While many students head to their third hour class ready to hear another lecture, senior Corinne Beemer finds her way to the library and logs on to a computer to begin working on her online class, AP Calculus BC.

 
“It counts as one of my eight classes at school,” Beemer said. “It’s important for me to continue with calculus because I’m going into engineering in college and I don’t want to take time off of calculus.”

 
Some upperclassmen are running out of classes to take, looking for the next step in a certain criteria or looking to make up classes. Students like Beemer looking to progress to the next step or those trying to recover credits are turning to online classes Those students turn to online schooling to fill those gaps in their schedule.

 
“Online schooling offers all classes that are available at school, plus some, like advanced classes or make up classes. One example is AP Calculus BC, we don’t offer that class here with a teacher so we have a group of kids who are taking it online,” counselor Elizabeth Elsesser said. “Some students also take credit recovery, if they fail a class they can make it up online for credit.”

 
Online schooling is available 24/7 so students can work during weekends or at night without a teacher.

 
“I like that I can work on my own timeline so I can spend more time on material I don’t understand or if I’m really busy with my other classes I can put off my online class,” Beemer said. “Sometimes the time management is difficult though because I don’t really have anyone checking in on me to make sure I’m doing my work. Sometimes I get a little behind and I have to play catch up.”

 
There are drawbacks to taking online classes and it doesn’t work for all students. There are negatives such as staying motivated, sticking to due dates or not having a teacher to work with. However, most students find ways to get around the negatives.

 
“I also don’t like not having a teacher to work with every day. I have to watch YouTube videos to learn the material or I just read my book,” Beemer said. “It’s hard when you don’t have a teacher to give you examples or help you when you don’t understand. It’s hard not having a class specifically with a teacher.”

 
Approximately 30 students are scheduled with media center specialist Rachel Hodges during the day in the library. Hodges is like a mentor, so when students need help getting logged into classes or when they need passwords for different exams she can help.