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Teachers link online with GED classes
By KENT FISCHER, Times Staff Writer
LAND O'LAKES -- People who never finished high school soon will be able to prepare for the GED test with a Pasco County School District teacher, from home, via computer. The Pasco County School Board on Tuesday night approved a new online course for county residents that will help them prepare for the high school equivalency certificate. The project marks the district's latest venture into cyber classrooms. This year, 121 Pasco high school students are taking online classes through an agreement with the state's Florida Virtual High School. Since August, 14 students have taken the online GED classes as part of a pilot program aimed at getting the computer classroom up and running. The project is a joint effort between Pasco, six other school districts and the Florida Virtual High School. "We have a lot of folks who can't come to class because of kids or work," said Anne Johnson, the district's director of community, career and technical education. Pasco teachers helped write the online curriculum that prepares students for the test, which they must take, in person, with a plain old pencil. So far, two Pasco residents have obtained their high school diplomas after studying for it online. District administrators are trying to determine what it will cost for students to take the online class. A federal grant is covering the $30 per student that the district must pay for the computer "slot" alloted each student in the pilot project. Once the project becomes fully operational, each participating district will have to pay the Florida Virtual High School $100 for each student it enrolls. State law, however, prevents districts from charging students an enrollment fee. A district teacher devotes about six hours per week to the 14 students in the pilot project. Johnson said she still is figuring out how many online students a teacher can handle before getting overloaded. The teacher also provides students assistance via telephone or tutoring in person if they need it. "We are all just feeling our way on this, but it's looking pretty good,' Johnson said. "There is so much potential with online education." The board also promoted Stan Trapp to become interim principal at Gulf Middle School. He currently is the assistant principal at River Ridge Middle and High School. Trapp is taking over for Ray Bonti, who will be the principal at Land O'Lakes High. They all move into their new positions Jan. 6. -- Kent Fischer covers education in Pasco County. He can be reached in west Pasco at 869-6241 or toll-free at 1-800-333-7505, ext. 6241. His e-mail address is kfischer@sptimes.com .
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