A Scalable K-12 Education Solution: K12 CEO Ron Packard (Part 7)

SM: Conceptually, what is going on behind the scene with these skill assessments?

RP: We look at the state standards for every state we operate in. In those states, we deliver a curriculum that meets or exceed that states standards. In some cases we will give a child an assessment to figure out what they know and do not know. We will have teachers do individualize sessions to plug in the skill gaps. We also have some automated stuff delivered to them to help fill in those skill gaps. The fhilr will take an assessment that will measure what they are supposed to know. We can reassess them on a monthly basis. We can adjust the curriculum to address those skill gaps.

SM: How much of that is manual versus automated?

RP: The assessments are all automated online. Once you do the assessments, then we know what the skill gaps are so we are able to fill them in as needed with a custom program form, which requires manual intervention.

SM: Are you using your teachers or are you using the online school’s teachers?

RP: In some cases they work for the not-for-profit and in some cases they work for us. In all cases we teach and manage those teachers.

SM: If you go to a public school environment, then you are working with teachers of the public school system.

RP: They are all certified teachers; thus, they should be highly qualified in the in which they operate.

SM: Unfortunately, only 29% of the math and science teachers have any idea about the subject they are teaching.

RP: Correct, however, our teachers in those subjects are highly qualified.

SM: If you make a game plan with brick-and-mortar public schools to use [online teachers] in place of their teachers, then you are going to have to train them to your methodology.

RP: We are comfortable with that. We are experts at training online teachers. We have trained more online teachers than anyone else has.

SM: My thesis on education in general is that it will have to be solved with technology. It will have to be technology that mitigates the content and knowledge gap we have in teachers. If we have to get the public school education system to improve quality it has to be done through technology.

RP: That is the only way it can be scaled. If you don’t do it that way, you cannot scale the solution. I am building this company around a scalable solution. I am banking the future on this being the right solution.

SM: Good luck with that endeavor.

This segment is part 7 in the series : A Scalable K-12 Education Solution: K12 CEO Ron Packard
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