Following the trend set by colleges around the world, a younger group of students is leaving the classroom behind and enrolling in high schools online. Learning online is becoming increasingly popular among high school students who do not favor learning in a traditional classroom environment. A variety of students can benefit from schools online, from those with behavioral or social issues to students with an increased interest in computers and technology.
In mid-January, George Washington University (GWU) launched a new, fully-online high school. Classes for the school’s 16 enrolled students began the week following GWU’s announcement. Currently, students log on from nine different states. The school has been designed to meet the needs of students across the country, in addition to serving as a research opportunity for GWU’s Graduate School of Education and Human Development.
The online school is targeted at teenagers who may have trouble in a traditional high school setting, like those with social disorders or children who have parents in the military and must frequently move from one school district to another. Yearly tuition falls just under $10,000 per student.
The school’s curriculum will offer 100 different classes, at both standard and Advanced Placement level. GWU plans to actively monitor the program, while online education provider K12 will manage it and oversee the curriculum. K12 is the largest provider of online curriculum to schools across the country. Read the rest of this entry »