Educators in Two Countries, Puerto Rico & 15 U.S. States Join Virtual High School

PRLog (Press Release) - Feb. 8, 2012 - Maynard, MA – Virtual High School Global Consortium (http://www.govhs.org), the pioneer of K-12 online learning and course design for teachers, today announced that 62 additional educators and administrators in 15 U.S. states, Puerto Rico and Venezuela will soon start teaching or administering Virtual High School (VHS) courses at their school. Having completed VHS’s 10-week NetCourse Instructional Methodologies (NIM) or 4-week Site Coordinator Orientation (SCO), many of these individuals have begun participating in the Spring semester presently in progress so that students at their school can enroll in VHS’s online courses.

Designed to supplement a school’s classroom curriculum, VHS is a non-profit, worldwide collaborative of high schools, teachers and students. VHS member schools have access to over 200 online elective, Advanced Placement and honors courses, which are delivered co-synchronously and taught by VHS teachers who actively teach in classrooms at their member schools.  All are certified in their specific discipline and have completed a graduate level professional development program in online teaching. Instructors facilitate and continually monitor all courses, engaging students in discussions, and assessing each individual student’s progress.

VHS’s NIM program transforms traditional face-to-face classroom teachers into online instructors by introducing the pedagogy, methodology, and moderation techniques needed to effectively teach a VHS NetCourse. Participants learn how to foster online community-building, facilitate project-based and collaborative learning, promote online dialogue, design activities and assessments that achieve learning objectives or outcomes and become comfortable with the Desire2Learn online course platform.

A requirement of each VHS member school, a VHS Site Coordinator ensures the program runs smoothly at their school. A Site Coordinator becomes certified after completing SCO, an online professional development program in which they learn how to recruit and register students for online courses, coordinate materials and resources, monitor progress and more.

This Winter, the following teachers and administrators successfully completed either NIM or SCO.

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Grace Cisek   Achievement House Cyber Charter School   Exton, PA
Patricia Pereira   Anzoategui International School   Anaco, Venezuela
Shawnna Fontaine   Apponequet Regional High School   Lakeville, MA
Bonnie Smeltzer   Audubon High School   Audubon, NJ
Mike Tomasetti   Audubon High School   Audubon, NJ
Kelly Young   Audubon High School   Audubon, NJ
Cynthia Armstrong   Avon Middle School   Avon, CT
David Clark   Bellows Free Academy   Fairfax, VT
Scarlett Sherman   Bigfork High School   Bigfork, MT
Erin Mcnally   Bloomfield High School   Bloomfield, NJ
John Pierce   Bloomfield High School   Bloomfield, NJ
Kevin Campbell   Central High School   Carrollton , GA
Cesare Mitrano   Chariho Regional HS   Wood River Junction, RI
Charles Newton   Cincinnati College Preparatory Academy   Cincinnati, OH
Ryan Giberson   Coventry High School   Coventry , CT
Melissa Binns   Cumberland Public Schools   Cumberland, RI
Sarah Mclellan   Cumberland Public Schools   Cumberland, RI
Amy Acors   Fauquier County Public Schools   Midland, VA
Craig Carscallen   Fauquier County Public Schools   Midland, VA
Jill Hooper   Freeport High School   Freeport, ME
Jonathan Golden   Gann Academy   Waltham, MA
Christine Ross   Global Learning Charter Public School   New Bedford, MA
Audra Marini   Groton Dunstable Regional School District   Groton, MA
Abigail Croyle   Hamilton Wenham Regional High School   Hamilton, MA
Ann Tassinari   Hamilton Wenham Regional High School   Hamilton, MA
Joseph C. Martino   Hammonton High School   Hammonton, NJ
Tara Obrien   Hampshire Regional High School   Westhampton, MA
Ann Coates   Hanover High School   Hanover, MA
Susan Montano-Lajoie   Hartford Public High School   Hartford, CT
David Parr   Janesville Virtual Academy   Janesville, WI
Dawn Racioppi   Keyport High School   Keyport, NJ
Tina Clifford   Lander Valley High School   Lander, WY
Theresa Deriso   Lincoln High School   Lincoln, RI
Peter Mccauliff   Lunenburg High School   Lunenberg, MA
Steven Urbach   Massabesic High School   Waterboro, ME
Francesca Lograsso   Melrose Public Schools   Melrose, MA
Jennifer Shackelford   Melrose Public Schools   Melrose, MA
Shawn Calaway   Nathan Hale High School   Tulsa, OK
José Rivera   Notre Dame High School   Caguas, Puerto Rico
Doris Alicia González   Notre Dame High School   Caguas, Puerto Rico
Amy Baran   Pennsville Memorial High School   Pennsville, NJ
Pialan Shi   Pennsville Memorial High School   Pennsville, NJ
Carol Baiocco   Riverside High School   Yonkers, NY
Karen Mcgrath   Sandwich High School   Sandwich, MA
James Pedersen   South Plainfield High School   South Plainfield, NJ
Ed Mcginnis   St. George's School   Middletown, RI
Nancy Dibuono   St. Joseph High School CT   Trumbull, CT
Kristin Buckmaster   Sun Valley High School   Aston, PA
Gail King   Tahanto Regional High School   Boylston, MA
Francis Cusick   Tewksbury Memorial High School   Tewksbury, MA
Eileen Dulen-Jennings   The Academy of Aerospace and Engineering   Hartford, CT
Denise Piffard   Twin Valley High School   Wilmington, VT
Lenka Ward   Upper Cape Cod Regional Technical High School   Bourne, MA
Gary Menin, Sr.   Virtual High School   Maynard, MA
Mary Nancy Toscano   Westerly High School   Westerly, RI
Erica Walker   Will Rogers High School   Tulsa, OK
Shannon O-Donnell   Wilton-Lyndeborough Cooperative   Wilton, NH
Mary-Jane Ryan   Wilton-Lyndeborough Cooperative   Wilton, NH
Cynthia Pronko   Wissahickon High School   Ambler, PA
Stephanie Stockwell   Worcester Technical High School   Worcester, MA
David Ashdown   WSWHE BOCES   Saratoga Springs, NY
Kathy Fakhoury   Yonkers High School   Yonkers, NY

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“We are pleased that these educators have recognized the value of online education and dedicated the time and effort needed to learn and master new skills,” said Liz Pape President & CEO of VHS. “By having these skills in their arsenal they will be able to grow in their profession, help their school adopt best practices in 21st century teaching, and make VHS an even stronger resource for the education community and students.”

About Virtual High School (VHS)
Virtual High School is the pioneer of online course design and instruction for teachers and online education for high school students. Virtual High School partners with schools to provide rigorous, student-centered online courses that help expand rather than replace existing curriculum options. The VHS collaborative includes 676 member schools and more than 15,000 enrolled students from 30 U.S. states and 43 countries.  The recipient of the United States Distance Learning Association (USDLA) 2005, 2007 and 2008 awards for Excellence in Programming and Excellence in Best Practices and the Stockholm Challenge 2001 Award for exemplary use of technology in education, VHS was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Maynard, Massachusetts. For more information, visit www.govhs.org or call (978) 897-1900.

Press Contact: VHS: Carol Arnold, Arnold Communications, carol@arnoldcomm.com, (877) 718-4604 x2.

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The pioneer of K-12 online learning and course design for teachers, Virtual High School (VHS) is a non-profit collaborative of high schools, middle schools, teachers and students.