Portland, Ore. (Oct. 16, 2008) – Aventa Learning, a leading provider of online curriculum and instruction for schools and districts, has added 20 online middle school courses to its diverse catalog of courses for grades 6-12. With the new courses, Aventa offers a full range of core and elective middle school subjects, including language arts, math, science, social studies, world language, health, and art. Now schools can offer more standards-based courses, e-learning options, and a media-rich educational environment to students in grades 6-8 to reach them at a critical time in their academic and personal development.

The middle school years are a time of tremendous social, physical and emotional change for students, and play a significant role in shaping their future. This presents a unique challenge for educators. Research shows motivational and social-emotional factors can greatly affect academic achievement.

The National Middle School Association states that one of the characteristics of successful middle schools is a relevant, challenging, integrative, and exploratory curriculum that caters to young adolescents. Aventa has designed its online middle school curriculum to help schools meet this standard and the unique needs of young adolescent students in the following ways:

• Pacing – Classes are broken up into weekly “lessons,” approximately five hours of work each week, to keep students on track.

• Interdisciplinary connections – Courses draw upon other subject areas for cross-subject learning. For example, a math lesson on probability illustrates an example using the chance of rain to integrate science concepts.

• Using assessment for learning – Courses incorporate a research project or “web quest” to develop students’ content-area knowledge and 21st century skills, while also enabling the teacher to assess student understanding of the subject and the research process.

• Critical thinking skills – Lessons include a range of activities, such as compare and contrast projects, to prompt students to use higher order thinking skills rather than simply memorize facts.

• Relevancy – Course elements draw parallels to activities and topics that interest 10-15 year-old students to engage them in the learning process, such as using skateboarding to introduce a math concept.

• Exposure to community service – Students can chose from several age-appropriate community service projects outlined in the courses. This instructional strategy satisfies young students’ desire for public service, motivates them in the learning process, enriches the overall lesson plan, and helps students understand their role in the world around them.

The Wisconsin Virtual School, operated by Cooperative Educational Service Agency (CESA) 9 in Tomahawk, Wis., is using Aventa’s middle school curriculum exclusively. The school provides online courses for students in grades 6-12 to schools throughout the state. The main reasons Wisconsin students chose online courses is to make up credits or take a course not offered at their school.

Since the young teen years are a time of great discovery and change, Aventa offers two courses among its list of new core and elective courses that provide middle school students with a comprehensive overview of the subject and hands-on activities for students to explore their interests.

In the Career Explorations course, students learn about various careers available today, complete self-evaluations, and conduct research and interviewing assignments that help them create a plan for the future.

The World Languages Survey course introduces students to six different languages within 18 weeks, including Spanish, French, German, Latin, Chinese, and Japanese. This multilingual course is designed to give students an opportunity to gain understanding of a language that they may want to further study in the future.

Aventa’s courses enable schools and districts to incorporate online education programs into their curriculum to broaden their course offerings and individualize instruction while minimizing staffing and facility costs. To ensure successful online learning, Aventa trains educators who are designated as the school’s student mentors and provides a dedicated learning coach who is available to answer questions and provide best practices to school or district staff.

More Information

For detailed course descriptions and full course catalog, go to www.aventalearning.com/middleschoolcourses.html. Aventa offers several package options based on course curriculum, content hosting and online teacher instruction to suit the needs of schools and districts. Contact Aventa at 1-800-594-5504 for pricing information, or visit www.aventalearning.com for more information.

For a closer look at how Aventa’ courses are being used in the schools, visit Wisconsin Virtual School, or National Middle School Association.

About Aventa Learning

Aventa Learning is a leading provider of online curriculum and instruction for schools and districts. The company offers one of the largest catalogs of online courses, including core curriculum, electives, foreign language, and Advanced Placement for middle school, high school and credit recovery. More than 1,000 virtual schools, charter schools, school districts, and state education departments across the United States rely on Aventa to offer expanded educational opportunities to their students, help at-risk students succeed, and accommodate students’ unique scheduling needs, without adding staff or classrooms.

About KC Distance Learning

Headquartered in Portland, Ore., KC Distance Learning (KCDL) is a leading provider of online and distance learning programs for the K-12 education market through its company brands: Keystone National Middle School, Keystone National High School, Aventa Learning, and iQ Academies. Over its 30-year history, KCDL has enriched the lives of more than 200,000 students, helping them reach their individual learning goals. KCDL offers online curriculum and instruction for middle school and high school students directly to families, including core, honors, foreign language, and Advanced Placement courses. KCDL also provides to educational institutions and agencies a complete credit recovery program, middle and high school courses that augment existing school curriculum, and comprehensive virtual school solutions. KCDL also partners with public school districts to offer a public, statewide tuition-free online education for students in grades 6-12 who want an alternative to a traditional school.

Contacts

KC Distance Learning
Pamela Kislak
503-731-5404
pkislak at klcorp dot com
www.aventalearning.com

C. Blohm & Associates, Inc.
Charlene Blohm
608-839-9800
charlene at cblohm dot com
www.cblohm.com

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