# Improving Student and Teacher Connections With Class

Calcasieu Parish School Board developed a unique approach to virtual learning and trusted Class to facilitate their program. Within their first year of existence, they earned a Model of Excellence Award.

## Key Outcomes
- **30** extra courses available via the virtual program
- **14** highly certified teachers serving **11** high schools
- **60** hours of free college credits to students in every high school
- **500+** additional seats across the Parish

### The Challenge: Finding the right tool to enhance virtual learning

After a rocky online learning experience during the pandemic, [Calcasieu Parish School Board](https://www.cpsb.org/) realized they needed to rethink the virtual classroom. “We felt like we still needed to be prepared for some type of virtual opportunity for our students,” begins Dr. Doug DeVillier, Virtual Program Director at Calcasieu. “But we’ve also had some issues in the past with teacher shortages, accreditations, credentials of teachers, being able to really maximize our staff. So our virtual instruction program was created really to solve the problem of the teacher shortage and trying to find a smarter way to use the staff we had.”

With their end goals in mind, Calcasieu [designed a unique virtual instruction program (VIP)](https://www.cpsb.org/site/default.aspx?PageType=3&ModuleInstanceID=14785&ViewID=7b97f7ed-8e5e-4120-848f-a8b4987d588f&RenderLoc=0&FlexDataID=64021&PageID=9026) that flipped the idea of online learning on its head.

“When you say ‘virtual’, people think the students are home. They think maybe the teachers are at home, but that’s not the case [at Calcasieu],” explains Doug. “The students are actually on their campus, but they’re not virtual all day long. And that’s really the game changer. They are face-to-face their entire day. But if they want to take a particular virtual class, which we offer through the virtual instruction program, they go into a special computer lab, and in that lab, they log in. Live time, live instruction. When they log in, their teacher logs in, and they are actually having a conversation with their teachers.”

## The Solution: Making virtual feel like face-to-face

After discovering Class, Calcasieu knew they’d found the right online learning tool to support their newly-designed virtual program. Class has connected students and teachers through an enriching virtual experience that still focuses on live, face-to-face learning.

“Class has definitely helped us build relationships with students in the sense that we still see the kids’ faces every day,” begins Samantha Jacobson, Math Teacher at Calcasieu. “We log on, and we talk to them live every day. I can still read their facial expressions.”

“Even though the students are across the district from each other, it’s been really fascinating to see them build relationships,” adds Hannah Hebert, another Calcasieu Math Teacher. “We’ve had students say, ‘I’ve made friends with people that I might not have met otherwise at my school, but I have a lot in common with’.”

## The Result: Preparing students for college and beyond

By adding Class to their edtech stack, Calcasieu delivered an engaging virtual instruction program that helps connect students and teachers, improve learning outcomes, and prepare students for the next step in their futures. The state of Louisiana even recognized the success of the VIP and awarded Calcasieu with a [Model of Excellence](https://www.louisianabelieves.com/newsroom/news-releases/release/2023/02/09/louisiana-department-of-education-names-calcasieu-parish-school-board-models-of-excellence-recipient).

With Class, Calcasieu Parish School Board is:
- **Expanding access to more learners**: “Two more schools are joining the VIP this year. So I’m excited to be able to reach even more students than we were last year.”
- **Combating the teacher shortage**: “We don’t have 11 teachers certified to teach physics, but our virtual program lets us leverage our staff.”
- **Earning the Model of Excellence award**: “Louisiana recognized our district with a Model of Excellence award for our virtual instruction program.”

Now that I’m confident in the basics of Class, I can spend time learning new features. “I’m super excited to bring in new schools and that new students will have the opportunity to take our classes.”

“The benefit for our students with live instruction through the virtual program is they still get the experience of having an instructor that they feel connected to,” concludes Doug.