THS offers students who have fallen behind a way to graduate on time.

Combating drop out rates, Tombstone High School is offering students a second chance for the first time.

With the introduction of a new online program called Education Options, students at THS who have failed or fallen behind in courses are now able to make up units in hopes of graduating on time.

“(Students) can go as quickly as they want or they can go as slow as they want, and we monitor their progress,” said David Thursby, dean of students at THS. “They can print out assignments if they get stuck, and then we have a certified teacher that is in charge of different classes. So the students know if they get in trouble they can go talk to a teacher here on campus.”

In 2008, THS had a 71 percent four-year graduation rate and a 75 percent five-year rate, according the school’s report card produced by the Arizona Department of Education. The statewide four-year graduation rate was 73 percent in 2007, according to the ADE state report card.

THS had a 4 percent dropout rate in 2008, according to the report card.

Launched at the start of the school year the program is provided by — Education Options, or EdOptions — an education-based company that offers courses online and outside of the traditional classroom. EdOptions is a credit-recovery program aimed to help students, who have not met graduation requirements, earn credits and graduate on time.

“I think this program is really going to work wonders for us, “ said Tombstone Unified School District Superintendent Karl Uterhardt

TUSD purchased 25 seats in the Ed Options program, for $11,618, through Title I grant money received from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, Uterhardt said.

There are more than 400,000 users nationally who use the courses the same way or in the same method that Tombstone does, primarily for the credit recovery of students or for summer school, said David Reed, Director of Educational Research for EdOptions.

“I like to call it extended credit options. It gives students the opportunity to earn credits outside the traditional school day,” Reed said. “That could be before school, after school, at lunch, at home, or in Saturday school.”

All core-curriculum courses are offered online, such as English, mathematics, social studies, science and even some electives.

Students enrolled in the program are taking courses in addition to their regular in-school classes, sports, extra curricular activities and work.

During the past few weeks, six students were removed from the program, Thursby said.

“The students pulled were not making progress online and were falling behind in their regular classes and we felt it was too much for them to be doing both,” he said.

With the program being new, the feedback for the new program is mostly positive but the successes and outcomes in Tombstone are still unknown, Thursby said

“It’s hard for me to say how the kids are responding to the program, because it’s not in the typical classroom where you can get their feedback,” said Bob MacKenzie a science teacher at THS. “I am just getting test results from them and getting a response back to them.”

Although a web-based delivery system takes away from the traditional student-teacher relationship, the programs open more opportunity for schools, administrators and students.

“It’s going really good. It’s a little difficult to learn some of it, reading off of a computer, but it’s pretty good,” said Sean Smith, a senior at THS enrolled in the program.

Smith is currently taking English and New American Literature through the Ed Options program as well as playing varsity football for the Yellow Jackets.

“I go to my English teacher for English help and for the literature class I have to go to one of the history teachers,” Smith said. “They’ve been very helpful.”