WESTBROOK – With school budgets as tight as ever, it might be hard to believe that Westbrook High School has expanded its curriculum by 250 courses, including investing in the stock market, American popular music and Portuguese.

But the school department hasn’t hired new teachers. The courses are being offered online through a program called Virtual High School.

In its pilot semester in Westbrook this fall, five sophomores took honors biology through the program. The students had a scheduling conflict with wind ensemble and the high school used the program as a quick fix, while testing it out with some of the school’s most motivated students.

However, according to Superintendent Reza Namin, going forward, the purpose of the program will be to enable high-performing students to take classes that the high school would never be able to offer.

This semester, five students are taking courses of their choosing, including personal finance, Shakespeare and film, and a history class about Pearl Harbor.

The courses cost $425 apiece, which the school pays. Last month, the School Committee approved expanding the program to 10 middle- and high-school students per semester. High school Principal Marc Gousse expects those slots to fill up quickly.

“We have higher interest than expected,” he said. According to Gousse, students have heard their peers talk about the program and have come to him wanting to take part.

Participation is highly selective. Though many of the classes sound fun, the students who’ve taken them say they require a lot of time and effort. According to Namin, the program packs yearlong courses into just 15 weeks.

“It was a lot more intense,” said Hannah Gowen, who took the honors biology class and is now taking a finance course through Virtual High School.

“It was hard without a teacher physically there,” said Erin Wilson, who also took honors biology and would like to take an online forensics class.

The online classes are scheduled for students just like the regular classes. But instead of sitting in front of a teacher, they go to the school’s library with their laptops and log into their classes, which include online discussions through a message board.

The students said they’ve had to do extra work at home as well, which took a lot of self-motivation – a skill they believe will help them when they go to college.

“You cannot be a procrastinator for an online course,” Wilson said.

Gousse said he doesn’t want to set any students up to fail, which is why he’ll be careful to choose the right kids to use the program. But for those who can handle the workload, Gousse believes the program provides a great opportunity for his students to take classes that truly interest them and to network with other kids from around the globe.

“It’s exciting,” he said.

Rachel Williams and Hannah Gowen, sophomores at Westbrook High School, log into their virtual classrooms in the school’s library. Next year, 10 middle- and high-school students will participate in the program, called Virtual High School, which offers online classes to students around the world. (Staff photo by Leslie Bridgers)