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Provost Academy: an online alternative
BY ETTIE NEWLANDS
ASSISTANT EDITOR
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Seventeen-year-old Lindsay Hickman is busy. The rising high school junior is taking college courses to get an associate's degree in digital arts through Horry-Georgetown Technical College. She's also got her own Web design company - Viva Designz - which keeps her working on about eight Websites regularly. In addition, she and her parents travel quite a bit. To make sure she gets the best possible education, Hickman, who lives in the Forestbrook area, will be attending Provost Academy.
Provost is a free, public, online high school for residents of South Carolina. "I know it sounds too good to be true, and I know it sounds like there's a catch," says Diana Blue, community outreach director for the online school. The reason people think there's a catch, Blue says, is because they generally don't understand charter schools. "It's funded through our tax dollars," she says. It's public school, accountable to all the standards of any other public school. "And yes, it's free." Provost Academy, Blue says, "is a school without walls. You can take it anywhere."
The advantages to a school like this are, she says, "huge." Students are not sitting in front of a computer screen with their eyes glazed over, she stresses. "They are learning through scheduled, live classes where they interact with their teachers, through blogs, discussion forums and videos. "But, if they're unable to attend a particular class, they can record it and watch it when it's convenient. "They can attend class any time they want to, day or night," she says.
Each student has an academic advisor. That advisor is a guide to the student, and is in touch with the student's family at least weekly. Assignments are turned in electronically and students get grades and feedback. Provost Academy is not a home school. Parents, Blue says, do not teach and have no administrative responsibilities. Tutors are available to students from 8 a.m. - 8 p. m. Monday through Friday. There are already 570 students enrolled for Provost's first year which will begin in August. There are lots for 1,000.
Every student attending Provost Academy receives a laptop computer, a printer, and Internet reimbursement. Students get the same South Carolina high school diploma that students going to brick and mortar schools get. Online learning, Blue explains, is fairly new, starting about a decade ago.
Hickman went to Christian school until sixth grade, and from then until now, she was home schooled. She's excited, and looking forward to start at Provost. "I really like technology, and I'm excited about this being on line," she says. "It's a lot easier to do things with a computer than to have to hand write everything, and it gives me a little more of a free schedule. "The teenager anticipates online schooling will take some getting used to, but says she's looking forward to it. "My parents and I travel quite a bit and I'll be able to do this in different states when we're on the road," she says.
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