Mrs. Halsall, a Mariemont High School biology teacher, is one of a growing number of high school instructors in the Tristate opting to design and teach an Internet course for the Virtual High School project. Mary Halsall teaches a science class over the Internet. Each day, Mrs. Halsall spends sixth period in front of the computer screen. At the same time, Mariemont students enrolled in a VHS course log into their class from a library computer.
Students receive full credit and a letter grade for the course.
There's no one standing over your shoulder telling you what to do. Since it came online in 1997, VHS has grown from about 300 students nationwide enrolled in 30 courses, to more than 1,700 students and 156 courses. More than 200 U.S. schools participate, including La Salle, Withrow and Hamilton high schools locally, according to the VHS Web site. Mrs. Halsall's class has 19 students from New York to Georgia, and one from Trinidad. I just know who they are by what they type.