09/09/13
MNPS Virtual School at The Cohn School, Tennessee’s first public virtual school
Metropolitan Nashville Public School (MNPS) Virtual School at The Cohn School, the state’s first public virtual school and the leading virtual school option for students in Nashville, is now in its fourth year. MNPS Virtual School offers students the opportunity to earn their high school diplomas completely online. While courses are free, eligibility is required to attend either on a full-time or part-time basis.
Currently, there are 355 part-time students and 98 full-time students. This year the school is launching The Virtual Academy of Business and Marketing, designed to enable students to learn through the lens of a career or academic theme in a highly personalized virtual learning community. Through the Virtual Academy, students are exposed to a multitude of career opportunities, industry skills, and potential employers by way of guest speakers, site visits, job shadowing, and internships. Full-time students can enroll in the Virtual Academy and complete a focused area of study in either business or marketing.
“We are experiencing phenomenal growth in full and part-time enrollment,” said Dr. James Witty, MNPS Virtual School at The Cohn School Executive Principal. “We are also excited to open our school up to 8th graders next year and that is also coming down the pike.”
Credits earned can transfer to traditional MNPS high schools but students can also graduate from Virtual School. To date, 25 students have graduated; that said, with enrollment growing fast, that number is quickly rising.
Recent graduates, including last year's valedictorian who just relocated to the University of East London in England and another who was able to graduate from high school while on the road modeling internationally, are examples of how the virtual school prepares its students for higher education just like traditional schools and also provides them with the flexibility to complete other endeavors.
The Virtual School is also the first virtual school in the world to adopt the Academies Model offering career and academic themes to students in a highly personalized virtual learning community.
For more information on MNPS Virtual School, please visit http://vlearn.mnps.org.