Virtual college at high school helps rural, at-risk teens in Texas earn college credits

A college in Texas is bringing classrooms to at-risk teens in the rural remote area of Presidio, a town of 4,200 near the Mexican border, by giving students the means to earn two years of college credit by the time they graduate high school, Lindsay Weaver reports for the Odessa American. As part of the program, the University of Texas of the Permian Basin in Odessa uses virtual classrooms to reach students who live too far from a college to attend it in person.

The program, which in May was awarded a $215,000 grant from The Meadows Foundation, is being promoted as the state's first entirely virtual college high school. State Sen. Kel Seliger (R-Amarillo) told Weaver, “It’s worth some state investment. Let’s be honest, Presidio is not the only community like Presidio. This should be done everywhere in the country. It has unqualified success in Texas.” Seliger's request for funding to allow more independent school districts to house early college high schools was not supported during the most recent legislative session. (Read more)