By: Shayla Terry

Students of the Crenshaw County Virtual School joined the monthly Board of Education meeting to relay to attendees their experiences thus far.

Marcus McLeod is a participant of the school system’s early exit plan. Through taking extra classes online, Marcus will graduate a semester early from Luverne High School.

“I have enjoyed learning through this type of education so much,” McLeod said.

“I am challenging myself for college.”

“Marcus is going to go to college with an incredible education,” Virtual School facilitator Derri Andress said.

“He going to be so prepared because his classes are so vigorous.”

Serafina Spivey, a junior at Highland Home School has been able to catch up with her studies because of the program.

“This program has challenged me in ways I have never been challenged,” Spivey said.

“I am so grateful for the opportunity to do this.”

The Virtual School ARC program has 11 students. The students do coursework from the Joe R. Sport Administrative building, attending daily from 8 a.m until noon.

“It’s going great,” Andress said.

“Some of my kids have other responsibilities, and this is a wonderful way for them to catch up and be able to graduate.”

Advanced Placement students from Luverne High School presented a slideshow to the Board on the advantages of taking AP courses.

Juniors Joshua Hermeling, Jace Baines, TJ Peagler and their AP English Teacher Dorothy Peterson explained what it means to take an AP class.

“AP English has taught me how to breakdown stories,” Peagler said.

“In history, we are developing how to write good thesis statements.”

Director of Crenshaw County Virtual School Carolyn Broaden says the program was made to benefit students of multiple backgrounds.

“We are excited about the opportunity to provide additional learning opportunities for our students through Virtual School,” she says.

“We have implemented a challenging, rigorous curriculum through Odysseware. Our program is designed to meet the needs of our students.”

Students participating in Virtual School are able to take AP courses, foreign languages and electives.