Online classes give summer school a twist

Summer school. The phrase conjures up images of sweltering classrooms in near-empty school buildings, teachers battling boredom as students gaze out the window and dream of other things.

But this season, students are going to summer school without even leaving their homes.

A new effort by Virtual High School, a nonprofit organization in Maynard, lets students make up failed courses or get a head start on the next school year by powering up their home computers and going on-line. Students log in to get their assignments.

They can talk to their teacher daily, using online message boards and e-mail, and the program lets teachers check up on students to see if they're completing work and taking tests. The classes also have regular group discussions in chat rooms.

"They are sitting in their natural environment," said Sandra Rowe, the organization's director of membership and marketing. "And whether it's at the beach, at home, or at Starbucks, it's an environment they are comfortable in, where they can do their work."

Long-distance learning is not new to education, but teenagers going to summer school over the Internet is a recent nationwide phenomenon. But it is drawing some skepticism from educators who wonder whether most teenagers are responsible enough to handle coursework on their own time.

High schools in Virginia and Florida offer online classes in the summer.

This year, about 100 students from 41 schools across the country and around the world have signed up for Virtual High School's summer programs. Just a quarter of the students enrolled in the Maynard-based courses come from a handful of high schools in Massachusetts.

Virtual High began experimenting with summer online classes last year with a few high schools after seven years of offering fall and spring courses. The four-week-long classes in subjects such as algebra, English, health, basic chemistry, and US history are taught by certified high school teachers from around the country, Rowe said. Students, who are urged to spend 90 minutes a day on each class, can opt to take the classes in July or August. The $300 cost of each class is paid for by individual families.

How much credit a student earns for a class depends on the agreement with his or her school. Generally, a single online course counts for one semester's worth of credit, said Virtual High School administrators. No summer class can make up for an entire school year of one subject.

When it comes to summer school at Virtual High, regular rules apply. Parents must contact teachers directly if their child has an excusable prolonged absence and needs time to make up coursework. If a student has too many unexcused absences or fails to turn in coursework in a timely manner, he may be asked to withdraw from the course. A withdrawal is equivalent to a failing grade. A student suspected of cheating is subject to disciplinary action, including termination from the course.

Virtual High students said they hope summer online classes become a popular trend.

But the freedom that students get when they take an online course concerns some educators.

Academically struggling students usually need to spend more time with their teachers in classrooms, rather than doing work whenever they wish, said Michael Carr, spokesman for the National Association of Secondary School Principals.

"There are probably pockets of places that are doing this, but a vast majority of schools are still having kids coming into the building," Carr said.

Online courses are better suited for highly motivated students, he said.

"People are sticking to what they're used to: having kids come in to school, seeing them at their desk, and making sure they are doing what they are supposed to do," Carr said. "Technology is not the panacea to fix all ills."

Virtual High School administrators insist that online classes do not give students an easy way out of tough classes, but instead offer a different and fun way to deal with them. "This is a rigorous education," Rowe said.

At Hopkinton High School, which uses online courses, administrators decided to pass up the summer school concept, said Linda Henderson, the school's technology specialist.

"If you've got a student who is not doing well in class anyway, it's probably unlikely that they will log on while they're out of school," she said.

Globe correspondent Sofia Santana contributed to this report.