New Hampshire to Open First Cyber High School

The Virtual Learning Academy plans to begin offering cyber courses in January.

The CEO of the new school, Steve Kossakoski, says that the state Department of Education approved VLA as a charter school in May.

"VLA IS a charter school as name implies which means that any resident nh student can attend free of charge absolutely no charge no chg to the local school district and still get same high quality education because we're an approved school in state of NH so they can transfer in their credits to the local school."

Kossakoski is looking to hire teachers who are currently certified in New Hampshire.

Those teachers would work from home.

They'd communicate with students using email, chat systems and in some cases through video links.

Kossakoski expects that about 700 students will enroll for the first semester.

In addition to the standard high school courses, VLA plans to offer Advanced Placement, or AP courses in computer science, calculus, macroeconomics, and others.

Cyber high schools are new to New Hampshire.

But many states already offer accredited cyber high school classes.

New Hampshire Department of Education's Rob Tenney says that cyber school won't be for everyone.

But she says it works well for students who need a flexible schedule - like athletes or students who work fulltime.

Tenney: "Most students will want to go to traditional high school.
They'll want to play in band they'll want to be able to play sports to see their friends but not every student can do that if a student for example had a handicap that was physically limiting and found school difficult yet loves to learn intellectually the virtual school could be very satisfying to that person."

Tenney said that educators she's spoken with in the state are generally enthusiastic about the cyber courses.

But not everyone agrees that online schools should be offered as alternatives to high schools.

The National Education Association has evaluated other programs that offer virtual learning.

NEA spokeswoman Barbara Stein says that most states offer cyber courses as a supplement to traditional high school courses - not as replacements.

She says that NEA's analysis showed that most students make out better in a traditional face to face setting.

"We didn't say never. there may be a situation where of alternatives available this one makes the most sense but we do not think it's advisable to offer it as an alternative to most students. We think most students do better in some face to face - we didn't say where the split should be but having some face to face base."

In addition, some critics point out that traditional schools offer sports and other social activities that teach students to interact well with others.

But Kossokoski says that students and parents will be expected to meet teachers face to face about once a month.

What's more, for state exams at least, proctors will observe students taking those tests.

He added that schools in Pennsylvania and elsewhere have been offering fulltime high school cyber degrees successfully.

Kossakoski admits though that there are some bumps in the road.

For example, all charter schools receive tuition through the state education trust fund.

But it's unclear whether that fund will pay for ALL students who take the online classes - or just those who choose to leave the traditional high school all together.

After all, taxpayers already pay for the traditional public high schools.

But Kossoloski says he can work out those kinks.

The fulltime curriculum is scheduled to start next September.

IN the meantime , the Virtual Learning Academy plans to offer part-time courses in January.

For NHPR News, I'm Dianne Finch.