Much has changed since Mark Ronn went to school.
Ronn, principal of Garden City Alternate Education Center, said his generation’s idea of school was showing up at the building for eight hours, eating lunch and maybe attending a football game on Friday nights.
“It isn’t like that anymore. We’ve changed the world, so we need to change schools, too,” Ronn said Thursday while talking about the new virtual school program implemented by the Garden City Public Schools starting with the new school year.
The USD 457 Virtual Academy will give students the opportunity to complete coursework online.
Unlike a traditional brick-and-mortar classroom, the virtual academy is designed to be accessed from home via computer over the Internet.
Ronn said the program is for students in grades nine to 12, but will also answer the needs of adult continuing education, filling the role of the former “Bison” program that has been discontinued.
“We have kids who are home schooled. We have kids who are not really comfortable with the high school environment. We’ll have adult returning students,” he said. “Also, if a student was expelled, they can get their classwork started here and go home and do it. Once we get you enrolled, we don’t care if you do this in Maine. We just want to get you enrolled and making progress.”
For now, the program is limited to those who live within the Garden City school district. Ronn estimated about 20 students have expressed interest in the program, but he believes interest will increase as awareness grows.
For the rest of the article, go to USD 457 rolling out virtual school program