Internet school eyed for at-risk students

Officials are investigating the idea of starting an online public charter school with the University of New Hampshire to help at-risk students.

During an information session next Monday, Arthur "Skip" Hanson, superintendent of School Administrative Unit 16, plans to air the idea before a joint meeting of school board chairs.

"What we see is a real need for kids who seem to be falling through the cracks as they make the transition from middle school in eighth grade to the ninth grade," said Hanson. "This would be a virtual charter school for at-risk students, meaning they are at risk of failing or dropping out of school."

Hanson said the new charter school would target at-risk students in grades 8, 9, and 10.

Fred Bramante, chairman of the state Board of Education, said the virtual charter school idea "has the potential to be great. It's not for every kid. It's what technology can offer students across the country."

Already, Bramante said, eight schools across the state are holding what they call "virtual" high school, with online courses, under the auspices of a company called Virtual High School.

"It's very exciting," said Bramante. "I have seen Virtual High School. It is a private company offering online courses. In Hinsdale, I saw a class of seven kids out of a class of 25 kids that is taking 20 different courses at the same time that could never be offered in the public schools. It's absolutely incredible."

Charter schools are public schools that get some public school dollars and some autonomy from the usual rules. Hanson said the virtual charter school would be "cost-neutral" because the approximately $4,000 in state funds that Exeter receives for each student in public school would be transferred to the charter school for each enrollee.

Exeter's new high-tech charter school would operate as part of the Exeter Region Cooperative School District, but be unfettered by some of the regulations that govern regular public schools, he said.

"It would be part of the cooperative school district but have charter school status," said Hanson. "The advantage is that would allow us to waive some rules and regulations . . . It would give us some flexibility to try new things."

Because the school would rely heavily on technology, school officials want to launch the project with the help of University of New Hampshire faculty members, Hanson said.

If the Exeter Region Cooperative School District approves the project, the hope is to get a proposal to the state Board of Education by March, said Hanson.

In August, the Board of Education approved the state's first two charter schools, including a proposal for the Seacoast Charter School in Exeter. At the time, Governor Craig Benson hailed the charter school approvals as "an idea whose time has finally come in New Hampshire."