Cyberspace Schooling


	R. Lee Steffen is one of a quarter-million U.S. students getting an education at home via the Internet. R. Lee and his father, Neil, live on the remote shores of Flathead Lake, Montana, some 40 miles from the nearest town. (Photograph by Jay Dickman )

bright student with a quick mind, 14-year-old R. Lee Steffen felt stifled in public school. So his father helped him find education online, joining an estimated quarter-million U.S. students using the Internet for home schooling. "I comprehended schoolwork differently from other kids, and I got bad grades," says R. Lee, affectionately called CybeRLee by his father, Neil. Still, R. Lee scored well on standardized tests and began learning algebra at age seven.

Today, R. Lee is studying at the fledgling Athena Preparatory Academy, a branch of Virtual Online University. From his home on the remote shores of Flathead Lake, he's creating a virtual 3-D model of ancient Athens and learning history, English, and computer programming in the process.

R. Lee says he doesn't get lonely. "I'm working with a couple of other online home schoolers. Learning is fun and my resources are entirely unlimited."

R. Lee, nicknamed CybeRLee by his father, felt out of place in traditional classrooms. But he's found his ticket to educational freedom through Athena Preparatory Academy, an Internet-based schooling program. (Photograph by Jay Dickman)

http://www.athena.edu