CHARLESTON, W.Va. Thirty students in Kanawha County will be the first to participate in the county school systems’ virtual classroom. The first class was recently selected from a wide range of backgrounds and situations. Director Valery Harper said they narrowed the choices using a number of different criteria for the first group which will be a pilot program.
“We wanted to get a variety of high schools, so we had eight high schools plus Chandler Academy. We wanted to get students from every school, “she explained. “But we also wanted to get a variety of characteristics of students.”
The initial group in the pilot program include some students who are bound for college, others are in the career/technical center path, some are home schooled and have never been in a classroom setting and others are concentrating on athletics and need the virtual classroom to help fit school time into their schedule.
“This is another avenue to meet students’ needs and desires,” Harper explained. “It’s not for everybody, that’s why we still have the public school. Everything stays the same, but it gives more options to families and students to fit their needs.”
Each student’s needs will be specifically serviced with individualized curriculum and teaching based on the needs of a single student. The on-line teachers offering instruction will not all be from Kanawha County Schools, but they will all be from West Virginia. Harper said keeping the instruction within the state’s borders is part of the strategy.
The first classes have already begun at the request of some families who didn’t want to wait until the second semester. Others will return from school to the new environment in January and it will be different according to Harper for those who have been accepted.
“There’s no limitations to what we can do as long as we keep our minds open and listen,” she said. “They can choose the courses they want and the other great part of this is I’ll be monitoring their progress every week to insure they are successful. If they’re not, we can make some changes to accommodate that.”