Before the 2015-16 school year, Greenville Public School District (GPSD) in Mississippi was searching for qualified Math, Science, Spanish, and French teachers. Due to retirements and teachers leaving for other school districts, many positions needed to be filled. Within a month of school beginning, the district was still not able to find and hire the qualified teachers they needed.
Three weeks before the start of school, the superintendent of GPSD received an email about Proximity Learning’s Enriched Live Instruction Model (ELIM). ELIM works by streaming certified Mississippi teachers directly into the classroom. GPSD connected with PLl and started a small pilot program to fill a vacancy for High School French. After three weeks of instruction, GPSD observed that students were excited, engaged, and learning effectively from the virtual teacher. As a result of this success, the superintendent decided to expand the use of virtual teachers to include the district’s Math, Science, and Spanish vacancies. After an additional four-week review, the district found that students were more present and more involved within each of the classes taught by Proximity Learning’s virtual instructors. The partnership with Proximity Learning has allowed the district to focus on its goal of ensuring every student has a fair opportunity for success.
