Building a Virtual High School...Click by Click.

The Rapid City Academy is the alternative high school program for South Dakota's Rapid City Area Schools, which has an enrollment of about 13,000 K-12 students, with five middle schools feeding two large traditional high schools and the alternative program. A high percentage of students at the academy are considered "at-risk" due to transient lifestyles, teenage parenthood, high absentee rates, low socioeconomic status, and medical and/or personal challenges that impact their ability to succeed in the traditional classroom setting. Therefore, the academy strives to provide a quality education for its students via alternative instructional methods such as smaller student-teacher ratios, individualized learning plans, strategy-based learning, flexible schedules, and independent and group-led classes. The Debut of Online Learning During the spring of 2002, conversations among a small group of teachers, instructional technology specialists, and administrators led us to attend the Virtual High School Symposium in Denver in fall 2002. Conversations continued, and in summer 2003, teachers and instructional technology specialists developed online courses for implementation that fall. Thus began the academy's venture into the world of online learning. Rapid City Academy Online (rcacademyonline.org) debuted in November 2003 with four teachers, 34 students, and five courses. Although a majority of the students were from the local school district, enrollment included out-of-district and out-of-country participants. Serving predominately high-school-aged students, Rapid City Academy Online provided a new opportunity for learners who needed the flexibility of the online classes to help meet their outside work schedules, as well as for those hoping to graduate ahead of time or those trying to catch up with their own graduating class. Still, some were just intrigued by the idea of attending virtual classes. But not all participants fit the archetype of the typical high school-aged learner. One non-traditional student hoped to return to school after more than 50 years to complete the credits necessary for earning a high school diploma. Others were already carrying full course loads at the traditional high schools and wanted the opportunity to take additional coursework, while some students decided to take a class to improve a grade they had received in the traditional setting. Initial course offerings included American History 1, World Literature 1, Physiology and Anatomy, and Computer Studies 1, while math classes were offered through online curriculum from Pearson Digital Learning's (www.pearsondigital.com) NovaNet program. The virtual high school is now in its fourth cycle, and has grown to eight teachers, 44 students (several of whom are taking two or more online courses), and 15 courses. More growth is anticipated with the start of the fifth cycle in December 2004. It's time now to step back and reflect on what we have learned since our leap into the world of virtual education. The Initial Experience Students and instructors of the Rapid City Academy Online were asked to examine their online teaching and learning experiences during this first year. The staff completed a written questionnaire in which seven noted experiences as learners in online master's or doctoral classes, while one instructor had no online experience as a student. Five of the instructors were experienced teachers of online courses, while this was the first opportunity in online teaching for three instructors. Of the 35 student respondents, 10 had participated in at least one online class offered by the academy in the last year, while 25 had no previous eLearning experience. According to the Illinois Online Network (Key Elements of an Online Program, 2003, www.ion.uillinois.edu/ resources/tutorials/overview/dements.asp), the flexibility of asynchronous learning is one of the most frequently mentioned advantages of online learning. …