Students now have an opportunity to gain high school and middle school credits for a wide variety of classes no matter where they are.

Registration for Georgia Virtual School, the online grades 6-12 program offered by the Georgia Department of Education, is now open to all public school students for the Summer 2011, Fall 2011 and Spring 2012 semesters. A waitlisted registration process is also available now for private and home-school students.

"My vision is to Make Education Work for All Georgians," said State School Superintendent Dr. John Barge. "A major component to making it work for our students is to offer more relevant courses. The Georgia Virtual School is a perfect way for students to take courses that may not currently be offered in their school. I encourage parents and students to look into all of the courses available and enroll today."

Georgia Virtual School courses are fully accredited and aligned to state standards and taught by highly qualified, Georgia certified teachers. This spring, over 8,000 students will have successfully completed courses this school year.

The program offers a complete high school curriculum with Advanced Placement and college prep level courses. Twenty-two Advanced Placement course offerings are available in the Virtual School, giving Georgia students options and opportunities often not available at their local school. Six world languages including Latin, Spanish, French, German, Japanese and Chinese are some of the most popular offerings.

The middle school program is offered during the summer and includes the sixth, seventh, and eighth Grade Language Arts, Science and Mathematics courses. These courses have been optimized for middle school students in the state who face possible retention or who need remediation. For districts considering eliminating or reducing summer school programs, Georgia Virtual School provides a cost-effective option.

For more information about Georgia Virtual Learning programs and free shared resources, visit www.gavirtuallearning.org.