Va. Beach Schools Tune in to More Opportunity

A successful distance-learning pilot program at three Virginia Beach, Va.,

high schools prompted the local school board to expand the program to all

10 of the city's high schools.

During the 1998-1999 school year, students at Princess Anne, Bayside

and Ocean Lakes high schools took a class in discrete math that was only

offered at one of the school district's 10 high schools. The students used

videoconferencing capabilities provided by Cox Communications Inc. to interact

with each other and the teacher who lead the class from Princess Anne.

Three more schools were hooked up by the end of January, and by the

beginning of the next school year, the remaining four will be as well, said

Eva Roupas, distance-learning teacher specialist for the Virginia Beach

City Public Schools.

"The primary goal of the program is to create more opportunities for

students, based on a more level playing field systemwide, so they can be

competitive in the future," Roupas said. "This way...there won't be opportunities

that are only offered at one school and not another."

Classes are offered in discrete math, theater appreciation, honors public

speaking and various advanced placement areas. More than 200 students have

participated in distance-learning courses, a number that will at least double

next fall when all 10 schools are connected, Roupas said. Each school will

be responsible for sending and receiving at least one course.

The total cost of the project is about $400,000, and Cox Communications

has provided all the equipment and installation services, Roupas said.