“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