Friday, August 31, 2007

ACCESS program is expanding

08-31-2007

MONTGOMERY — More students in east Alabama soon will be able to take classes being taught elsewhere in the state without leaving their own high schools.

Another 100 distance-learning sites will come on line during this school year as part of the Alabama Connecting Classrooms, Educators and Students Statewide (ACCESS) program, Gov. Bob Riley announced at a press conference Thursday.

“Our ACCESS distance-learning program is expanding at an incredible pace, and it is offering students world-class opportunities to learn,” Riley said. “It levels the playing field so students throughout the state have more chances to take advanced coursework, regardless of where they go to school.”

Seventy sites are currently up and running in state high schools. More than $20 million in state funding has been set aside to expand the distance-learning program to an additional 100 sites during the 2008 fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1.

The ACCESS program allows students to take Web-based and interactive videoconferencing courses taught by teachers who have been trained and certified to teach those kinds of courses.

Jacksonville High School will be among the schools receiving $85,000 to expand distance learning for students.

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