New online curriculum offers opportunities

At the September meeting of the Austintown Growth Foundation, President David Ditzler introduced Janet Polish, teacher at Austintown Fitch and developer of online education for Austintown Schools.

Polish is responsible for setting up the first K12 Online Education System for Austintown Schools.

This award-winning curriculum engages young minds from kindergarten to 12th grade with online interactive and offline hands-on learning.

Governor Ted Strickland is pushing for online education. Students can still become part of the extracurricular activities, so they do not miss out on that part of their education. They are able to develop the confidence to thrive in a virtual environment.

Open enrollment is up to 500 in the freshman class this year, but adding programs such as these will drop the need for students to get a good education without the travel.