10% Match From a Private Entity
Partner
 QZAB
CL Academy (QCA)
 QZAB
CL Academy (QCA)
Important Note to school superintendents,
school business managers/CFOs, financial advisors, bond counsels and 10%
match partners :
The U.S. Congress and IRS have expressed serious
concerns about certain school superintendents, financial
advisors, bond counsels and 10% match partners misusing the 10% match
provision by:
- Valuing the 10% match contributions above
the market value
- Not requiring the 10% match partner to set
up an academic program in the school district to "prepare
students for college and the workforce" as required by the QZAB
legislation. Notice that the "A" in QZAB stands for Academy.
Avoid these two serious violations, and
set up a proper QZAB program such as the QZAB CyberLearning Academy
at Collier County School District in Florida described below:
Collier
County School District, Naples, FL
Collier
County Education Group
QZAB CyberLearning Academy Report
Semester One, 2006-2007
January
2, 2007
2006-07 First Semester Report on the
QZAB CyberLearning IT/Math Academy Program set up with 10% Match from
the Nonprofit National Education Foundation
Result: 25% improvement in student scores
in one semester
By Grace Vaknin, Project Manager
The Collier County Public School District
serves the city of Naples and the city of Immokalee in Florida
. Immokalee has a large agricultural area and is the home to many migrant
workers and their families. 98% of the students
in this area are on free or reduced lunch. We have concentrated the QZAB
CyberLearning IT/Math Academy Program in this area. Our goal
is not only to improve the technology and math skills of our Immokalee
Students but also to prepare them for "school to work". The CyberLearning
course work lends to IT certifications in areas such as
Microsoft office (Word, Excel and Access), Web Development (Dreamweaver,
Flash, Adobe Photoshop CS, etc.) and Networking (A+, Novell and Cisco).
Our expectations are that some of these students will achieve this certification,
allowing them to be competitive as they enter the work force.
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CyberLearning Program
Locations and Licensing
|
| Location |
Packages Assigned |
# of Licenses |
| Immokalee Middle School(IMM) |
IC3 & Remedial Math |
306 |
| Immokalee High School (IHS) |
School & Office Computing & Web Development |
611 |
| Immokalee Career Center (ICC) |
IT Professional & School and Office Computing |
511 |
| Technical High School (ALT) |
School and Office Computing & Web Development |
343 |
| TAPP (ALT) |
Remedial Math |
21 |
| PHOENIX (ALT) |
Remedial Math |
21 |
| New Beginnings (ALT) |
IC3 & Remedial Math |
42 |
| Lake Trafford (LTE) |
IC3 |
55 |
Jaime Hernandez and Grace Vaknin demonstrate CyberLearning Mastery Certificates
that his
students earned upon completion of each section of their course work in
CyberLearning.
As the Super Administrator I entered into training with Deepu Mitra,
Program Director for CyberLearning. I initially trained with him intensively
for approximately two weeks via webcams and phone conferences. I still
am in contact with him almost daily with regard to field issues and updates
to the CyberLearning site. In turn, with his initial help I was able to
create an Instructional Guide for both the Super Administrator (myself)
and the Training Administrators (participating teachers). The teachers
and I have worked together to plan out their curriculum for the year,
integrating the CyberLearning course work where ever feasible. Each teacher
is aware that their students need to begin and end each course with the
Skills Assessment Test. This test serves as both the pretest
and post test . This test must be done in one seating
by the student and takes approximately 30 minutes. It consists of 30 randomized
questions that are pulled from a bank of 100. Thus, students sitting next
to one another do not see the same questions. The teachers have begun
viewing reports to see that their students are on task and to track their
progress. These are the reports that will eventually need to be turned
into the CyberLearning Center at the end of each semester. Each Training
Administrator will receive a stipend from CyberLearning at the end of
the first semester and again at the end of the second semester. Also,
as an additional incentive each Training Administrator has been personally
assigned the CyberLearning course packages for their own use.
Students also receive 24x7 live instant
mentoring from CyberLearning online mentors. For a nominal
hosting/mentoring fee paid to CyberLearning (CyberLearning provides 95%
matching grant), the students get a unique opportunity to take a variety
of CyberLearning classes which enables them to then master
skills and take the certification tests for their particular
area of study. In many of the classes the students move back and forth
between the CyberLearning course work and a hands-on lab that reinforces
the course work. This appears to be a highly successful method of implementation.
Many students have already completed the
IC3 digital literacy course. This course meets the Federal
NCLB (No Child Left Behind) technology proficiency mandates for 8th graders.
In addition, it enables the students to obtain a universally recognized
digital literacy certification. Such certification will add to their job
prospects even if they drop out of school.
Currently, I am employed as an Instructional Technology Coordinator
and Project Manager, working with teachers and curriculum developers.
The costs involved with using CyberLearning, as provided by the National
Education Foundation, are far less than the average online curriculum.
Most school districts do not have the funds or expertise to offer this
type of courseware and delivery. With CyberLearning any school district
can now afford to have its own online program packaged specifically to
its needs. I strongly recommend that school
districts take advantage of the CyberLearning QZAB 10% match grant to
help their students improve their IT and math skills, thus preparing them
to enter the 21st century as competitors in the global economy.
In order to issue a QZAB, the following two requirements
must be met:
1. 10% Contribution: QZAB can only
be issued if the school district secures a private entity partner willing
to contribute cash or in-kind services or materials having an acceptable
present fair market value as of the date of the QZAB bond issuance
of not less than 10% of the net present value of the amount of money borrowed.
2. QZAB Academic Program: The QZAB
private partner must work with the school to plan and implement a QZAB
academic program "to increase graduation and employment rates, and
better prepare students for college and the workforce under a plan approved
by the local school system."
(U.S. Department of Education mandate).
QZAB CyberLearning Academy Program:
To meet the above QZAB mandates,the non-profit National Education Foundation
(NEF), offers to contribute the 10% and help set up QZAB CyberLearning
Academies at the QZAB schools.
NEF's main mission is to bridge the Digital and Academic Divide (gap between
haves and have-nots)
by providing high-quality courses and mentors in academic and technology
topics to disadvantaged schools, colleges and non-profits.
To any school district qualifying for QZAB, NEF contributes from over
1,600 high-quality online CyberLearning (see www.cyberlearning.org)
course content.
Popular Course Packages:
Elementary School:
- K-5 Math in English/Spanish and parent
guide in English/Spanish mapping to NCLB
Middle School:
- Grades 6-8 Math mapping to NCLB
- IC3 Digital Literacy mapping to NCLB
tech proficiency test
High School/ Vocational or Career Tech or Alternative or Adult
School:
- 60 IT certifications
including MOS (Microsoft Office Specialist), A+, Net+, Photoshop, CCNA,
CNE, Unix, C++, Sybase, .Net, Web Master, MCSE and MCSA certifications,
C+ etc.
- Business Skills including business
management, business communication, time management, goal setting, quicken,
quick books, resumes, motivation etc.
In addition to providing the 10% contribution, NEF assists the school
to design an effective academic program for its students and an entire
professional development (including IT) program for its teachers, as it
has done for many school districts in New Jersey and other states. For
information on the statewide New Jersey program, contact Ms. Diane Koye,
NJ QZAB director at (609)-292-3554.
Thus, the NEF contribution helps schools to meet both the QZAB mandates
listed above.
Contact:
For securing a 10% matching contribution, please contact:
Dr. Laurence Peters, VP
National Education Foundation CyberLearning (www.cyberlearning.org)
Phone: (703) 823-9999
E-mail: qzab@cyberlearning.org
Dr. Appu Kuttan with President Bill Clinton
DR. APPU KUTTAN the 2006 Global Digital
Literacy Champion Award Winner, noted educator, author and philanthropist,
is the chairman of the non-profit National Education Foundation CyberLearning
(www.cyberlearning.org), the
national non-profit leader in bridging
the digital and academic divides. He is the creator of many concepts,
such as "CyberLearning," "Management By Systems,"
"Total Tennis," and "Holistic Executive," has advised
many world leaders, including Rajiv Gandhi (on making India an IT superpower),
and has helped develop many young celebrities, such as tennis champions
Andre Agassi and Monica Seles and U.S. Presidential honoree Roger Kuttan.
Dr. Kuttan is the national expert in structuring customized 10% QZAB
matching contribution programs that benefit the school districts the most.
DR. LAURENCE PETERS is the National Education Foundation's QZAB
CyberLearning Academy program director. As the official in charge of the
QZAB program at the U.S. Department of Education, Dr. Peters was a principal
participant in the preparation of the QZAB legislation and its implementation,
and as such wrote many QZAB directives. Dr. Peters is considered to
be the national expert on QZAB.
Please read the slides below to see how the QZAB CyberLearning Academy
program works:
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