Partnering to Provide: Leading the Online Classroom

Launch works with more than 100 highly qualified teachers statewide to provide our online students with the very best instruction and support.

How do we teach thousands of virtual learners all over Missouri? By hiring hundreds of highly qualified teachers all over Missouri. After a school district partners with Launch, their teachers are then eligible to teach for us. Most teachers are hired for an adjunct position—for example, a seated Science teacher at Parkview High School in Springfield may also teach a Launch AP Physics course online. Class sizes are limited to a maximum of 33 students per teacher—just as seated classes—so a teacher will never have more than that number of students in a section.

Launch Teacher Expectations
Launch teachers communicate with their students regularly. In addition to hosting three virtual office hours per week, Launch teachers also post weekly video announcements and respond to student inquiries within 30 minutes during office hours and as soon as possible outside of office hours (always within one business day). All assignments are graded within 48 hours of submission, and teachers call home if students are failing or inactive. Teachers also collaborate monthly with virtual staff meetings.

Launch Teacher Trainings
All of Launch’s online teachers are required to attend an in-person teacher training before they begin teaching a course in the fall, spring or summer semester. These day-long trainings prepare teachers to build culture in their online classrooms and provide the online instructors with a wealth of professional development. The teachers also take time to work with the Launch development team and set due dates for their entire semester’s course work.