Online Courses Aim to Prevent Dropouts

Jefferson Lara, 18, works on a physics assignment. Online courses are part of the Arlington Mill High School continuation program, designed to help at-risk students get a diploma. (By Susan Biddle -- The Washington Post)
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Many Arlington Mill students dropped out of regular schools because of illness or a family need for them to work. One of her students, Thompson said, hated to read. He had dreams of becoming an architect, but by his senior year, he had not passed even the first of the four years of English required for a diploma in Virginia. The Arlington Mill program was his only way out, and that motivated him, Thompson said. He took four English courses in one year -- two in an Arlington Mill classroom and two online. "His reading improved dramatically," she said. He graduated and went on to college.

Teachers involved with online courses for dropouts say that kind of drive is essential. "It takes a very motivated kid to do this," Smink said. Thompson speaks of "very high-productivity kids" who can put in the time if it is at their pace, "but if you make them go through the whole high school year, you are going to lose them."

Larry Fallon, instructional technology coordinator at Arlington Mill, said he wishes the EdOptions courses were not so dependent on students' reading abilities. Other companies have more visual aids to help students learn. But he said those courses are more expensive and less likely to work on the low-end computers many of his students have at home. Some students have to use computers at the county library. Others, including Lara, use the Arlington Mill computer lab. "My mother's boyfriend has a computer," Lara said, "but it is locked with a password, and I don't know what it is."

Nagla Elshrif, 20, who came to Northern Virginia from Sudan in 2004, took an online world geography course at Arlington Mill as she worked long hours at a Taco Bell on Lee Highway. She said she liked all the maps in her online course, which she completed in January. She expects to get her diploma this month and wants to go to Northern Virginia Community College to pursue her dream of becoming a dentist.

Lara said his motivation is the job awaiting him at Nissan, which will pay for his additional auto mechanic training and raise his salary with each certification he earns.

Most of the students, however, are not nearly as close to their goals. Ruggieri said she had 24 students in her Earth science class in September, and the number who attend consistently is down to 12. "But many of them will come back," she said. "And what brings them back is that box on the application that says: 'Do you have a high school diploma?' "