Greely High School juniors…. take classes… from Virtual High School…. a nonprofit Massachusetts-based company that offers more than 250 accredited courses taught over the Internet by teachers worldwide…. It's not the same as a real classroom, some students say. But without Virtual High School, students like Wilkinson couldn't take some of the advanced courses they need, said Thomas Robb, a guidance counselor at Calais High School…. [T]he Washington County high school has only 260 students, and while it does offer Advanced Placement courses in English, calculus and U.S. history, it lacks the resources to offer students all the electives they would like…. Larger and more affluent high schools in southern Maine also are offering Virtual High School courses because of the wide variety of choices available….

Virtual High School isn't the only way for Maine students to take online courses, said Wanda Monthey, Advanced Placement director for the Maine Department of Education. She said other companies, such as the Seattle-based Apex Learning, offer online courses to students, as do universities around the country…. However, Virtual High School may be the largest online course provider in Maine. …[T]he company, which was a pioneer in the field when it started in 1996, has about 10,000 students around the globe and is serving 258 Maine students this year…. One reason the company is well-known in Maine is that it has partnered with the state in pooling separately received federal grants for the past few years in an effort to help low-income high school students have free access to online Advanced Placement courses…..

The cost of Virtual High School for a school district varies, depending on such factors as how many students sign up and whether a high school can make a teacher available to teach online courses to other students…. [S]tartup costs range from $1,500 to $5,000, and annual membership fees range from $1,500 to $6,500.

Tess Nacelewicz, Maine Sunday Telegram March 11.