MOULTRIE, Ga. — “No walls. Just options.” That’s the motto for the VirtuPack Learning Center (VLC), which began this fall as an online schooling option for Colquitt County students in grades 6-12.

Part of the Colquitt County School System, the VLC enrolls students at Colquitt County High School, Gray Junior High School, and Williams Middle School, but students take academic classes through Georgia Virtual School (GaVS), the state’s online charter school, rather than on campus.

Currently, Colquitt County has 47 students registered for online classes through GaVS, eight each at Williams and Gray, and the remaining 31 at CCHS. Of the 47 students, 28 are online either all day or a majority of the day.

Coursework may be completed at home, the VLC lab, their school, or the downtown library.

“Anywhere students have Internet access and a computer they can work on their assignments,” said Allen Edwards, director of 6-12 Gifted Education and VLC facilitator. Students also have access to college classes at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College and Southern Regional Technical College via the Move-On-When-Ready program.

This fall, students chose online learning for a variety of reasons, said Edwards.

“We have former homeschool students who are now part of our system, students who work during the day and access classes at night, and students who dropped out but are now returning to school fulltime,” he said. “A number of our students want to graduate from our school system but don’t care anything at all about the traditional school experience of prom, homecoming, sports, or clubs.”

However, Edwards stressed VLC students are fully eligible for extracurricular activities. “They can do anything a regular student on campus can do,” he said, noting this fall some virtual school students ran cross country and attended homecoming dances at their respective schools.

Before starting the program, the school system investigated Georgia High School Association (GHSA) and National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) eligibility.

“We are 100-percent in compliance with GHSA regulations, and all GaVS courses are NCAA approved,” said Edwards.

Online learning isn’t for all students, said Edwards, because the independence required for success in online classes makes GaVS classes more difficult than their on-campus counterparts.

“Students who are not successful in regular classes are often not successful online, either,” he said.

With the majority of GaVS teachers employed fulltime in school systems around the state, students do not usually have immediate access to teachers when they struggle. Instead, Edwards said, students must learn self-reliance.

“It forces students to reread material or look for outside resources like Khan Academy to learn concepts,” he said. “I would say 80 percent of success online depends on work ethic and persistence when faced with difficulties.”

The remaining 20-percent, Edwards said, is responsibility and skill.

“The vast majority of our students who were unsuccessful this fall either did not complete assignments on a regular basis or struggled with the reading required in online classes,” he said. “It’s almost impossible to procrastinate and find success online.”

Virtual classes are not a good way to duck work, said Edwards, as students spend a similar amount of time on schoolwork as they would on campus.

“We tell students to estimate 45 minutes to an hour per course per day, which is roughly the same amount of time as a class period on campus,” Edwards said. “The only difference is these students can complete coursework in their pajamas on the couch.”

While teachers are not always immediately available, Edwards has been impressed with the amount of contact students receive from their online teachers. Students receive a phone call from each teacher at the beginning of the semester to open up the line of communication between home and school, and students, parents, and system facilitators receive regular updates from teachers if a student performs poorly.

“The GaVS teachers work hard to make it easy on parents and us to monitor progress,” said Edwards.

As well, students may also contact Avis Sutton, the VLC instructional provider, if they are having issues.

“Ms. Sutton works so hard to troubleshoot any issues our students are having,” said Edwards, noting Sutton worked this semester to form study groups for online students. “She also calls to check on students when she sees they are not logging in or failing assignments.”

For more information on the VirtuPack Learning Center, please contact Edwards at (229) 890-6200 ext. 10074 or Sutton (229) 890-6200 ext. 10040.