JENNI DILLON Star-Tribune staff writer | Posted: Thursday, September 29, 2005 12:00 am
Students throughout Wyoming soon will have access to more advanced high school classes.
A new cooperative effort between the Wyoming E-Academy of Virtual Learning and Apex Learning will offer students from any school district in the state access to a slough of online Advanced Placement courses.
AP courses prepare students to take a national subject-specific test, which can be used to earn college credit for high school work. Studies also indicate that participation in such courses can improve students' chances of success in college. However, about 43 percent of U.S. high schools do not offer AP courses, according to The College Board, which owns rights to AP. Many of those are rural schools, where there often are too few students or a shortage of teachers to provide the rigorous curriculum.
"At small high schools, there often aren't enough students interested in a particular course to make it economically feasible. Another challenge that high schools in a state like Wyoming might face is they may have students interested, but they may not have enough qualified teachers," explained Cheryl Vedoe, CEO of Apex Learning, the national company that will offer its online curriculum to Wyoming students. "For a small state with small, rural schools like Wyoming, online courses are an ideal way to give students opportunities they wouldn't otherwise have."
And, Meier said, the Wyoming E-Academy of Virtual Learning, or WEAVE, already is set up to do just that. The program works in conjunction with Fort Washakie Charter High School, which provides online courses for students to complete high school. In its second full year of operation, the charter school is designed to target students who have not succeeded in traditional high school settings or who have other obligations that make education difficult.
Meier said offering advanced courses that may not be available in other communities was a natural addition for WEAVE.
"A lot of students in this state have dropped out of school or aren't getting the classes they need, for whatever reason," he said. "In our discussions with the Department of Education, Dr. (Jim) McBride, who was at the time in the technology division, talked to us about getting AP courses on our system. There's a real need for a lot of our rural students who don't have access to our higher education."
Larger high schools in the state, such as those in Cheyenne or Casper, can offer a number of AP courses. In addition, WEN Video, a state program that beams video-based courses around the state, also offers AP, and some community colleges give high-schoolers a chance to take the courses, as well. But Meier said another option only enhances opportunities for students who may learn better on their own or whose schedules may conflict with video or face-to-face classes.
Marial Choma, a counselor at Kelly Walsh High School in Casper, where about 180 students take AP each year, said her school offers a long list of AP classes on campus, ranging from calculus to computer science to world history. However, she, too, agreed that online courses may be an option for some youth.
"I think the more opportunities available for students, the more flexibility, that's great," she said. "I think it's great that students have another opportunity if they can't fit it in on campus."
WEAVE will start out by offering students access to about 15 AP subjects, Meier said. Students can take the courses online, working at their own pace. However, Vedoe said the Apex Learning classes aren't just about one student and a computer. Experienced, certified teachers with long practice in online teaching lead each class, and every AP course uses the model laid out by The College Board. Students also are grouped in sections about the size of a normal class and have discussion-board chats with their peers.
Meier said students who opt to use the online curriculum also will have face-to-face mentors who can check in with them and provide any tutoring necessary. WEAVE has received state funding to provide mentors around the state.
For the fall semester, students have until Oct. 6 to register for classes. For more information, they should contact their high school counselors to learn about the range of AP options, and if interested in the online program, should sign up through WEAVE.
Staff writer Jenni Dillon can be reached at (307) 266-0619 or Jenni.Dillon@casperstartribune.net.