Virtual
courses open options
Joe
Poletti, distance learning coordinator for the county school system,
assists
by Cheryl Burke
NEWS-TIMES
BEAUFORT —
But they face scheduling conflicts as they try to make their courses fit in. A new state virtual public school may be the answer for Katie and Erin, and thousands of other high school students in their situation.
A virtual school became available to county students for the fall semester, and so far 43 have signed up for courses.
School officials presented information on the
state’s virtual school during Tuesday’s
County Schools Superintendent Brad Sneeden said during the meeting the idea for virtual public schools is not new and has been in the works by the State Department of Public Instruction (DPI) since 2000.
“In 2000 I worked with the Department of Public
Instruction with
While the courses were initially limited, Mr.
Sneeden said their popularity quickly grew. The idea for
The N.C. Department of Public Instruction piloted virtual school courses last year, with courses becoming available statewide during the summer.
Jeanne Huntley, assistant superintendent in charge of curriculum and instruction, explained to the school board that some students enrolled in courses during the summer in an effort to make up lost credits.
Enrollment was opened up countywide to high school students, and some middle school students, for the fall semester.
Once the kinks are worked out, plans are to open up enrollment to more middle school students and elementary students. Middle school students who take high school courses will earn high school credit.
Ms. Huntley said the majority of county students have signed up for high school AP and honors courses. So far the virtual school is offering 18 AP courses, 17 honors courses and 39 general studies courses.
“For the most part, they are taking honors and AP courses,” Ms. Huntley said. “Some are taking fill-in courses.”
She said the virtual school is not designed to
replace the traditional school but to provide additional course
opportunities to students, like the
“It does not mean that there will be no need for classroom teachers in the future. But it is the wave of the future, and many college students already take online courses,” she said.
The school is also a plus for students who are homebound for extended periods because of illness or suspensions.
“We do have one student taking all courses online because of medical problems,” she said.
Ms. Huntley said the county, as well as the state, are still working through kinks. One of those is the state had originally planned to provide textbooks for courses, but have now decided that local school districts must provide textbooks.
“We are late getting textbooks,” she said.
The cost for courses and books is free. But school board member Dr. Rick Luettich asked who was responsible to provide computers.
Ms. Huntley said schools are providing access to computers, and once school campuses are totally wireless students will be able to use their own computers.
Dr. Luettich said he wanted to make sure all students had access to computers and courses.
Students can take virtual courses during the regular school day or after school.
“We are treating some courses like dual enrollment courses with the community college and they can stay on campus,” Ms. Huntley said.
School board member David Carr asked how teachers were provided for courses.
Ms. Huntley said the virtual school provides contract teachers.
“They are all certified teachers, and the State DPI secures them and they must have the same credentialing as other teachers,” she said.
Mr. Carr said he wanted to make sure that virtual schools don’t replace traditional classroom teachers and schools.
“I don’t want us to use this as a crutch,” he said.
Ms. Huntley assured him it would not replace traditional classroom settings, but would enhance course offerings.
She said each high school now has a technology counselor to assist students taking courses, as well as counsel them before they sign up for courses. She cautioned that courses are stringent, and students must be self-disciplined and motivated to succeed.
Student progress and courses will be evaluated on a regular basis, according to Ms. Huntley.
“There is daily monitoring right now and this is not going to be anything that just goes by the wayside,” she said.
Mr. Carr suggested contacting high school dropouts
to see if virtual high school courses could provide an option for them
to complete their high school education. He also asked
Ms. Fritz said she had hoped to offer two virtual courses this year, but the state had pulled both courses from the list.
“We are definitely going to pursue it, but we want to see what happens this semester,” she said.
Board member June Fulcher said she was excited to see virtual courses opened up to all students.
“This is the beginning of a new direction that we need to be taking,” she said.
Meanwhile at
The three students were busy Thursday afternoon
working on their virtual classroom assignments on computers in the
Ms. Coleman is taking Latin III as her fourth period class, and is taking AP biology as an additional course.
“I was having major scheduling conflicts and I needed these courses to go to college,” she said. “I like how you rely on yourself. It’s very independent-based work and you can move at your own pace.”
Ms. O’Reilly and Ms. Odom, on the other hand, were
having some initial problems navigating the system. But with some
assistance from Joe Poletti, distance-learning coordinator for the
county school system and assistant principal at
Ms. O’Reilly said she wanted to take honors French
III to improve her chances of attending college, and the course wasn’t
available at
“They didn’t have enough people signed up for a teacher for the course,” she said.
Mr. Poletti emphasized that students need to be self-motivated.
“These classes are rigorous and not something to be taken lightly,” he said.
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