Virtual Homeschooling Takes the Next Step
Homeschooling takes advantage of the latest development in education technology to full use. When previous homeschool methods afforded students only the resources of either the local library, or those purchased through mail order or from a specialty bookstore, now they can gain an added edge with the use of the online campus, through virtual high school.
Virtual high school in the strictest sense is not a new concept, as correspondence courses or distance learning programs have been available for some time now. Virtual High School, Inc. is an essentially non-profit corporation which is founded with the U.S. Department of Education’s support, and has its base headquarters in Maynard, Massachusetts. It is created with the mission to promote and offer standardized, student-centered courses which are offered online. The VHS offers supplementary curricula to what is offered in the school systems, with an effort to augment rather than to replace. It has an enrolment base encompassing twenty-nine states and twenty-three countries, with an average annual student population of ten thousand; some of the more than two hundred semester and yearlong courses include AP degrees in Biology, Psychology, Economics, Spanish, and French, as well as specialized courses, specified as Art and the Internet, Basic Mandarin Chinese, and numerous other offerings.
Every VHS participating school makes a contribution to the system by volunteering one classroom teacher to instruct an online VHS course which is within his or her area of discipline, this responsibility is treated as part of the volunteer’s daily tasks. In exchange for the effort, the participant school is given seats in VHS, affording their students with courses unavailable from their own local schools.
Any student within the tenth to twelfth grade who is matriculated in a CPS or out-of-district high school is eligible for enrollment at VHS, provided that the move is endorsed by their Guidance Counselor. Ninth grade students can be enrolled under certain circumstances with the approval of the school principal. Homeschooled students may also gain enrollment in VHS provided that they meet the criteria required by state laws.
The fees for enrollment vary, but on the average, it costs up to $450 dollars, exclusive of advanced placement courses which can carry additional fees or different tuition rates. A recommended maximum of three courses per enrollment are allowed to fit the student schedule, and other students who are matriculated in other online courses also offered by the VHS can additionally take on one course, under the approval of the VHS Site Coordinator. Courses are given with established deadlines, as provided by the instructor, and students are expected to follow the instructor’s prescribed rules. Contact with the instructor is possible during prescribed online office hours; these personnel have full certification to teach their field, and are working with CPS.
Completion of a course automatically leads to high school credit, which is endorsed by the VHS Guidance Office, and a transcript will indicate that the VHS course was taken and completed online. For homeschool students, tutors should contact with the VHS education board for details regarding course enrollment and fulfillment.