as independent, state-funded public schools that have more flexibility in their decisions in curriculum, staffing and learning environments. It states, “Charter schools also operate with support from federal tax funding, foundation grants, and privately raised philanthropic support.” Ohio charter schools receive about $5,745 from the state, per student; however, charter schools do not receive local tax funding.
William Lager founded ECOT in 2000 and it graduated its first class of 21 students in the spring of 2001. By 2016 the e-school grew dramatically and graduated over 2,500 students.
Kenneth Milota, a substitute teacher from Avon Lake, Ohio and 2005 ECOT graduate, decided to enroll in ECOT after being bullied by his classmates.
“I was dealing with autism that wasn’t diagnosed at the time, so it eventually got to the point where the social situation got to be unbearable for me,” Milota said. Milota got suspended a few times from school after constantly being harassed by his peers. He also said his environment made it hard for him to concentrate on his academics.
Milota ended up enrolling in ECOT in December 2003.
Milota said the courses were uploaded online and most of the classes didn’t have due dates for assignments, instead it was the student’s responsibility to pace themselves accordingly, in order to get all their work done by the end of the quarter.
“I would generally wake up around 9 or 10 in the morning, and I would get to work doing 30 to 60 minutes at a time,” Milota said. He would spend about four hours doing his school work while taking breaks and doing personal work in between. Sometimes, Milota would even babysit his younger brother while doing schoolwork. “The flexibility of ECOT allowed me to skip a day or make a day shorter if needed, and make it up the next day or the weekend,” Milota said.
Milota was able to take his junior and senior classes in the same year and graduated a year earlier than his classmates at his old high school. “The courses, such as algebra, that I was skilled at didn’t take very much time at all, and I was able to put more time on the courses, such as English, which were more difficult for me,” Milota said.
Milota has a bachelor’s degree in education and is currently in grad school. “ECOT prepared me for college by teaching me to work and research independently, which many college courses are offered online,” Miota said. “I’m currently enrolled at Walden University for a master’s in IT: software engineering, and all of my classes are online the same way as with ECOT.”
Despite Milota’s success story, ECOT’s state report card for the 2015-16 school year revealed that it was failing in almost all required categories.
ECOT received failing grades in achievement, student progress, gap closing, graduation rate and student preparation for success. It received a ‘D’ in K-3 Literacy. If the school were to fail again for its 2016-17 state report card it risks losing its sponsorship.
In the midst of these events, ECOT applied to become a dropout recovery school. No official statement has been released as to why they have decided to move in this direction. Neil Clark, spokesmen for ECOT, could not be reached for a comment.
If ECOT switches to becoming an online dropout recovery school, multiple sources, including Cleveland.com and The Columbus Dispatch, have said it could exceed the standards for the state report card. Unlike traditional public schools, dropout recovery schools have lower academic expectations and different criteria for report cards.
The ODE defines dropout recovery schools as a community of schools that primarily enroll students between the ages of 16 and 22 who have already dropped out of high school or are at risk of doing so.
Tim Pegan from Hillsboro, Ohio decided to unenroll his daughter at ECOT after her credits didn’t transfer from her previous school and she did not receive Individualized Education Program (IEP) intervention. “My daughter is not an average student. She has Attention Deficit Disorder and a learning disability. This was discussed with the school before enrollment. I was assured they would accommodate her,” Pegan said. He said ECOT tried to blame his daughter’s previous school for her credits not transferring. Pegan was later informed that her grades were simply not entered into the system. He was also later told that her IEP was for state tests only and not for regular class work.
Pegan and his daughter also experienced frequent technical problem and lack of communication from the school.
“Not only did they [ECOT] fail miserably, they forced me to learn all her lesson plans over the weekend, so I could guide her through what the school should have,” Pegan said.
Pegan defines ECOT as a business rather than an educational institution.
“These kids are just numbers followed by dollar signs. From our experience with the exception of a few teachers,” Pegan said. “There is a real lack of engagement and empathy towards students.”
ECOT had over 15,000 students enrolled in the 2015-16 school year, therefore it received over $100 million in state funding alone. However, an audit of the e-school revealed that the attendance of those students was inflated by about 9,000 students. The ODE responded by requiring ECOT to pay back $60 million of the funding it received from that school year.
Rick Teeters, ECOT’s former superintendent, fired back in a statement from ECOT that the “claw back” of tens of millions of dollars was unfair because the ODE changed its methods of funding without any announcement until late July of 2016. He also stated that the measurement of attendance based on login times is not a valid measurement to determine funding because it does not consider the time students spend on school work offline.
ECOT moved to take the ODE to court over the “claw back.” With no success, ECOT moved to appeal the case. On September 13, the Ohio Supreme Court agreed to hear one of the four points in which ECOT appealed to the Court, which is that using students’ login time was not a valid method to determine attendance and state funding for the online charter school.
No future court dates have been set.
[pdf-embedder url=”https://reportingpublicpolicy.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/ECOT_Court_Appeal.pdf”]
Check out our Reporting Public Policy story on ECOT!
“ECOT applies to become dropout recovery school…”https://t.co/wrPzvRrk8p— Samantha Cottrill (@CottrillKSU) September 19, 2017
Check out our story on what’s changing with ECOT!https://t.co/HWa33AX99A
— Andy Mark (@AndyMotorMark17) September 19, 2017
Check out my co-writers & my new article about ECOT & their appeals with the ODE and transition to a dropout school https://t.co/JKaegq0uEc
— Adrian Leuth ? (@Aleuth411) September 20, 2017
#ECOT charter schools are trying to become drop out recovering schools. Read more on the story here https://t.co/ic4ONxfYFB
— Jillian Holness (@jillianholness) September 19, 2017
