The district is particularly pleased to be able to continue the virtual high school program, which allows students to choose from electives that the district would otherwise need teachers for to study on electronic devices and computers.

“Imagine trying to fund one period of one teacher of one kid, Mandarin Chinese,” Opiekun said. “That’s what we have going on.”

Four elementary teaching positions will be cut in the 2012-13 budget due to declined enrollment. This will be done by moving some of the elementary teachers to different grade levels. The number of kindergarten teachers will go from seven to five, first grade will go from eight teachers to seven and fourth and fifth grade teachers will go from eight to seven. But second grade teachers will increase from seven to eight and third grade will remain with seven teachers.

One thing that is not going away, however, is the pay-to-play fee students wishing to participate in athletics or extra-curricular activities, or park on school property, is asked to pay each year. But Opiekun emphasized that the district would not be raising the fee.

For the rest of the article, go to Co-Curricular Programs Remain Intact With Kinnelon School Budget

For one group of students at Glen Ridge High School, the classroom isn’t just in the brick-and-mortar school building, and some of their new classmates may be on the other side of the country – or the world.

This year, GRHS is participating in the Virtual High School for the first time. The program is a series of online courses tailored for high school students and their schools.

Space is limited – Glen Ridge has made 15 spots available for the first year of the program. There is already a long waiting list for next year, says Jill Landgraber, who coordinates the program at GRHS. Those who are interested in participating have to submit an application to the guidance office, and then have a meeting with teachers and guidance counselors to determine if they are eligible.

Students who take a full-year course can earn five credits for graduation, while a half-year course is good for 2.5 credits.

Participating students communicate with each other, and the instructor, through discussion forums. The curriculum includes both individual homework assignments and group projects.

There are 770 schools enrolled in Virtual High School, 719 from the United States and 51 from other countries.

For the rest of the article, go to Glen Ridge students participating in online school

“Many schools facing budget cuts have had to cancel low enrollment courses over the last few years,” said Liz Pape, president and CEO of Virtual High School. “By partnering with VHS, they are now able to continue to provide the courses that students need and want while equipping them with critical skills that will be invaluable in their next level of education or careers.”
The nonprofit has 770 member schools in total across the globe.

For the rest of the article, go to Maynard-based virtual school collaborative adds more members.