Virtual High School Expands Students' Options

No one at teaches “Investing in the Stock Market” but that didn’t prevent senior Bryan Fitzpatrick from taking it this year.

Fitzpatrick is one of 18 students at the high school taking online courses through Virtual High School Inc. 

For the courses, students log into a website and receive instructions from a certified teacher, interact with other students, submit their work, “discuss” ideas and more. 

Students and staff said the courses have several advantages, one of the most obvious being that students can study topics the district either can't afford to offer or doesn't provide due to limited student interest.

“It allows somebody that has a high interest in an area to pursue it and learn more,” said Melissa Cook, who coordinates the Virtual High School program at Canton High School.

And it's great to see students have the opportunity to explore their diverse interests, Superintendent Kevin Case said. 

"Being a small school we can't offer an many electives as we'd like," he said. 

Although Fitzpatrick is more interested in aviation as a possible profession than investing, he plans to use the skills and is glad he enrolled in the course.

“I thought it was really helpful,” he said.

Fitzpatrick has taken several online courses. Another was “Engineering Principles.” For him that class reiterated another advantage to the classes — working with people of different backgrounds and perspectives.

For a design project, for example, he had to sketch and discuss ideas and then share them with other students in the class. Through the exercise, he gained a unique perspective from a student who lived in an area where buildings have to withstand a harsher climate.

“One kid from Alaska had ideas I had never even considered,” he said.

Canton Music teacher Tom Moran is teaching a Virtual High School-offered course again this year. He works separately from the Canton students and they can’t actually take the online American Popular Music course he teaches, although the school is considering adding a classroom version.

But Moran sees similar advantages to those taking the Virtual High School classes. In discussing and teaching aspects of music from Colonial times through the 1960s, he’s witnessed students from all over the country find common interests, exchange new ideas and learn from each other as well as the teacher.

"This builds relationships between the students you may not even have in a face-to-face class," Moran said.

School officials said there are several distinct advantages to the courses.

In addition to offering students a wider range of offerings and exchanges, they are also great for independent learner. And although the classes have strict requirements and deadlines, they are considered “asynchronous,” meaning they can be completed any time of day and anywhere students have a good Internet connection. That is an advantage for those with especially busy schedules.

Unlike some online courses, Virtual High School is set with very specific time frames and schedules students must meet. But lessons are weekly and the lack of instant communication in a classroom can have its advantages. Teachers and students can really put thought into their work, Moran said.

“You can take time to think about what you say,” Moran said.

The Virtual High School classes work with an oddly structured week and don't always start and end on the same date as other Canton classes. In addition, student vacation schedules may differ from a teacher's. Most teachers are accommodating, Cook said, but students have to keep up with the work and communicate any challenges.

“They’re expected to be independent,” Cook said. 

“It definitely teaches them responsibility,” Cook added. “It teaches them to manage their time.”

Moran said it's also important for students to keep up. In a traditional classroom, a student may not always contribute a great deal to a discussion but it's quite obvious when the online work is lacking, he said.

And Cook does work with the students on any issues with teachers or technology. However, she said problems have been extremely few. 

But still, with the added motivational and scheduling responsibility, the school has a fairly extensive application process for taking the courses and that includes a written form, an interview by Cook and a required teacher recommendation.

Simply put, not everyone is ready to take Virtual High School courses.

“We don’t want them to be overwhelmed,” Cook said.

Others try it but find miss the interaction of a traditional classroom, Cook said. 

But some students really thrive with the courses and they teach skills most students will need in college and professional life, according to Cook and others. Online learning and communication is a large part of many institutions and industries.

“It gives them all these kinds of skills,” Cook said. 

Case and Assistant Superintendent Dr. Jordan Grossman both teach graduate-level courses at St. Joseph College and said all have online “modules.”

"This is the wave of the future," Case said. "It's a great experience for our high-school student to have." 

And while students generally do have a period during school to work on VHS classes, Fitzpatrick agrees it requires good time management and responsibility.

“You definitely have to be disciplined,” he said.

In Canton, 18 students are taking courses this year, which are offered on several different levels such as AP, honors and "standard" academic courses. 

Since Moran teaches a course, the school gets to 20 slots per semester before incurring any direct, course-related costs. There is no cost for the students. 

And the school is currently stepping up its efforts to promote the classes to students.

“We hope to expand and offer it to more students,” Cook said.

In addition to getting the word out to high-school students, the district also plans to further explore the options Virtual High School offers, such as middle school and summer “enrichment” or “credit recovery.”

“The goal is to build the program even more,” Grossman said.