We'll call him Ned. He's 19 years old and in a few months will become a father. He goes to school every day but only for half a day. His job - he's a mechanic - begins at noon. That isn't enough hours to graduate anytime soon, but now he has a new opportunity.

You probably haven't heard of PACE, a new type of schooling with a mind-blowing, higher-than-education title: Personal Alternative Choice in Education-Virtual Schools online computer classes. It's now being used by hundreds of Orangeburg County children.

Starting at Edisto High School in Cordova three years ago, Dr. Darryl Johnson, then superintendent of Orangeburg County Consolidated School District Four, had recommended the program to his board to improve their three high school's dropout rate.

Every student who enrolled would attend regular classes from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., then report to another classroom for more study from 3 to 6 p.m. Twenty were accepted for the first 2006-2007 session.

Mrs. Alice S. Wolfe, who had taught at Edisto for 27 years, agreed to supervise the students in 9th-12th grades, all facing failure in at least one course. Their poor performance had a number of causes: a need to work to help the family, having been transferred from another school, a pregnancy and others.

Alice sat the students around tables, each assigned for a different subject: literature, chemistry, mathematics, etc., and assigned tasks from their textbooks every day. The classes did not have computers their first year. "Sometimes several who had problems with the same subject studied together; sometimes one would work at a single task. 'John W.' might have to read the historic old English poem, "Beowulf." I'd spend a few minutes reading with him, discussing it, then leave him to continue by himself," she said.

"From John I would go to 'Mary Belle' to work on a term paper in American History. Frequently, I might have two or three students who had failed the same course and would read and study the subject with them. They all took home homework," Alice said.

"I really had to stay on my toes to keep everybody busy in those first sessions," she says, "working at a trot in order to get around to all 20."

Because of the individual attention and the children's growing maturity, PACE's first three sessions in the 2006-07 year proved successful. Previously, when a girl or young fellow got into a discipline problem, he or she might be warned about failure. "Now we offered a new opportunity," Alice says. "When a student who is coming straight from six hours of earlier classes is willing to take on three more hours (3 p.m. to 6 p.m.), he/she has a new determination to succeed."

During that first year, 28 of the 60 in the three sessions graduated. By the end of the second year, all of them had. PACE had proven a huge new education step for District Four, prompting Dr. Johnson to ask the board that it be offered at the district's other two high schools for 2007-2008. They agreed, and Alice divided her time two days at Edisto, one at Branchville High and one at Hunter-Kinard-Tyler in Norway. A total of 133 went through the program, 60 percent earning diplomas.

A modern innovation had been introduced for these sessions, computers, and much of the work by the class could be done on them.

The biggest innovations of all came last year, 2008-2009. Students with time problems were allowed to do their lessons over the Internet at home.

The second new opportunity was APEX, a high level education program purchased by the school, which makes assignments and instructs all classes via Internet. Students can have access to this erudite course, study its lessons and be tested either in the classroom or his/her home. This work is reviewed by the teacher over her computer at school.

Imagine what a boon this is for students who need to take their courses at night, or at a faster or slower pace. The teacher can handle more students' work and without any confusion caused by him or his classmates. Even the hours they devote to classes are reported. All together, it's a wonderful new chance for those whose jobs or duties demand all-day presence. The only requirement is that he/she meet the state rule of 120 hours of study and testing for each course in order to finish it.

The total results for the three years are inspiring. For the 2008-2009 school year, the graduation rate rose from the 68.7 percent in the first year to 80.7 percent last year.

No question that PACE and its computer offering, APEX, are likely to be helping these young people for a long time to come.

Retired editor and public relations executive Thomas Langford's column is titled "Some Edisto Stories." Let him know if you have stories to share: 803-534-2097.

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