Virtual High School to "Open" in August

By Paul Hampel
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
02/24/2007

Missouri will start a virtual school on the Internet in August that officials say will offer students in public and private schools more individualized, interactive and self-paced instruction.

Students with home Internet access will have the chance to select from about 30 courses in the first year and do school work at any time of the day or night.

Curt Fuchs, Missouri's virtual school director, explained the program to south St. Louis County school superintendents at a lunch Friday at Lindbergh School District headquarters.

"This is another tool that we can offer kids so that they can be successful and graduate from high school," Fuchs, 56, said after the luncheon.

He said the program would be especially helpful for ambitious students seeking advanced courses; children who want another crack at a course they failed; and home-schoolers, particularly sick children.

Because of funding restrictions, the program will be open only to students in grades K-5 and 9-12 in the 2007-08 school year. "We're going to take it slowly initially because I'm it — I'm the program," he said.

Missouri will be the 25th state with a cyberschool program.

Fuchs said a lottery will choose students in the first year because demand is expected to be high. Applications will be accepted in May.

Originally expected to accommodate 500 students in its first year, the program got a boost last week when Gov. Matt Blunt proposed doubling spending in the first year, to $5.2 million. Fuchs said that would cover about 1,000 students.

The state expects to hire about 100 teachers in the first year. Fuchs said teachers will be hired on a contract basis and will work from home; he said they will not get retirement or other benefits.

After the initial lottery, the program will be open to any students who pay, or have districts that will pay, a $300 fee per semester class.

Students would take routine tests at home, Fuchs said.

When asked how officials could prevent cheating on at-home tests, Fuchs said, "Integrity does become an issue."

He said time limits might be used "so kids can't spend time looking answers up on Google."

Fuchs said that all students who participate, whether from public or private schools, must take the annual Missouri Assessment Program test at a supervised site.

Lindbergh Superintendent James A. Sandfort hailed the program. "It's an incredible opportunity for students, it's another choice for students, and it offers another venue for children to acquire education," he said.

Whether the program would allow flexible scheduling — for instance, so that a Lindbergh student could leave school early to take an online class at home — Sandfort said, "That's to be determined."