This 2013-2014 school year, North Providence High School has been trying out a curriculum via the Virtual High School Collaborative (affectionately called VHS). Through VHS, ten students have been able to take online classes ranging from Game Design to AP Economics. Full-year classes are offered online (mostly AP classes) along with semester classes. However, how did this innovative program become introduced to NPHS and is it working?
Towards the end of the 2012-2013 school year, the ten spots in the VHS tester class were offered to juniors who wanted to try individualized study through online classes. Student applied by writing a paragraph explaining why they would be a good fit for an online class and what class they were interested in taking. The course offerings were astounding, with a full range of year-long AP courses as well as semester-long classes such as Mythology and Journalism.
Now, the VHS year is coming to an end, and the students in Ms. Lisi’s Period 7 class are finished up their last weeks. Next year, 15 spots will be open to the students of North Providence High School – five more than this year. Students who could not find classes they are interested in at the school are welcome to sign up for a class via VHS. The hope is that students who cannot take AP classes in North Providence High School (whether because of lack of popularity or simply the lack of offering) can take the class online.
If you have any questions regarding VHS or online classes, you may ask Mrs. Lisi, the VHS Coordinator, or the ten students currently enrolled in the program. These students include: Julia DePalma, Amy Zhang, Michele Winter, Ariana Africo, Abigail Almonte, Trestin Wehbe, Yazen Alani, Danielle Carey, Anthony Saccamagno, and Sara DeAngelis.
By: Michele Winter
