Harvard’s high school is relatively small, with most grades having just over 100 students. Students and parents generally love the intimate, friendly scale of Bromfield, but unfortunately, there’s a downside as well: the school can’t offer the breadth of courses that a bigger school can. Where the average high school in Massachusetts has 150 different classes, Harvard has 75. Scheduling classes can be difficult logistically, as well. On top of that, the school’s small size means a certain insularity can set in, with students often being in class with the same kids from preschool to age 18.

However, Harvard high school students could broaden their horizons greatly next year, signing up for such courses as astronomy, art history, advanced placement (AP) environmental science, music composition, or an international baccalaureate course on economics. These are among the 241 classes offered online by the Virtual High School (VHS) program, a nine-year-old nonprofit group headquartered in Maynard. One of the items funded by the $113,500 school override would be the $16,000 fee for Bromfield to join the consortium for next year.

Bromfield students would join over 9,000 students in 28 states and 35 countries who take courses from VHS. VHS class size averages 21 students, with 25 being the maximum allowed. The teachers, who average 16 years’ experience in teaching, have special training in conducting courses online, according to the group’s website at www.govhs.org. That students can successfully learn with the program is shown by the students enrolled in VHS AP courses. The passing rate for these pupils on the AP exams is about 70 percent, versus an overall pass rate of 60 percent for students elsewhere.

The classes don’t gather online at a set time, but rather, “Students read lessons, work on and submit their assignments, participate in group projects, and contribute to class discussions at any time, as long as they meet due dates for class assignments and keep up with the general flow of the class,” the website states. Students can log onto their VHS classes on the Internet from school or from home, at whatever time is convenient for them, by typing in their user name and password.

School Superintendent Tom Jefferson has had personal experience with VHS because it was offered in Somers, Connecticut, where he worked before coming to Harvard. “It was absolutely smashing … they have excellent quality control,” Jefferson said in an interview last week. He explained that students use online journals and blogs to carry on class discussions with VHS. “The students can think about what they want to say, and then put it out there,” which is especially beneficial for students who are more inhibited about speaking up in regular classes, he said. Taking classes online requires that students be organized and learn how to manage their time well, Jefferson noted. “The tools kids learn with online learning can translate well to their regular classes, too”.