Staff Writer, Del Mar Times
Fifteen-year Del Mar resident Helen Eckmann, Ed.D. is leading the charge to revolutionize secondary education in the 21st Century.
As General Manager of National University Virtual High School (NUVHS), Dr. Eckmann is introducing online education to a new generation of learners, many of which will go on to utilize web-based curricula in college and the workplace. A former faculty member at National University, she has witnessed first-hand the promise of educational technology and the tremendous opportunity online learning presents to students.
As the parent of four, and now a grandparent, Dr. Eckmann appreciates the challenges that families face today when preparing their children for academic success. She knows that each child learns in different ways, and believes that some children will actually learn better in an online environment because so many of them are "technologically savvy" by the time they enter high school.
"Everybody wants the best opportunities for their children in the classroom," says Dr. Eckmann. "Today there are more opportunities and more choices than ever before, and virtual high schools are playing an important role," she adds.
NUVHS was established last June, amid growing demand for online education at the secondary and level. An estimated 1.5 million high school students are expected to participate in online courses through hundreds of programs nationwide in 2005, according to Dr. Eckmann. She says that number is expected to grow dramatically.
NUVHS targets a broad variety of learners, including disabled and geographically isolated students, home-schooled students and students traveling abroad for extended periods. It also provides school districts and charter schools with a greater choice of subject matter, including advanced placement or dual credit college courses and supplemental programs.
In addition to offering complete online high school curricula, NUVHS is planning to offer 10 dual credit courses in the disciplines of Social Science, Math, English, Science and Foreign Language. For more information regarding NUVHS, visit its Web site at www.nuvhs.org.
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