Controversial Virtual School Operator Pivots to Job Training
The for-profit educator has been under fire for years over charges that it has provided degrees and certificates that have been of little worth to students.
K12 INC., THE controversial for-profit virtual charter school operator, plans to pivot its entire platform to career education and has laid the groundwork to offer the new programs in 40 states over the next three years.
"This is a pivot, absolutely," says Kevin Chavous, president of academics, policy and schools at K12. "We were the first ones to do the online education in a big way. Now, this is a pivot where we have a laser focus on academics and student growth, but the corresponding focus on [career] gives kids more opportunity than they otherwise wouldn't have."
In an interview with U.S. News, Chavous and Executive Vice President Shaun McAlmont, who was hired in August to direct the shift toward career readiness, outlined K12's new direction.
The company is focusing on a handful of core industries, including information technology, business, manufacturing, health sciences or health care, and agriculture. McAlmont says they plan to peg different industry course offerings to specific parts of the country. Schools in Ohio and Michigan will offer specialized courses IT and health care, for example, while its schools in California will offer specialized courses in all the industries.
K12 already has 13 programs in place, which the company brands as "destination career academies." They serve approximately 7,000 students. The goal is to roll out the new offerings over the course of the next three years across 40 states and ultimately have all of K12's 120,000 students taking a least some career education classes.
Students enrolled in specific industry tracks will take two to three courses in that track each year with the goal to have 10 to 12 courses completed by graduation, along with a certificate that allows for immediate employment. The new programs will also involve a job-shadowing component, which will be up and running in seven states by the end of this academic year, they say.
"We really want to be the comprehensive national provider of career education, and we feel that nobody is doing it at that scale right now," McAlmont says. "We are looking for industry partners at the national level and local level to build that."
K12's shift raises obvious questions as the for-profit model in the higher education world has CONTINUE READING: Controversial Virtual School Operator K12 Pivots to Job Training | Education News | US News
