Virtual High School closer to reality at BHS
By ALEX STRICKLAND / Bigfork Eagle
Teachers, administrators and school board members worked last week to hammer out details for a plan that would allow some Bigfork High School students to take classes online that are not offered at BHS. The program would be the first of its kind in Montana.
"I think it would be great for our community, our school and Montana," said Christina Nadeau, a guidance counselor at BHS and one of the faculty members spearheading the project.
Virtual High School, a Massachusetts-based online organization that offers high school classes for credit, has been highlighted by BHS teachers as a first-rate program that could allow kids wishing for more in-depth or varied classroom offerings to stay at BHS, rather than transfer to larger schools in the valley.
Currently, kinks still need to be worked out with the Montana Office of Public Instruction concerning verification of teachers' credentials, Bigfork School Superintendent Russ Kinzer said.
Officials must verify the academic rigor of the courses to ensure that they meet state and district standards, and the professional preparation of the instructors must be verified.
A recent revision of Montana regulations has made that process easier, Kinzer said, but it still would require an effective method of oversight. Prior to the change, instructors had to be certified in Montana or a facilitator (on-site supervisor) would need a Montana endorsement in that particular subject. Now the rules state that the program has to register with the state and the teacher must have completed an accredited teaching preparation program.
"The district will have to put screening in place to evaluate the curriculum and teacher certifications," Kinzer said. Adding that a trained eye would be able to make those evaluations very quickly.
Should the program be cleared by the state in time for the fall semester, teachers have a group of 10 students they will approach who expressed interest in such a program in a survey given this spring. They would act as a pilot program, and if successful the district would go after more funding to widen the program's scope.
The school board was supportive of the pilot program, but some trustees, notably Paul Sandry, expressed reservations about online learning.
"I'd like to see what happens with the pilot," he said.
But librarian Matt Porrovecchio pointed out that the state of Michigan now requires students to take at least one online course to graduate, in an effort to prepare kids for the growing prevalence of such courses at the college level.
"In all my experience with online classes, this is as real as a classroom experience can get," he said.
Both Porrovecchio and Nadeau said they would continue working with the state and the district to make sure things are lined up for this fall. New Activities Director Matt Jensen and English teacher Charlie Appleby are the other two teachers involved with the project.
Nadeau said BHS's program could act as a blueprint for the state, especially for rural schools.
"Education doesn't have to be limited to the building you're in or the facilities you've got," she said.