Raising The Grade: Muskogee Schools' Advanced Academics

Online learning is launching a digital education revolution in Oklahoma. An Oklahoma company provides more than 30 school districts across the state with virtual classrooms. <br/><br/>News on 6 anchor

Thursday, June 17th 2004, 9:59 am

By: News On 6

Online learning is launching a digital education revolution in Oklahoma. An Oklahoma company provides more than 30 school districts across the state with virtual classrooms.

News on 6 anchor Terry Hood explains how one Oklahoma school district says online learning is helping to raise the grade for dropouts.

Maurice Portis traded his local high school for a school without walls or books. His classroom is his living room. And his teachers aren't in his face, but part of cyberspace. "It's pretty fun I like talking to the teachers and stuff on here."

It's a high compliment from a student who didn't want to go to school at all.

Mauriceâ€™s mom, Linda Portis: "When uh he went to the ninth grade he was kind of reluctant because of peer pressure and we looked into different avenues."

They found Advanced Academics. It's an online learning program Muskogee Public Schools is using to try to keep kids from dropping out of high school. Muskogee School superintendent Dr Eldon Gleichman: "In the past those kids were left behind they were just out of school we're trying to bring them back."

Students can work at home, at their own pace, at any time. All of the reading materials, homework assignments, and even quizzes are online. "This is a lot easier than a book because then when you get done reading it you just go to do homework and take the test." And you can email, talk, or chat with a certified teacher 24-7.

Jeff Elliott: "If they want to take their courses at ten o'clock at night thatâ€™s fine. Its really whatever meets their needs."

Gleichman: "there's no other program out there that is so individualized. I can have 25 students in it and they can be in 25 different places and everyone of em have a teacher. And I can't do that it in school."

Gleichman says the program has snowballed from 25 kids the first year to more than 200 now. He's able to keep tabs on the students with weekly reports that tell him how often they're logging on and how much work they're getting done. He says itâ€™s a great tool to catch kids who might otherwise slip through the cracks. "We are not going to capture everyone out there but we're not going to lose that youngster because we havenâ€™t tried. You have to try something you have to try every means available to you."

Maurice and his mom say it worked for him. Next year he's going to give old-fashioned school a try. Linda Portis: "He's going to continue on to regular school go back to high school next year and it allowed him to be right there with his classmates and thatâ€™s what I liked about it."

Muskogee school leaders hope this cyber-classroom will help them turn actual dropouts into virtual graduates.

Muskogee Schoolsâ€™ superintendent says online learning requires a lot of initiative on the part of the student. But he's giving them a little push to do their best. If a student is under 18, not in school and doesn't succeed with the online learning program, Muskogee's superintendent will suspend the student driver's license.