A small high school has problems. And not just eight man football. Basically, it lacks variety: one foreign language; only a few courses, Advanced Placement or other, pitched at the bright, committed student; just a couple musical ensembles; few experimental classes with different subjects or methods.

Only a few students will have a particular special interest; not enough for a class. A desired class may not fit in a student’s schedule. By the beginning of senior year some students have taken most of the courses that interest them. And some are tired of the routine of high school.

A good solution: reach out beyond the walls. One option for seniors is dual enrolment at Central Maine Community College. Telstar pays tuition; the student arranges and pays for transport, books, etc. She graduates from Telstar, with a year’s college credit as well. Being a college freshman can be a refreshing change; it can also be too big a shock, too soon. Which is why Charlie Raymond, Telstar’s Alternative Learning Activities Coordinator, talks with students and parents before decisions get made. Guidance personnel and administrators check the appropriateness of courses and the fit between students and studies.

Much of the Coordinator’s time is spent on another option, available to all high school students: online courses. 117were taken last year, almost all successfully. Popular subjects include languages, history/civics, and maths. Flexibility is not just about subjects; you can start a class anytime. But you need to finish in eighteen weeks, or pay a monetary penalty.

Online courses require commitment, and self-discipline. The Coordinator can suggest and advise, but only the student can do the work. Some students find it easier to engage with an online course (there’s a fourteen day trial period without penalty). Others want or need the external discipline of the scheduled, face-to-face classroom. As with dual enrolment, the student can move around a schedule conflict, beyond the level of study offered at school, or across a wider spectrum of knowledge.

Seniors in good standing can also join an intern program of work-study. They spend part of every other day at work; they have a job. But it’s more about learning than about money. Students are placed where they’ll begin to understand a business or trade or profession, by doing and by listening to the advice of a cooperative employer. They may learn to love it, or decide that it’s not for them after all.

There’s more than meets the eye in high school. Look for it.

Come January, David R Jones will be teaching history at UMA Rumford and South Paris.