Online classes fit Valley students' schedules

Dodie Gildea sat behind a laptop in a Scottsdale resort conference room Wednesday waiting for potential students to check out the virtual classroom she had to offer.

It was a presentation Gildea had to drive more than 200 miles to give - the demonstration may have been in Scottsdale, but Gildea was recruiting for Havasuonline, the Lake Havasu Unified School District's foray into online education.

Click to see the number of online classes in school districts

More than 27,000 Arizona students were enrolled in state-funded online classes to take kindergarten through 12th grade school coursework last year, a number that education officials expect to keep growing.

MARKET DEMAND

Arizona has funded online education programs since 1998. There are currently 14 such programs operating, half through school districts and half through charter schools. Numerous other private organizations also exist.

And those programs go beyond the physical boundaries. Lake Havasu's online program started as a way to accommodate more students than the school physically had room for, but it's advertising across the state as more students look for online options, said Gildea, operations manager for Havasuonline.

"Basically the reason we're growing is there's demand from the marketplace," she said. "Students are wanting a different way to go to class."

Of the more than 27,000 online students in state-approved programs, 13,756 were full-time students, 7,864 students were enrolled in a traditional school but took one or two courses online and 5,781 took online courses but weren't enrolled as full-time students.

Only about half of the students in the Mesa Unified School District's online program actually live in Mesa, said Doug Barnard, director of Mesa's distance learning program.

There are also several partnerships forming around the state so districts that don't officially have their own programs can offer classes.

The Scottsdale Unified School District, for instance, partnered with Pinnacle Online, which allows Scottsdale teachers to run courses offered to its students, said Katy Cavanagh, assistant superintendent for teaching and learning.

"In the state of Arizona we really are an educational community without walls and without districts," Cavanagh said. "Absolutely it is about competing."

Each of these programs is reporting increased interest. When you look at the number of full-time equivalent students, Mesa had 31 percent growth between 2005 and 2006, 19 percent the following year and another 29 percent the year after that. Scottsdale went from having 316 students enrolled in at least one online class last fall to 418 in the spring semester.

REASONS FOR ONLINE

Students use online classes for all kinds of reasons, from making up credits for failed classes to removing peer pressure to getting certain courses out of the way so they can fit electives in their schedule.

Other students physically can't get to campuses due to illness, pregnancy or other reasons, Barnard said.

"We have one 16-year-old with rheumatoid arthritis who can't get out of bed," Barnard said. "Those parents think we're a godsend."

For 16-year-old Alex Chaput, enrolling in Mesa's program as a full-time student lets her work at her own pace so she can graduate early. Chaput hopes to finish high school in December and start undergraduate classes at Arizona Central College near her Eloy home, in January.

"I want to be a doctor, so starting early I think will be beneficial for me," she said. "It will give me a chance to work toward my goals faster."

COURSEWORK

Depending on the program, online classes aren't simply correspondence programs where students read a lesson and send in an assignment.

"It's actually more challenging than a face-to-face class because you can't hide in the back row," Gildea said. "The teacher knows if you don't post."

Chaput said the difficultly level of the courses varies. She finds some classes easier because there are no big projects that require presentations.

The challenge comes in trying to find resources without a teacher right beside you, though Chaput also said that is a good skill for the future.

Lara Creaser, a student at Skyline High School in Mesa, took one semester of history online last year so she would have enough time in her schedule for a dance class. Creaser said the online version was more challenging than one she took in a classroom the previous semester.

Checking out online schools

Doug Barnard, Mesa's distance learning director, suggested parents ask a few questions before deciding to enroll children in any particular online program:

What is the school's curriculum like? Were the standards developed based on standards for Arizona?

Are the teachers highly qualified and specially certified in the area they teach?

Will you be able to transfer credits from this institution to your school or district?

What measures in place assure academic integrity? For instance, are tests supervised by someone in the room to assure the student is completing the test?