Students the
NCVPS serves:
• Home- or hospital-bound youth unable to attend school • Students who have failed a course can re-take it online. • Students who want to graduate in fewer than four years • Occupational Course of Study (OCS) students with special needs who may have trouble in a traditional classroom setting The Occupational Course of Study program at NCVPS is nationally acclaimed, says Pacyna, and has received national press for its success. “Most of the schools across the nation don’t want to touch this group of students, and we have tackled it and done beautifully with it,” says Pacyna. “In Wake County, there are 11,000 students with special needs, and we offer courses that are a hybrid of face-to-face with a virtual class, where the face-to-face teacher works with a virtual teacher,” she continues. “Students with Asperger’s, where the social outlet isn’t there, they just bloom.”
CLASSES OFFERED NCVPS offers a diverse course selection, including Mandarin, Russian, Japanese, Arabic, German, art and drawing, English, journalism, SAT prep and more. All classes are taught by teachers certified to teach in the state of North Carolina. Sarah Morgan, 15 and in the tenth grade at Sanderson High School in Raleigh, recently utilized NCVPS by taking Spanish II online. Doing so helped her fit in other requirements she needed to graduate as well as shine a little brighter on her college applications. “I wanted to take two science and math classes this year,” says Morgan. “I’m in the school choral group, and I’m in a club called Academy of Finance which requires students to take accounting sophomore year. In order to get enough years of language to be considered for most colleges, I had to take the course at some point outside of school or else it wouldn’t fit into my schedule.” Morgan took the class at home and liked it so much she’s considering taking Spanish III this summer. “It was a great experience,” Morgan says. “I learned all of the necessary information, and it didn’t take very long each day. It was easy to get online and attend class, and the teacher logged in frequently to answer questions. I would definitely recommend NCVPS to anyone considering it. It’s a great way to fit classes into your schedule.”
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