BHS shares online classes

Home-school students will now be able to take advantage of online classes offered through Bigfork High School free of charge.

BHS uses Virtual High School, which allows the school to provide more than 200 online classes to its students.

School districts traditionally can't count home-school students as part of the district unless they attend one of its schools. Student counts are important figures as they help determine the funding a school gets from the state.

With VHS, home-school students who enroll in online classes through Bigfork High School can now be counted among its student population, which is currently at 288 students.

"That we're providing this service for them is great," BHS Principal Matt Jensen said. "And we also receive some benefits."

Two home-school students were counted for the first time in this year's count, which makes it possible for BHS to offer the classes for free. One student is taking three classes through VHS and counts as a half-time student. Another is taking one class and counts as a quarter-time student. These figures are based on the number of hours the student spends with the class.

BHS started the VHS process two years ago. Jensen said the program was initially looked at as a way to provide more elective opportunities in a small school setting, but BHS has since found other uses for it.

A middle school student who needs a high school-level math class, but would not be comfortable with upperclassman, can take the online class. That's what got Jensen and others thinking that home-school students might find VHS classes useful as well.

BHS has a limited number of seats it pays for in VHS, and its regular students get the first chance at those. Approximately 19 BHS students are taking VHS classes this fall and 20 are scheduled to take them in the spring, Jensen said.

The remaining seats are open for home-school students or can be sold to other school districts to use.

Jensen said there has been some resistance to taking advantage of these extra seats and online courses in general.

"We're providing a service that benefits kids in the Valley," Jensen said. "There will probably be a day when we rely on the service of another school district. We need to move more toward collaboration with other school districts not competition."

Home-school students who are interested in taking online classes through BHS can contact Jensen or the guidance office at the high school. Seats are offered on a first-come-first-served basis.

Three BHS teachers offer classes through VHS. The school also has two site coordinators who work with students taking VHS classes.