Raleigh — While many students are out of school, the NC Virtual Public School is open for summer session.
Monday marked the official first day of classes for the North Carolina Virtual Public School. 4,135 high school and middle school students are enrolled and taking high school level online classes this summer for the first time. 1,611 students are already registered for the fall session.
“Today is a landmark day for 21st century learning,” said Lt. Governor Bev Perdue. “The Virtual Public School is about giving our students options for learning and access to rigorous courses 24/7, regardless of where they live.”
Since the start of May, North Carolina Virtual Public School is averaging 100 enrollments per day. A total of 312 schools across North Carolina have registered students for the summer or fall.
“The NC Virtual Public School offers North Carolina students unbounded access to the coursework they need,” said State Board of Education Chairman Howard Lee. “This is an exciting day for North Carolina. Wherever you live, wherever you go to school, the same learning opportunities are available to you through the NC Virtual Public High School.”
In addition to student enrollments, at least 150 qualified North Carolina teachers will be teaching summer school courses for the North Carolina Virtual Public School. Over 800 teachers have requested to teach online classes. The online classes range from courses students need to graduate to the most rigorous, accelerated courses.
“All the Virtual Public School courses are certified to align to state standards and to meet expectations of quality and academic integrity,” said NC Virtual School Director John Boling. “Our students will be taking top-notch classes taught be professional teachers.”
The NC Virtual Public School started receiving funding for the North Carolina General Assembly in 2006 as a way to meet the State Board of Education¹s goals of 21st century learning.
“Our regular classrooms will always be the fundamental way our students learn in North Carolina, but the North Carolina Virtual Public School augments those classes and helps prepared our students for a 21st century global economy,” said Perdue.
Enrollment for summer school elective classes ends June 13th and ends June 18th for credit recovery courses. Registration for fall semester is still open and a slate of over 90 courses will be available for students. Students and parents can learn more about the North Carolina Virtual Public School and registering for classes by visiting www.ncvps.org.
Lt. Governor Perdue serves on the State Board of Education, the State Board of Community Colleges and is chair of the Business Education Technology Alliance. The Virtual Public School initiative came from a BETA recommendation to the State Board of Education and General Assembly.