Is this the end of school as we know it?

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Written by Aysha Marie Spencer

The new offered online courses officially ended their first semester on Jan. 15, unless special circumstances apply to the student.
“Mansfield ISD saw this as an opportunity to prepare students for the next generation of online classes. So with regard to the actual hows I’m not real sure, but the whys I am pretty sure why it was done and that was to offer the kids something that was the way of the future so to speak,” academics principal Michael Hill said.
Online courses began Aug. 24 with the first day of school. Thirty three students enrolled originally, with multiple students, such as Chloe Milson, dropping their course at the end of this semester.
“I want out of online courses,” senior Calculus student Preyanka Hussain said, “I would much rather be in a traditional classroom. I can learn much better with the teacher-student interaction.”
Advanced Academics (AAI) and Texas Virtual School (TVS), two outside carriers for online courses, host the wide range of programs offered including core classes, AP core classes, electives, AP electives, and foreign languages. Sponsors Paul Cash, Michael Hill, and Michelle Vasquez recommend against enrolling in more than one online course at a time.
“I am currently enrolled in Psychology. I plan on majoring in Psychology one day. Psychology isn’t available for sophomores, so I am taking it online,” sophomore Maridely Montiel said.
Students paired with mentors not necessarily based upon their course subject but for attendance, grades, and progress. Parents of the students receive notification of this data through letters sent via mail.
“They send too much crap to my mail, and the information is hugely inaccurate. I think it is good to send progression mail to our parents as long as it is accurate,” Adeola Adeyosoye, senior AP Physics student, said.
The students study on laptops in the old MTTV broadcasting room in the library, equipped with headsets and a white board for equations and visuals. Librarian Jennifer Rike supervises the students throughout their online blocks.
“Even though I am not a big fan of online courses, I do have plenty of fun,” Hussain said.
The new semester for online courses begins at an individual time for each student based on their progression in their previous semester of online courses.
“As with anything new, there is gonna be some bumps and some struggles initially, and we’ve experienced those,” Hill said, “but the group of kids that elected to do it have been very patient and very understanding, and so I’m very pleased at the success rates and some of the success stories that the kids are bringing back as a result of their online classes.”

1. Denise Ward Says:
   March 2nd, 2010 at 4:47 pm

   I have a child at Summit that is taking French 2 on-line. It was a rocky start getting them on-line. We have been very happy with the flexabilty. The class was not fitting into her schedule of other classes that had to be taken and being able to access and work on it at home 24/7 was a plus. I would prefer the notices sent by e-mail instead of the postal service.

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