The Frazee-Vergas School Board briefly discussed providing online educational services at its meeting Monday, Aug. 9.

Board member Dwight Cook said the online service would provide the district with an additional funding source.

Cook suggested meeting with staff, explaining the process to them as well as developing a pay system for those who teach the online classes.

Math teacher Jerry Bellefeuille, one of two public members who were allowed to speak at the board meeting, noted he was told teachers would learn more about the online programming after school starts.

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While her graduation represents a rite of passage for many who are Goodrich’s age, it also represents the new American trend of online education. Goodrich, 18, is one of an increasing number of high school pupils who attend and finish high school by taking online classes.

Goodrich graduated from The Insight School, soon to enter its third year of operation.

Nineteen percent of high school students in the U.S. attended online classes in the 2007-2008 school year, Insight spokesman George Fiddler said.

“A certified online Minnesota high school like Insight is just one of many choices for high school children in our state. It works a lot like open enrollment would,” said Christine Du Four, spokeswoman for the Minnesota Department of Education.

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Mounds View high schools will take one step further into the computer age next year.

The district plans to offer several online classes to juniors and seniors. Students who have registered for those classes will spend 60 to 80 percent of their course time on the computer, either at home or in a computer lab at Mounds View High School in Arden Hills and Irondale High School in New Brighton. Classroom time will be arranged by the instructor and might take the form of a once-a-week seminar, said RoAnne Elliott, Mounds View schools director of curriculum and instruction. Elliott calls the online courses “hybrid” because they combine classroom and online study.

“The teacher might say, ‘If I’ve got 30 kids in this hybrid course, instead of meeting all of them, I’m going to break the class into smaller groups, or meet all at the same time, ” Elliott said. “You can have a day where the teacher can meet with individual students, or small groups of students.”

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