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

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.

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.

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