For sophomore Brogan Cafarelli, attending AP Environmental Science next year will mean entering the Windmoor Center, logging onto the Online School for Girls website, and connecting via Internet with 20 other girls across the country in her class. Guided by an online teacher, she will complete and submit assignments across the web, working individually at her own pace. Cafarelli is “excited to work on [her] own and take a course that [she’s] more interested in.”
Cafarelli is among the other STA juniors and seniors taking one of the newly offered online courses through Online School for Girls, or OSG, next year.These upper level courses include Introduction to Engineering, AP Environmental Science, AP Macroeconomics, AP Statistics, Genetics and Human Biology, Introduction to Computer Programming and Japanese 1, and cost $700, according to STA’s website.
In academic counselor Kelly McKee’s view, OSG “seemed like such a good fit for [STA].”
Accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools, OSG is the first online independant school. According to their mission statement, the school “provides an exceptional all-girls experience by connecting girls worldwide through relevant and engaging coursework in a dynamic online learning community.” Class sizes are capped at 20, allowing students and teachers to collaborate in a personalized environment designed specifically for girls’ learning styles.
According to McKee, STA added online courses for several reasons. Windmoor Center and the proper technology to connect students to online classes were available for the first time. Additionally, students will have the opportunity to take classes not offered on campus.
Kelly McKee
“It’s really the trend for college courses that’s starting to filter down into high schools,” McKee said.
OSG classes are developed by teachers who are experts in their field and have experience teaching at all-girl independent schools, according to McKee.
Course curriculum includes assignments, videos, reading, question and answer sessions and tests completed electronically, according to the OSG website.
Because classes mainly involve self-directed, independent learning, they are limited to upperclassmen who have demonstrated their ability to handle the challenge.
“You don’t have the teacher who is there in front of you to help motivate you every day,” McKee said. “It takes a great deal of inner discipline.”
Academic principal Barbara McCormick and McKee will act as moderators in Windmoor Center to help keep students on pace. Each is currently taking an OSG course to be “better able to work with students,” according to McKee.
Administration is currently unaware of how many students plan on enrolling in an online course, but they aren’t expecting a huge amount the first year, according to McKee.
Cafarelli is excited to be among the first students taking an online class at STA.
“I hope to gain a sense of responsibility,” Cafarelli said. “It’s going to help me work on my own instead of having to rely on others.”
