Logging on may replace high school hallways

TALLAHASSEE, Fla.

After a full day of classes at high school, junior Jasmine Buckhannon comes home and sits down in front of a computer to do a little English and chemistry.

It's not homework -- at least not in the traditional sense. It's the entire course.

Buckhannon is one thousands of students in the Florida Virtual School, the state's public online high school. Like the vast majority of those enrolled, she also attends a regular brick-and-mortar school and takes only a couple of computer-based classes that allow her to learn at a more extended pace.

"The 'pace' part really caught my attention," the 15-year-old Buckhannon said. "In the regular public school you didn't have any time that you could spend. You had to have it then, there, right there."

With its motto, "Any time, any place, any path, any pace," the Orlando-based school has mushroomed from just a few dozen students seven years ago to 6,900 last year. As many as 14,000 students from eighth grade on up are expected to enroll this year, including hundreds from across the nation and several foreign countries.

Students can "attend" class anytime by logging on to the school's Web site, checking course announcements posted by teachers, and getting to work either reading or doing homework.

"What you see on the screen is what you would hear in a classroom," said executive director Julie Young. "It really puts the learning in the hands of the students. They have to become a responsible learner, an active participant."

The pace is slower, but there are still assignments, tests and deadlines. And the content of the courses is familiar.

Buckhannon was assigned "Of Mice and Men" by John Steinbeck and "Great Expectations" by Charles Dickens for her English class, and was mailed a chemistry kit with goggles, beakers and test tubes so she could do experiments in her kitchen.

The e-learning concept has become so popular that several school districts have set up "franchises" of the school and state lawmakers this year set aside $4.8 million to experiment with virtual schools for children as young as kindergarten. Among the companies awarded contracts for the project was K12, a McLean, Va.-based online learning company started a few years ago by former U.S. Education Secretary William Bennett.

Bill Thomas, director of educational technology with the Southern Regional Education Board in Atlanta, said other states offer virtual schools, but he considers Florida the leader, both in enrollment and success.

"There are 49 states and then there's Florida," Thomas said.

When Holly Cottrell, 16, started taking her first virtual class this summer she said she had some doubts even though she's into computers.

"I was kind of freaked out at first -- what have I gotten myself into?" she said.

But Cottrell, a junior at another Tallahassee high school, feels very comfortable as she nears the end of her chemistry class and plans on signing up for more online classes.

"You're not really rushed and you really learn the information," she said.

Parents of both Buckhannon and Cottrell said the online teachers have actively reached out to them and their children, sending e-mails and holding monthly conferences.

Although the school offers a full range of classes, the vast majority of its students are not taking a full load and the school does not grant diplomas. Those are issued only by traditional schools, where nearly three-quarters of the online students are also enrolled.

The school's priorities include students from schools in rural areas, with high minority populations and low grades. Only those outside the state pay tuition.

The challenge at the Florida Virtual School is to find the certified teachers to keep up with demand. The 60 teachers hired this summer give the school a faculty of 150 who work from home.

Doris McManus, a high school English teacher in Fort Pierce with 20 years experience, has become a big fan since she started working with the online school a couple of years ago. She doesn't worry about discipline problems and gets to know her students better even though communication is over the phone and computer rather than in person.

"We have more time to get one on one with the student," she said.