Maria Gottschalk Email & Phone Number

Ensuring schools, students and their families continue to be served by a quality supplemental statewide virtual learning program. Expanding program to meet the needs of students requiring full time virtual and elementary learning options and offer additional solutions for schools with teacher shortage challenges. • Act as key leadership partner in bringing to life the IVSA as a public-private partnership to continue to serve students and schools in Illinois. This includes conceptualization and implementation of student information and course systems, retention of teachers, selection of staff, partnership with schools, and creating strong relationships with new vendor partners.• Support current local school partners and build future partnerships providing innovative solutions and opportunities for their students• Act as point of contact/escalation for almost every aspect of internal/external IVSA operations including schools/teachers/students/guardians/internal staff (finance, technical, marketing, etc.) to provide assistance and solutions while maintaining positive relationships and being mindful of confidentiality issues• Maintain knowledge of state programs such as the Illinois Virtual Course Catalog and communication with ISBE/Illinois LTC• Utilize decades of experience as a scaffolding for operational policies and continue to build new operations to support growth for IVSA• Act as SIS operational leader for all functionality including course and section creation, school contact maintenance, student enrollment, integration with LMS, teacher creation/maintenance/assignment, data and reporting

Led the Illinois Virtual School during the difficult final months of the program. Chosen because I had decades of experience in this program, the loyalty of the staff and teachers, and dedication to our students, schools and families.• Assured school service and student success• Managed 80 teachers and 1-5 staff members• Provided all needed fiscal, audit, and personnel closure information to the appropriate departments• Continued to perform the duties of the Learning Management Specialist

The Illinois Virtual School was the statewide supplemental online course provider for many years. IVS served hundreds of schools and thousands of students per year. My duties were primarily operational and client services.• Managed overall course shell creation, population and structure in both the registration and course platforms (Bocavox SIS, Brightspace by Desire2Learn, Apex Learning, etc.) including implementing student survey processes in the SIS. Familiar with both rolling and fixed term enrollment models. (200 courses, thousands of course sections) Created custom solutions for blended and full class implementations.• Managed aspects of all automated/manual integrations between SIS and multiple course platforms as well as between course platforms and other learning tools/vendor content.• Provided Tier II helpdesk support utilizing Zendesk.• Cooperated with other specialists (CR, Curriculum, PD, etc.) to determine how the SIS/LMS could be implemented for those programs and provided additional client support to credit recovery populations.

• Management and support of IVHS by actively participating in program and platform design details, development of thematic PD workshops, database creation/management, customer issue resolution, materials management, instructor selection and course delivery• Provide SIS and LMS management and support for students, parents, schools, teachers and staff• Manage progress, final grade reporting and master grade files and train teachers in the processes• Provide customer service to a culturally and economically diverse group of students, parents, schools, instructors and others interested in virtual learning

• Involved in the Illinois Virtual High School (IVHS) since it's inception by actively participating in program and platform design details, development of thematic professional development workshops, database creation and management, customer issue resolution, vendor coordination, instructor selection and course delivery• Support agency processes related to IVHS for bidding, contracting, auditing and inventory• Acted as Division Technology Contact for initial troubleshooting• Supported Scientific Literacy and Secondary Education Division curricular content areas including meeting planning, database creation and maintenance, extensive use of MS Office and general clerical duties• Acted as Site Trainer for office students from the Capital Area Career Center for over five years• Appointed to the Agency Transition Team during major ISBE reorganization to identify and assist with solving transition issues• Supported career and technical education consultants and grants including clerical support to legislated councils