School Budget Cuts Fueling Virtual High School Growth

March 21, 2011 - PRLog -- Maynard, MA – Virtual High School Global Consortium (http://www.govhs.org), the pioneer of K-12 online learning and course design for teachers, today announced the addition of 17 new member schools in 10 states this semester, bringing their total membership to 770 member schools worldwide. Many of these schools are using Virtual High School (VHS) to provide their students with access to courses affected by budget cuts.

“Even though the economy shows signs of improvement, schools nationwide are still experiencing budget cuts,” said Liz Pape, President & CEO of VHS. “In many cases, this has meant schools cancelling low enrollment courses to the detriment of students. The VHS program enables students to take courses that they often otherwise couldn’t access. VHS continues to partner with its member schools through its school-based model of online course delivery, ensuring that no classroom teacher jobs are lost due to membership in VHS. In these tough economic times, I am proud to say that VHS continues to cooperate with public schools, not compete with them or cause the loss of teachers’ jobs.”

Thanks to their schools’ partnership with VHS, hundreds of students are now taking a VHS course online with classmates and a teacher in other parts of the world. This online experience is preparing them for college and work in the 21st century and a global economy. Students at the following public and private schools are now enrolled in such courses as AP Physics, the Modern Middle East, Journalism in the Digital Age and AP Art History.

•   Allentown Central Catholic High School – Allentown, PA
•   Chester Union Free Academy – Chester, NY
•   Craftsbury Academy – Craftsbury Common, VT
•   Dubois High School – Dubois, WY
•   Granby Junior & Senior High School – Granby, MA
•   Groton Dunstable Regional School District – Groton, MA
•   Hazen Union School – Hardwick, VT
•   Kohler School District – Kohler, WI
•   Livermore Falls High School – Livermore Falls, ME
•   Millbury Junior Senior High School – Millbury, MA
•   Norton High School – Norton, MA
•   Pomperaug High School – Southbury, CT
•   Portsmouth High School – Portsmouth, RI
•   Scofield Magnet Middle School – Stamford, CT
•   Ursuline Academy – Kirkwood, MO
•   Westchester Hebrew High School – Mamaroneck, NY
•   Weymouth High School – Weymouth, MA

Designed to supplement a school’s classroom curriculum, VHS is a non-profit collaborative of high schools, teachers and students. VHS member schools have access to 200 online elective, Advanced Placement and honors courses, which are taught by VHS teachers who actively teach in classrooms at their member schools.  All are certified in their specific discipline and have completed a VHS graduate level professional development program in online teaching. Instructors facilitate and continually monitor all courses, engaging students in discussions and assessing each individual student’s progress.

Students benefit from small classes, personalized one-on-one support from a coordinator at their school, and the chance to learn in a global classroom of students and teachers from around the world.  They gain subject matter, time management, and 21st Century skills that will help them succeed at college and in the workplace.

About Virtual High School (VHS)
Virtual High School is the pioneer of online course design and instruction for teachers and online education for high school students. Virtual High School partners with schools to provide rigorous, student-centered online courses that help expand rather than replace existing curriculum options. The VHS collaborative includes 770 member schools and 15,000 enrolled students from 35 U.S. states and 45 countries. The recipient of the United States Distance Learning Association (USDLA) 2005, 2007 and 2008 awards for Excellence in Programming and Excellence in Best Practices and the Stockholm Challenge 2001 Award for exemplary use of technology in education, VHS was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Maynard, Massachusetts. For more information, visit www.govhs.org or call (978) 897-1900.

Press Contact: VHS: Carol Arnold, Arnold Communications, carol@arnoldcomm.com, (877) 718-4604 x2.

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Virtual High School is the pioneer of online course design and instruction for teachers and online education for high school students. Virtual High School partners with schools to provide rigorous, student-centered online courses that help expand rather than replace existing curriculum options. The VHS collaborative includes 770 member schools and 15,000 enrolled students from 35 U.S. states and 45 countries. The recipient of the United States Distance Learning Association (USDLA) 2005, 2007 and 2008 awards for Excellence in Programming and Excellence in Best Practices and the Stockholm Challenge 2001 Award for exemplary use of technology in education, VHS was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Maynard, Massachusetts. For more information, visit www.govhs.org or call (978) 897-1900.