NASHUA – Taylor Wilmot received her high school diploma in the mail, never having met any of her teachers or classmates.

Wilmot, 18, was one of the first graduates of the Virtual Learning Academy Charter School, an online public charter school. She graduated in June, along with 11 other students, making up the school’s first graduating class. The school is based in Exeter, but Wilmot never set foot in town, taking all of her courses from her Nashua home. She is spending her summer taking a writing class at Nashua Community College, where she will enroll full time in the fall. The class she is taking now isn’t online, but in a building with a teacher at the front of the classroom.

Going back to the old-school way of learning has been an adjustment.

“I love being around people. It’s nice and refreshing to go to a school,” Wilmot said. “But at the same time, I’m sitting there for four hours. I didn’t miss sitting in those hard chairs with a desk.”

For the rest of the article, go to Online high school grad continues education in college setting

In 2003, the state created a 10-year pilot program authorizing the state Board of Education to grant up to 20 applications during that period. The state used a federal charter school start-up grant to help schools with facilities other than opening costs.

As of the fall 2009, 15 of 16 applications have been authorized. Eleven schools are still open. Among them are the Virtual Learning Academy, which provides online course opportunities for high school students across the state.

The Academy for Science and Design has grown every year since opening. It plans to add a sixth grade to its current grades of 7 through 12, and increase enrollment to 190 kids next year, almost double the current figure.

Charter schools are open to all New Hampshire students. The state was providing charter schools with $5,500 per student during the 2009-10 school year. That figure is less than half of the state’s reported average per-pupil cost for 2008-09 of $11,745.55.

For the rest of the article, go to Bill lifting charter school cap passes

Welcome to yet another state-specific website for online high schools. Brought to you by Best Online High Schools, this gives you information on all that is going on in your state with online high schools.