Three students are taking classes this fall without stepping inside a classroom. They’re not skipping school and they’re not in trouble with their teachers. These students are enrolled in a world-wide study program that Middlebury Union High School joined this year.

The program, called Virtual High School or VHS allows students to enroll in classes that their own high school doesn’t offer. They do their work in these classes and study online.

The three Middlebury students are taking DNA Technology, Advanced Placement French, and Irish Literature.

Kate Carroll, a member of the English Department at the high school, is teaching an online mythology course for the program.

Online classes “are a great way to learn more about a subject you are passionate about, with other students who are also interested in that same subject,” said Suzanne Harlow, a senior account manager at VHS headquarters in Maynard, Mass. She handles the MUHS Virtual High School account.

Virtual High School began as a project of the Concord Consortium and the Hudson Public Schools in Massachusetts. The collaboration launched the program under a grant from the United States Department of Education.

The grant sought to determine the feasibility of developing a dependable online course system. Many area schools participated in the initial trials. Early participants concluded the program worked well enough to warrant its continuation. After the grant expired, the founders formed a nonprofit organization to run VHS.

VHS has evolved considerably. From the relatively small number of schools that originally participated, the program has grown to include nearly 10,000 students and about 250 teachers from more than 400 middle and high schools around the world.

The program connects students and teachers through the online application Blackboard, which allows students and parents to communicate through a Web page.

The Web page allows students to check class assignments online, contact teachers via e-mail, see their grades, and enter into online, virtual class discussions with their peers.

VHS has been in operation for thirteen years. Its mission statement says that the program intends to be “the global leader in online education by offering the highest quality courses for students and teachers.”

VHS survives because of the participation of its member schools. For $6,500 a year, a school gets a membership which grants it 25 “seats” per semester in virtual classrooms. Carroll’s course on mythology has attracted 10 middle and high school students from as far away as Nebraska. Because all communication in the course is written, her mythology course strengthens her students’ skills in that area, she said.

“As an English teacher it reinforces how important reading and writing skills are,” Carroll commented.

The course also offers an interesting opportunity for students from different age groups to interact, she said.

“My students have been friendly and supportive of one another,” she said.

At its core, Virtual High School is an alliance between teachers and students around the world. Harlow said the courses are meant to supplement, not replace regular high school courses. She described the courses as demanding.

“You need to be motivated because the classes you will take at VHS are as challenging as anything you’ll find at your own face-to-face school,” she advised.

Middlebury began the school year with eight of its students enrolled in online courses for the fall semester. Five students dropped out, leaving three who are still enrolled. Some students said time management was a factor in their decisions. Nine high school students have enrolled in classes for the spring semester.

The MUHS course catalog says students who enroll in online courses “will be able to gain essential 21st century learning skills such a multimedia presentation, online collaboration and communication, and team-building.”

To enroll in a VHS course, students should talk to their guidance counselors. For more information about the program, visit Virtual High School online at govhs.org