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VLA marks 20 years of education

STEUBENVILLE -- The Jefferson County Educational Service Center Virtual Learning Academy has been changing lives for 20 years.

The academy provides educational opportunities to those throughout the country, with Thursday marking its 20th anniversary with a special celebration.

The event will take place at 11:30 a.m. on the lower level of the R. Larry George Training Annex, located at 1913 Estelle Ave. in Steubenville.

The entire VLA staff is expected to attend, including one staffer who works in Florida and another who works in Cambridge.

Speakers will include long-time staff members, JCESC officials and VLA Director Mark Masloski. School principals and other officials from school districts who work with the VLA have also been invited.

Outreach Coordinator Brant Starkey reflected on the VLA's accomplishments since the program went online in 2004.

"We have served more than 500 districts throughout the 20 years of the existence of VLA," he said. "More than 133,000 students have been served, which I felt was kind of impressive."

The VLA has kept pace with technology as it applies to education, testing new developments to determine which will best benefit students.

"We have been able to use various different types of technology as it has advanced through the years," Starkey continued. "Right now, we use state-of-the-art tools for the program. We have partnerships with a number of different organizations in the educational field."

"We have done our due diligence to try to find the best services to help the students," he added, noting the VLA's services "would stand them in good stead during COVID-19."

"Four or five years ago, we were dealing with the pandemic, and a lot of online curriculum providers sprung up as an answer to that, which I thought was great in-and-of-itself; but, I just thought it was important to point out that we were around 15 years prior to that," Starkey stated.

The academy's practices have earned attention, with the program becoming well-regarded by the state.

"We have a very strong relationship with the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce," Starkey said. "They know what we do here. They have actually, in a lot of cases, referred schools and districts to us because of how well we do what we do. To have the state's governing body for education point to us as an effective resource for helping students and schools get information that they need, is something that we take a lot of pride in."

Starkey credits the Virtual Leanring Academy's success to putting the participating schools' needs first.

"The content we create here is pertinent, it's relevant, it is what the schools are looking for to offer their students," he said.

"Whenever we have a school or organization come onto us that was from another curriculum provider, we constantly hear about how much better our platform is, how much easier it is to operate and as a result, their ability to do what they do alongside their students is greatly enhanced," added.

The VLA's commitment to customer service is another hallmark. Schools working with the academy can expect a response to any question within 48 hours and usually on the same day.

"We're a small organization, but we pride ourselves on being accessible," Starkey said. "Customer service is something that we constantly hear about from the schools that we serve, about how impressed they are about how quickly we help them, how quickly we get back to them when they inquire about something and how quickly their issues are resolved."

Starkey commends the program's many new employees, who have embraced VLA practices and are making valuable contributions.

The VLA is looking to the future. The program offers newer courses which focus on social and emotional learning due to the prevalence of social media.

"A lot of students today are dealing with social and emotional issues that weren't around maybe just a generation ago," Starkey stated.

Another significant development is artificial intelligence -- and the VLA has not shied away.

Staff members attend numerous conferences and seminars regarding applications of AI, Starkey noted.

"We've tried to get out in front of it and use it as much as we can to augment and supplement what we do in serving the students and the organizations they're in," he said.

VLA is being used in numerous states and has been utilized in all 50 states and countries across the world, depending on where students are located.

The VLA also can serve people who speak multiple languages.

"We truly believe in what we're doing here," Starkey continued. "We understand that we do what we do inside these walls, but we know it's impacting so many people beyond even just Jefferson County. Most of the organizations that use us have perused our course catalogue. We offer more than 300 courses from kindergarten through 12th grade. A lot of those are modified for students who need a little bit in the way of help."

Starkey said VLA is constantly adding new courses, with one of the latest being a conservation science course which many are excited about, particularly in rural parts of their service area.

"We've got hunters, we've got fishermen, we've got boaters, we've got people who are outside," he said. "In addition to the basic biology and the physical sciences and the life sciences and those things, we came across some curriculum that allowed us to develop a conservation science course that talks about how to help preserve animal wildlife. That's very big in this part of the state and in other parts of the state as well, so we're very excited about that."

The latest feather in VLA's cap is accreditation through the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools, recognized as a sign of quality throughout all 50 states and internationally.

Barry Gullen, board president of the Educational Service Center, said there is much to celebrate.

"We're glad to be able to have that program for the schools and for the students," Gullen said. "It's growing. We'd still love to see more expansion to whatever school districts may need it, and I think our people are doing a good job. It's a positive thing for the students."

VLA serves all students including those who are credit deficient, home bound or home schooled. It can serve as a stand-alone program or be implemented within a district's already-existing curriculum.

For information about the VLA, e-mail vla@jcesc.org, call (740) 283-3347 Ext. 100 or visit visit its website jcesc.k12.oh.us/vla.aspx.