Despite the fact that the change was made due to financial constraints, Skidmore said it will also help foster a more comprehensive learning experience for teachers and students.

“We’re excited about it,” he said, “because this means all subjects will have this longer time period for working on group projects, one-on-one instruction, peer reviews and technology research.”

The high school will also offer online courses for the first time.

There will be five courses for students, primarily juniors and seniors, who are interested in additional work. The courses – mythology, independent reading, the science of exercise, introduction to psychology and history of math – can be completed at home or on laptops that students can borrow from the library during school hours.

For the rest of the article, go to New Schedule, Online Courses Bring in New Year at Arlington High School

BOSTON—On the first day of the school year, some Massachusetts students will be staying home.

As students in the state’s first online-only public school, they will log onto a computer and find out what books they need to read and what new skills they should master.

The Massachusetts Virtual Academy opens in Greenfield on Thursday, not only as the first in the state, but also as the first virtual school in New England to serve students from kindergarten through high school.

At virtual school, the students will take all of their classes online and have a learning coach make sure they complete their assignments. A parent could be certified, for instance, to be the learning coach.

The student can work anytime of day and some may never see their teachers in person.

For the rest of the article, go to First virtual school in Mass. opens Thursday

Shreyas Joshi, a sophomore at Falmouth High School, has a passion for physics.

Last year, he took an Advanced Placement physics B class even though his schedule was full. This year, he’s taking AP physics C, which isn’t offered at the school.

Joshi, 14, takes the classes through Virtual High School Global Consortium, a Massachusetts-based company that offers accredited courses taught over the internet by 396 certified teachers worldwide.

It offers more than 300 online courses, from peacemaking to AP statistics, which students might not be able to take because of a scheduling conflict or because the class isn’t offered in the standard curriculum.

For the rest of the article, go to ‘Virtual High School’ filling real gaps for schools

The districts have hired a director of student and professional learning, who will oversee teacher evaluations, MCAS data analysis, and the schools’ $330,000 worth of grants. The high school also has two new administrators. Principal Jill Proulx was hired to replace Gary Lincoln, who retired last June. Supt. McCarthy has recommended Julie Miller, the current assistant principal at King Philip Regional High School, to replace Chris Costa, who resigned to accept an administrative position at New Bedford High School.

Supt. McCarthy is also looking forward to the start of virtual classes at the high school, which will allow 25 students each term take online versions of courses not offered by Apponequet. A program called Virtual High School offers the classes, which are being paid for through a $6,500 grant.

“(The students) will love it. When I was principal at Hopkinton High School we had 50 seats per semester and there was always a waiting list for VHS courses,” he explained. “Students will also find it helps with scheduling of their other courses. And, students will be taking courses with students all over the country, and in some cases, internationally. Where else do you get that kind of exposure?”

For the rest of the article, go to Students will meet new administrators, teacher on return to school

With a level-funded budget, Baeta knows that there is only so much that can be done in public education because there is only so much money to go around, he said.

Although 15 positions were laid off, Baeta is determined to continue to move the district forward.

“We’re keeping positive, taking on one problem at a time,” he said.

A new program being offered to students in Grades 9 through 12 consists of the online courses offered through Virtual High School.

These courses are ones that aren’t offered at the school and can be used to help schedule other classes offered there.

Courses such as zoology, many different languages, and statistics can all be taken through the online courses, Baeta said.

For the rest of the article, go to Baeta looks forward to new school year in Holbrook

GREENFIELD – There are two information sessions today for people who want to learn more about the virtual school that Greenfield will be opening in next month.

The school department will be opening the Massachusetts Virtual Academy at Greenfield this fall for kindergarten through grade eight. K12, a Virginia-based, for-profit online education company, will be providing the curriculum and other services for the school.

Greenfield had talked about and planned for the virtual school for about a year and needed a state waiver to open, which it recently received.

For the rest of the article. go to Greenfield hosts virtual school information sessions today

Greenfield Public Schools has partnered with K12 Inc. to launch the first full-time statewide virtual public school in Massachusetts. It’s also described as the state’s first “virtual ‘Innovation School’” under new legislation designed to ease the way for districts to establish their own alternative education programs.

The Massachusetts Virtual Academy at Greenfield (or “MAVA@Greenfield”) will serve primarily K-8 students, with just a limited number of high school applicants to be accepted from specific regions for the 2010-2011 school year. (The high school program will be expanded over time.) A total of 500 students will be accepted initially.

For the rest of the article, go to Massachusetts District To Launch Statewide Virtual School

“In today’s economy, online education bridges the gap between what the schools offer on site and what their kids want to take,” said Carol Arnold, spokesperson for the Massachusetts-based Virtual High School (VHS).

VHS started up 15 years ago as a pilot program in Massachusetts, funded by a federal Department of Education grant. The program was so successful, said Ms. Arnold, that it became a nonprofit and was offered worldwide. The educational consortium now has 662 member schools around the world and 32 participating U.S. states, including Rhode Island and Massachusetts.

Mt. Hope High is one of a handful of Rhode Island schools offering VHS (the others are St. Mary Academy Bay View in Riverside and Portsmouth High School, which is starting a pilot program this fall).

For the rest of the article, go to Virtual schools clicking with students

HERNDON, Va., Aug 17, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) — K12 Inc. /quotes/comstock/13*!lrn/quotes/nls/lrn (LRN 23.91, +0.01, +0.04%) , America’s largest provider of proprietary curriculum and online school programs for students in kindergarten through high school, announced today a new partnership with Greenfield Public Schools to launch Massachusetts’ first full-time, statewide online public school.

The Massachusetts Virtual Academy at Greenfield (MAVA@Greenfield) will serve up to 500 students in grades K-8 across the Commonwealth this coming school year. MAVA@Greenfield plans to expand to offer high school in subsequent years. The tuition-free public school is now accepting applications and will be hosting numerous information sessions for interested families and school districts. Enrollment information can be found at www.K12.com/mava.

For the rest of the article, go to K12 Inc. Announces Partnership with Greenfield Public Schools to Open Massachusetts Virtual Academy

Credit recovery programs can take many forms. Some look no different from traditional classrooms, with teachers at the front lecturing. Others consist of nothing more than a thin packet of fill-in-the-blank sheets that a student completes on his own time. As credit recovery grows in popularity, though, it’s becoming increasingly common for school districts to turn to online companies.

An Education Week chat explains how online credit recovery programs generally work. EdWeek recently reported that at least three major school districts – Boston, Chicago and New York City – offer online credit recovery classes. And states such as Missouri and Wisconsin have online credit recovery programs.

Online programs let students work at their own pace, and supporters say they present course material in a new way.

For the rest of the article, go to Are education credit recovery programs really effective?