CESA 9 and Wisconsin Virtual School Visit

We traveled north to Tomahawk to visit Jerry Fiene, Administrator of CESA 9 and Dawn Nordine, Director of the Wisconsin Virtual School on August 18, 2010. CESA (Cooperative Educational Service Agencies) serves educational needs in all areas of Wisconsin by serving as a link both between school districts and between school districts and the state. CESA 9 is made up of 22 school districts in north central Wisconsin and serves 2,800 teachers and 38,000 students in 100 public school buildings. The Wisconsin Virtual School is an online course service provider that partners with school districts throughout the state, to offer online courses to middle and high school students.

During our visit we talked about:

• How the Wisconsin Virtual School provides course content, platform, Wisconsin-certified online teachers, technical support, training, server and much more.

• How the Wisconsin Virtual School is funded.

• Development of bylaws for the Wisconsin Rural Schools Alliance.

• The Add-on Licensure program offered through the EXCEL Center and how it can benefit districts.

• Cooperating teachers who work with student teachers must complete a course in supervision of student teachers, which the college offers in online, hybrid and in-person formats. 

• A preparatory course for the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, which is now offered by the college.