Online Courses Get Boost

A Tennessee school district has won a $2.7 million grant to design online courses for students across the state. The 40,000-student Hamilton County district, which includes Chattanooga, began creating optional virtual courses aligned to state academic standards in 2002, and since then has converted its entire summer school program to online classes. The grant, which is federally funded but awarded by the state, will allow the 41,000-student district to hire teachers to help develop additional offerings. The courses will be field-tested in seven other districts, each of which won a $100,000 grant.