Most Horry virtual high schoolers are failing. Is it time to shut the program down?
Horry County Schools is considering eliminating its virtual school program amid a rash of students failing classes, including more than half of its high school students.
District leaders announced their recommendation to dissolve the program Monday during the school board’s Curriculum and Instruction Committee meeting.
Their presentation showed that about 42% — or 686 students — of all program participants are failing at least one class during the 2021-22 school year. That includes 59% of all high school students and 46% of all seniors.
Boone Myrick, the district’s chief academics officer, noted during the meeting that only 12-15% of brick-and-mortar high school students fail at least one class during a typical year, according to MyHorryNews.
HCS Virtual has been available to high school students since 2011, but it was expanded to allow all students K-12 ahead of the 2020-21 school year due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Enrollment reached as high as 18,449 students during the first available semester, according to the district’s presentation, but currently is down to just 2,127 students during the second semester of 2021-22.
Only about 11% of those newly enrolled listed COVID-19 as their reason, while bullying, desire to work from home and personal medical issues were other listed reasons.
The district noted in its recommendation to dissolve the program that there are seven free online charter school programs available in South Carolina.
The virtual program specifically available for high school students, known as HCS Flex, would remain regardless of any decision on the full K-12 program, according to district spokeswoman Lisa Bourcier. It also wouldn’t impact their designation as an e-learning district, which allows up to five days of remote learning in place of making up a school day due to inclement weather or other emergencies.
No final decisions were made during Monday’s meeting and won’t be for at least another month, MyHorryNews reported.
This story was originally published January 25, 2022 at 9:42 AM.
