New Brockton High School added to list of ACCESS learning

By Carole Brand

Published: September 9, 2008

Beginning this school year, New Brockton High School, Kinston and Zion Chapel high schools are among the 371 schools across the state included in the ACCESS Distance Learning classroom program.

ACCESS stands for Alabama Connecting Classrooms, Educators and Students Statewide.

This year, 85 high schools in the state received $85,000 each to fund an ACCESS Distance Learning Classroom.

Coffee County Schools Superintendent Linda Ingram said Zion Chapel High School was the first in the county to have an ACCESS classroom. Kinston High School was added last year with distance learning classes in Latin, Spanish and other subjects not normally associated with a rural school.

New Brockton High School received the grant for the 2008-2009 school year to begin the ACCESS classroom.

“This year marks an ACCESS Distance Learning classroom in all three of our county high schools and we’re proud to be able to offer students an incredible opportunity such as this presents,” she said.

NBHS Assistant Principal Tami Crosby said some classes offered through the ACCESS learning classroom this year were Algebra II, Marine Science, pre-calculus, web design, Spanish and health.

“Some students are taking the basic courses, such as English, because they came from a block schedule and they had to transfer back to the traditional schedule,” she explained. “This enables any students who wants to attend school at New Brockton to be able to get all the courses they need.”

Crosby said for the second semester, students are requesting to take a creative writing course.

“Some of the courses can be taken as an elective,” she added.

The ACCESS Distance Learning classroom program is made up of three regions in the state.

“We do have three service areas where the teachers are coming from. The northern region teachers are coming from Madison; the middle from the Huntsville area; and we are in the southern geographical area that includes from Troy to Mobile, which is the largest of the areas.”

The ACCESS classroom is an instructional program given by a teacher who may be located in the Huntsville area or from Mobile. The broadcast live satellite feed enables students to have online learning and video conferencing in every high school served by the program.

Geneva County High School and Slocomb High School also received funding for an ACCESS classroom this year, along with Ariton and George W. Long high schools in Dale County.