sales playbook: owa/s - glndocs.s3. · pdf filewith owas, the partner school must get all of...

Sales Playbook: OWA/S

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Table of Contents

Top Things to Know………………………………………………………………………………………….………………

Competitive Differentiators (Key Messages)………………………………………………………………….… Page 3

Educator Issues That Odysseyware Solves………………………………………………………………………… Page 4

Customer Profiles……………………………………………………………………………………………………………… Page 5

Qualification Questions……………………………………………………………………………..……………………… Page 6

Market Landscape and Trends…………………………………………………………………………………………. Page 6

Competition………………………………………………………………………………………..…………………………… Page 9

Customer References…………………………………………………………………………..…………………………… Page 11

Tools and Resources………………………………………………………………………………………..………………… Page 13


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Top Things to Know

•Odysseyware Academy (OWA): Direct enrollment model. Fully accredited, private virtual school leveraging Odysseyware curriculum. OWA awards credit to student; student either receives diploma from OWA or OWA transfers credit to local school.

•Odysseyware Academic Services (OWAS): Partnership model – local school awards credit. OWA certified virtual teachers, instructional, and support services to help schools expand their course offerings, address teacher shortages, and become extension of admin/teacher staff.

Overview

•OWA: Schools needing virtual programs for travelling NCAA athletes, homebound students; schools unable to award credit. Secondary OWA target: Parents who want supplemental options for skill practice/test prep for kids who are enrolled in a brick and mortar school; parents/students looking for home-school curriculum and academic support to achieve HS diploma.

•OWAS: Districts/schools facing teacher shortages; public schools needing to retain students and per pupil funding; schools looking to provide alternative programs/options for diverse student populations. Regional service centers, cooperative buying consortiums, and state departments looking to offer distance learning options for participating districts.

Tarket Market

•Odysseyware Academy is a fully accredited, NCAA approved, virtual school ideal for schools needing distance learning programs for NCAA athletes, homebound students, and/or students looking to accelerate their learning. Parents also have the option to enroll their children directly in OWA for skill practice, test prep, and/or home school curriculum.

•Schools leveraging Odysseyware Academic Services are able to provide more opportunities for students through expanded course offerings and augmenting staff with state-certified teachers for hard-to fill content areas, thus helping to increase graduation rates and retain student enrollments.

Value Proposition


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Competitive Differentiators (Key Messages)

Course offerings

Odysseyware Academy offers 160+ core semester courses for grades 3-12 with unique content for every course using Odysseyware curriculum and LMS. OWA also offers AP courses, 80+ CTE, electives including fine arts, world languages, health and physical education, as well as K-8 remediation through SPARK. Our science labs are 100% virtual. We currently employ over 100 state certified teachers and are always recruiting top talent to meet the goal of having a certified teacher available to offer every course that Odysseyware has curriculum for.

Instructional Supports

Odysseyware instructional supports and individualized learning paths offer many benefits for special education students, English language learners (ELL), and students with diverse learning needs. OWA teachers will answer students' academic questions using the message system and the help notes. For more extensive explanations, students may call one of our teachers through our Academic Hotline and can access additional help during their teacher's office hours. Students can find their teachers' information for attending live office hours by logging into their student dashboard.

Support Through our Partnership Support Services, partner schools receive planning support (initial and ongoing), phone/email support, registration/enrollment support, progress emails on overall program. We also offer:

AP coordinator support

Asynchronous and synchronous support through the message system, help notes, Academic Hotline, and Virtual Office Hours

Full-time or part-time enrollment options

Rolling enrollment option All communication records are viewable in real-time by all stakeholders via our Genius SIS integration, which was specifically designed to help schools operate on a virtual /online environment.

Accreditations Odysseyware Academy is accredited through AdvancEd, the world's largest educational community, with over 32,000 public and private schools. We are also have NCAA-approved courses (when credit awarded through OWA) and AP-approved courses.

Reporting We partner with Genius SIS to offer a powerful web-based student information system designed to make school operation simple, fast and reliable. Genius supports our admission process, controls enrollments, provides academic information to students and guardians, tracks student progress, and monitors communication. Additionally, partners are able to customize real-time reports that help to inform data-driven instructional decision-making.

Technical Infrastructure

Odysseyware has one of lowest bandwidth footprints in the industry. All OW courses are built on a single platform with an easy-to-use interface for both students and administrators. All content is fully HTML5 compliant and does not require Java or Flash plug-ins, enabling students and administrators to access the software on virtually all devices.


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Educator Issues That Odysseyware Academy and Academic Services Solves

Specific Issues Educators Face OWA/OWAS Highlights

Teacher shortages: Budget constraints restrict the ability to fill positions for certified teachers, typically hard-to-fill subject areas such as advanced sciences, world languages, and electives

Extensive course offerings and certified teachers available;

virtual labs, electives, world languages

Teacher shortages: Rural/urban districts often have difficult time recruiting/finding certified teachers within driving/travel radius of school

Extensive course offerings and certified teachers available

District has learners who want more advanced courses, but not enough students/enrollments to warrant FT teacher

Extensive AP, elective course offerings and certified teachers available

Have teachers on FMLA (maternity leave, sick leave); teachers leave unexpectedly

Ability to offer long-term sub with teacher certified in that subject

Have students who can’t attend classes during regular school day and at-risk of failing/not having enough credits to graduation (homebound students, pregnant students, extended illness, heavy scheduling conflicts due to sports/fine arts)

Extensive course offerings and certified teachers available, CRx mode, personalized learning paths, anytime/anyplace 24/7 access, test prep

Students (and parents) are leaving district to attend different school of choice and therefore district needs expanded options to retain students and per pupil funding associated with enrollments

Extensive course offerings and certified teachers available, CRx mode, personalized learning paths, anytime/anyplace 24/7 access, advanced courses

Need NCAA-approved courses for traveling athletes OWA is fully accredited and no additional approvals required. With OWAS, the partner school must get all of their virtual courses and program of study approved by the NCAA Clearinghouse under its own high school code.

Students in need of test prep ACT test prep course (others smaller use cases)

Budget constraints on summer school program–logistics, transportation, teacher pay/availability – and have students who need additional help/recover credits as well as students looking to take accelerated courses and/or lighten schedule load for upcoming year

Ability to use certified teachers rather than paying for teachers over the summer (reducing logistics costs); ability to offer as free or paid for service to parents; leverage for credit recovery, accelerated learning options, test prep, skill practice with SPARK

District needs course in state we don’t have state-certified teacher

Leverage OWA to award credit and transfer to local school


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Customer Profiles

Role Key Careabouts Emphasis

Superintendent Increase graduation rates

Return on investment (ROI)

Evidence of success

Test score improvement

Public perception

Support of school board

Academic achievement across all student populations

Recruiting and paying for certified teachers in hard-to-fill subject areas

Courses offered

State-certified teachers

Success metrics

Accreditations

Testimonials

Retaining students and per pupil funding

Chief Academic Officer/ Curriculum Coordinator/ Director

Resources that match instructional framework and district scope and sequence

Increasing student achievement

Alignment with state standards

Proof that programs work

PD so teachers use with fidelity

Rigor of the content and instructional design

Student engagement

ASU research study

Art of Digital Teaching (AODT)

Sample lessons

Instructional supports

SPARK

Student testimonials

Guidance Counselors

Ease of use

Program creates hope; students can see an end in sight

Support from OWA team

Instructional supports

Student testimonials

Partnership support services

Genius SIS integration

Lead Teacher / Onsite mentor overseeing classroom or homebound students

Simple technology

Ease of use for students and mentors

Support from OWA team

Teacher accessibility for students

Partnership support services

Genius SIS integration

Asynchronous and synchronous support (message system, help notes, Academic Hotline, and Virtual Office Hours)

HR Director

Fill vacant teacher positions

Addressing long term vacancies due to FMLA

Cost effectiveness of using virtual platform over hiring onsite

Quality of certified teachers and solid content versus just plugging a long term sub in the spot

Courses offered

Recruiting process for state-certified teachers

Success metrics

Accreditations


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Qualification Questions Are you losing students (and funding) to outside charters? If so, how many, total dollars lost per pupil and how

often?

Do you have any gaps in course offerings due to teacher shortages?

How do you support non-traditional students?

Do you have virtual learning options for homebound students? NCAA athletes?

Do you currently fill virtual teacher needs with another vendor? If so, who?

Do you have an Alternative Education program? If so, how are you supporting those students?

Do you have a homeschool population? If yes, how are then served?

Would you like to offer a variety of CTE and elective courses but lack the staff?

Market Landscape Overview Online learning provides a means to broaden and expand student experiences. It allows students looking for more advanced work to test and challenge their skills by taking more demanding instructional material. It also allows at-risk students to make up coursework they have missed that they need to graduate.

Delivery Models Online learning across states and school districts varies. Delivery models include:

• supplemental online programs that provide a few courses to students who are enrolled in a school separate from the online program.

• fully online schools that work with students who are enrolled primarily in the online school. • blended learning, which combines online and in-school learning, where students learn at least in part through

online content delivery and in part at school. Supplemental courses can provide access to quality instruction—both required and specialized—not provided elsewhere, including advanced placement, world languages, and CTE. Full-time online schools can be managed by a state, district, university, charter school, not-for-profit, for-profit or other institution. Full-time online programs allow students to enroll and earn academic credit based on successful completion of courses provided by the online school. http://www.ncsl.org/research/education/online-learning-as-graduation-requirement.aspx When it comes to online learning, students employ synchronous and asynchronous communication to get their work done. The word synchronous means working together at the same time, and in the online learning world, chat rooms and online conferences are good examples of synchronous communication. Learning from synchronous communication is enhanced because real-time conversations allow people to explore, through writing or talking, the class concepts. Asynchronous communication is the relay of information with a time lag. Discussion forums and email are two examples of how asynchronous communication is employed in online learning. This time lag in communication helps students internalize information by giving them time to research certain ideas or merely extra time for contemplation. http://www.worldwidelearn.com/education-advisor/questions/synchronous-asynchronous-learning.php

http://www.ncsl.org/research/education/online-learning-as-graduation-requirement.aspx

http://www.worldwidelearn.com/education-advisor/questions/synchronous-asynchronous-learning.php


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Teacher Shortages

Budget and teacher constraints obstruct the ability for districts to offer necessary courses and expanded options for students, most often in urban and rural districts for courses such as world languages, AP, electives, CTE, advanced mathematics, and advanced sciences (such as chemistry and physics). Odysseyware offers state-certified virtual teachers and fully accredited virtual academy supports through our Odysseyware Academy and Academic Services. Odysseyware Academic Services are ideal for districts unable to find local, qualified teachers to teach hard-to-fill courses and districts looking to offer virtual education with certified teachers. Odysseyware Academy is ideal for districts looking to offer virtual education with certified teachers for scholar athletes, homebound students, and/or distance learning requirements. Clayton Christensen Institute, Solving the Nation’s Teacher Shortage

Legislation Seat time, or the Carnegie Unit, bases the awarding of academic credit on a defined minimum amount of instructional time in a subject area. The standard Carnegie Unit is defined as 120 hours, which translates into one hour of instruction per subject per day, for 24 weeks. Most public high schools use the Carnegie Unit and award students one credit for a course that lasts all school year and a half credit for a course that lasts a semester. The term is typically a derogatory reference to the perception that course credits more accurately measure “seat time”—i.e., the amount of time students have sat in a classroom—than what students have actually learned or failed to learn. Critics of “seat time” typically argue that if credits are not based on some form of consistently applied learning standards—expectations for what students should know and be able to do at a particular stage of their education—then it becomes difficult to determine what students have learned or failed to learn. (http://edglossary.org/seat-time/) According to the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, 42 states have created at least some flexibility for school districts to base academic credit on mastery rather than just seat time. “Seat-time Waiver” policies allow school districts to request a waiver from the state from seat time provisions for awarding credit. Waiver requests usually must illustrate why the school district is requesting the flexibility and how the district will award credit for graduation. A number is schools have solved this issue with OWA reporting and teacher involvement and progress monitoring of student performance. “Credit Flexibility” provides permission for schools and districts to develop alternatives to earning credit through seat-time, such as awarding credits based on demonstrated mastery of standards and competencies. These policies provide districts and schools with the ability to base credit on factors other than seat time. Credit flexibility ensures districts have allowable alternatives to seat-time awarding of credit. Competency-based “redesign” policies are comprehensive and begin with offering credit flexibility but provide an advanced state policy framework that result in building capacity across the systems to support competency-based pathways. Advanced redesign in moving from seat-time to competency-based education includes redefining how students earn credits by redefining the Carnegie Unit into specific standards and competencies. The focus on mastery eliminates definitions of credits by seat-time and states re-examine all existing state policies that are rooted in seat-time so that districts can move toward learner-centered approaches.

http://edglossary.org/seat-time/


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http://www.competencyworks.org/understanding-competency-education/moving-from-seat-time-to-competency-based-credits-in-state-policy-ensuring-all-students-develop-mastery/

Funding Each student has a dollar amount attached to them. States have terms for this including FTE, average daily membership, expenditure per pupil, etc. This amount is usually divided by how many class periods the student is actually taking courses at the school. Every state is different, so it’s important to ask pertinent questions to districts to understand current state of losing students to charter schools and other schools of choice and future impact. This said, it is extremely important for schools to educate and hold on to as many students as possible. From day one, OWA/S has helped schools keep their funding and support their students’ academic needs. It is not uncommon for a student to leave a district to attend a “FREE” Cyber Charter School. Students often become a number at these free cyber schools and lack the support needed for success; therefore, they may return to the brick and mortar with tremendous deficits. OWA/S can help with the initial problem (students leaving/funding leaving) and provide a solution after the fact (student deficit/remediation).




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Competition Edmentum: EdOptions Academy Price Structure: Unknown

Top Areas We Win Where EdOptions Academy Falls Short Leading Questions

Extensive course offerings within one platform

Some content duplicated within and across courses to appear as “more”

Content across multiple platforms

Inconsistent instructional design

Outdated Content from 2009-11

Only grades 6-12

If you could use a solution that resides on a single platform, and provides quality and consistency across every course, how could this not only save you time but benefit your students and teachers (and, in turn, foster student performance?)

Support

Difficult to reach and get answers

High turnover of partners

How important is customer service to you?

Do you want to be known by name?

If you have an urgent need, is it important for you to have a “go to” person that can meet that need quickly and effectively?

Data/reporting Unable to provide real-time data due to multiple platforms

How valuable is it to see student attendance and progress at a glance and without much effort?

How much time do you spend compiling student data right now?

Customizability Limited Customization

No Flex

Thresholds cannot be adjust based on student need

If you have a student with unique needs, is it important to be able to create and provide a program that meets the student needs?

If a student has test anxiety, would it be nice to be able to adjust test/ project/quiz/lesson weightings and thresholds accordingly?

Apex Learning: Apex Learning Virtual School Price Structure: Direct Enroll: $5,575/tuition by year (12 semester courses) Partnership enroll: $350/semester course

Top Areas We Win Where Apex Virtual School Falls Short Leading Questions



Grades 6-12 with greater focus on 9-12

Limited CTE

Lacking consistent checks for understanding


Support

High turnover How important is customer service to you?


If you have an urgent need, is it important for you to have a “go to” person that can meet that need quickly and effectively?


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And if the answer is yes, what would this mean to you and your students/teachers/etc.?

Content and Student engagement

Currently only 78 courses listed in their high school catalog

Lacking consistent checks for understanding

Content is “text-heavy”

Lacks engaging materials

Customizability is limited

Limited video support

Do you feel it’s important to evaluate students after each lesson and if so, why (sort of like daily worksheets)?

If you have a student with unique needs, how important is it to be able to create and provide a program that meets student needs?

If a student has test anxiety, how helpful would it be to have the capability to adjust test/project/quiz/lesson weightings and thresholds accordingly?

When you think about curriculum, what items must be provided? What about a program that will empower and engage your students?

Edgenuity: Instructional Services and Virtual Program Price Structure: Semester rate: $1,500, price per semester course is over $300

Top Areas We Win Where Edgenuity Falls Short Leading Questions



Grades 6-12


Support

Lack of teacher relationship (directly from Partner)

Students struggled to reach teacher

Long turnaround times for grading

How important is customer service to you?


If you have an urgent need, is it important for you to have a “go to” person that can meet that need quickly and effectively? And if the answer is yes, what would this mean to you and your students/ teachers/etc.?

Data/Reporting Lacks real-time data

Difficulty tracking student progress

Attendance difficult to manage due to lack of real time data

What if you have to wait a day to find out if all of your students were in attendance on Monday? What would this do to your record keeping, your attendance policies?

What if I could offer you a program that would tell you in real-time whether or not your students are in attendance? What if you could see that Sally completed an exam 30 seconds after she turned it in to her teacher? How would this help you and your team?


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FuelEd: K12 Virtual Schools Price Structure: Semester enrollment: $299-350 Often offered in “Blocks” of enrollments Often break cost into curriculum and service

Top Areas We Win Where Apex Virtual School Falls Short Leading Questions



18 credit recovery courses


I heard you share that Credit Recovery is important to you and your program. Can you share with me the courses your students need as a credit recovery option?

Support

High turnover Odysseyware takes great pride in their renewal rate of 95+ percent and we hear from our partners that it is SO nice to have consistency and confidence in their program year to year. Just suppose you had a program that could grow with your school year to year, what would this mean to you?

Customer References

1) Alamogordo Public School District, NM Darlene Mellen, Director of Virtual Learning 575.812.6566 [email protected]

Alamogordo Public School District is in the 3rd year of partnership with Odysseyware Academic Services. The partnership focuses on initial course credit, credit acceleration, early graduation, and to fill graduation gaps. The administrators and staff appreciate the variety of courses, the ease of use, engagement of students and the success students’ experience.

2) Crosslake Community School, MN Stacy Bender 218.821.6396 [email protected]

Crosslake Community School’s partnership with Odysseyware Academic Services focuses on full-time high school students. The students take 6-7 Odysseyware courses each year, taught by OWAS teachers. Crosslake Community School’s virtual program has doubled in size since they began using Odysseyware Academic Services in 2014. The students and staff appreciate the responsiveness of our teachers and rigor of our courses.


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3) Lincoln Intermediate Unit 12, Charter School PA Alan Moose

717.718.5857 [email protected]

LIU12 is a 7-year partner with Odysseyware Academic Services and Odysseyware Academy. LIU12’s program supports over 20 districts in central Pennsylvania. The Schools use Odysseyware Academic Services and Odysseyware Academy to fill the need for core credits, CTE and elective credits, credit recovery needs and individual unique academic needs.

4) Boulder Universal (CO) Jamie Baker 303.547.5224 [email protected]

Boulder Universal in Colorado is a multi-district online school, offering virtual classes for K-12. Students take courses using Odysseyware Academic Services through Boulder Universal. Boulder Universal is accredited with the Colorado Department of Education. In addition to having an in person, drop in computer lab where students can meet and complete coursework in a relaxed, friendly atmosphere, every student receives quality differentiated content, support from an Odysseyware provided virtual instructor, mentor and counselor, and academic assistance.

5) Lincoln EDGE (PA) Alan Moose, Supervisor of Online Learning 717.718.5857 [email protected]

Lincoln EDGE in Pennsylvania is a public cyber school using Odysseyware Academic Services to educate students anytime, anywhere, anyplace. Lincoln EDGE offers students in Adams, Franklin, and York counties an alternative to traditional public school yet the ability to receive a high school diploma from their home school district by completing online courses. On-site tutoring, technical support, virtual classrooms, social emotional learning and social opportunities are offered through Lincoln EDGE.

6) Queen City ISD (TX) Gayle Miller, Director of Instruction and Technology 903.796.8256 [email protected]

Queen City ISD is a rural school district in east Texas who partnered with Odysseyware Academic Services to provide Spanish to their students. Queen City High School serves approximately 300 students and could not provide a Texas certified Spanish teacher. By partnering with Odysseyware Academic Services, students have access to Odysseyware digital content and a Texas certified teachers as part of their course offerings.

7) School District of Manatee County (FL) Nicole Cox, Assoc. Director of ESE 941-751-6550 ext.2217 [email protected]


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School District of Manatee County is a suburban school district on Florida’s Gulf Coast serving approximately 46,000 students. School District of Manatee County implements a hybrid model of Odyssey digital content and academic services for their hospital homebound program. Students who need short term support for their absences from school utilize Odysseyware digital content monitored and supported by School District of Manatee County teachers. Students who need long term support for their absence utilize Odysseyware digital content with Florida certified teachers from Odysseyware Academic Services.

Tools and Resources

Marketing Resource Site Find the latest customer-facing documents on the Marketing Resources Site. Search using the main tool bar:

OR go to the “Academy” tab under “Solutions”:


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Sharepoint Site

https://glynlyon.sharepoint.com/owa

Here you will find the latest course guides by state (these are internal-facing documents):

Information on NCAA:

https://glynlyon.sharepoint.com/owa


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As well as FAQs from your peers:

Additional resources are housed on this site as well, so be sure to visit and click through the various tabs.

Marketing Exchange Newsletter Check your inbox every other Thursday for the latest initiatives from Marketing. The Marketing Exchange is an internal bi-weekly newsletter designed to keep you up-to-date on new campaigns, templates, assets, trainings, customer programs, events, and more.

sales playbook: owa/s - glndocs.s3. · pdf filewith owas, the partner school must get all of...

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