March 30, 2001

Casting a Net around a classroom

There's a new high school in the area which doesn't require a state grant to construct.

The addition offers school districts a way to expand course offerings and educational opportunities without spending much of their own money, either.

It's the Virtual High School.

Columbian High School added the option three years ago. Its "enrollment" has since grown from two students to a dozen. The on-line learning offers 15-week courses covering a range of subjects which high school students across the country otherwise could not take at their bricks-and-mortar schools.

The Virtual High School Cooperative Project makes 150 courses by teachers in 30 states available to students in 350 participating schools nationwide.

We wouldn't be surprised if more area schools offered this or similar programs. It could offer an inexpensive way to expand course offerings -- and make it more economical to offer classes only a handful of students might be interested in locally.