Two on board question online class push

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) - Two school board members on Monday night questioned Grand Rapids Public Schools administrators' push for more online classes, saying they are not opposed to more use of technology but are concerned about the scale of the changes.

"I am skeptical," board member Tony Baker said at the board meeting. "I hope that people understand that my skepticism comes out of a concern for the changes that are pretty dramatic and pretty radical as has been stated by everyone in agreement."

Baker specifically asked how many traditionally taught classes still would be available to high school students.

Administrators, who have said traditional classes would be an option alongside online classes, said space in the traditional courses would be limited.

Board member Wendy Falb asked how the online class push would change the ratio of students to certified teachers.

"I'm not trying to save teachers' jobs," she said. "I'm trying to think deeply about what's best for children learning."

"We did not increase the ratio," GRPS Chief Academic Officer Carolyn Evans said in response. "In fact, in terms of adult-to-student ratio, we probably have decreased the ratio."

The other six board members present did not express similar skepticism.

In an online classroom 24 Hour News 8 visited last week, the class was larger than a traditional one -- roughly 45 students -- but those students had two teachers and other adults present.

Students we talked to said despite the larger class, they have more-one-on-one attention with teachers because when they move at their own pace, they're not all asking for help at once.

Falb expressed support for another change pushed as part of Superintendent Bernard Taylor's 'State of Our Schools' address: rearranging secondary school leadership.

But the board member expressed concern about Taylor's push for GRPS-sponsored charter schools, asking what specifically those schools would offer to parents and students that traditional GRPS schools could not.

Taylor and other supporters said the answer was simply more choice.

As at the 'State of Our Schools' speech, some community leaders spoke in favor of the district's reform efforts, including Amway President Doug DeVos.

"Change is never an easy thing to do," DeVos said. "It's always difficult to work through tough situations, but it's not something that you really have an option."