The University of Missouri High School (MU High School) is a distance-learning K-12

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

administered by the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou, MU, or Missouri) is a public land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus University of Missouri System. MU was founded in ...

, a

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichk ...

state university A state university system in the United States is a group of public universities supported by an individual state, territory or federal district. These systems constitute the majority of public-funded universities in the country. State univer ...

located in Columbia,

Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...

and the flagship of the

University of Missouri System The University of Missouri System is an American state university system providing centralized administration for four universities, a health care system, an extension program, and ten research and technology parks. Nearly 70,000 students are cu ...

. The program was founded in 1999 as part of the university's Center for Distance and Independent Study (CDIS). Its mission is to provide learning opportunities in addition to traditional high schools. The school offers more than 150 courses by certified Missouri teachers, from the elementary through high school levels. Each year thousands of students enroll in high school to succeed in their home high schools and other settings.

History

MU High School was established and accredited by the NCA in 1999 as a program of the

's Center for Distance and Independent Study (CDIS). The launch of MU High School was part of a broader trend of university-affiliated online high schools started by brick-and-mortar universities like Stanford University's Stanford University Online High School and

Indiana University Bloomington Indiana University Bloomington (IU Bloomington, Indiana University, IU, or simply Indiana) is a public research university in Bloomington, Indiana. It is the flagship campus of Indiana University and, with over 40,000 students, its largest ca ...

Indiana University High School Indiana University High School (IUHS) is a co-educational, non-denominational, distance education high school with its offices located on the campus of Indiana University Bloomington, in Bloomington, Indiana, United States. It serves students aro ...

. As of 2011, 85 students graduate from the high school annually according to ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

''. The Center for Distance and Independent Study ("the Center") began by offering university correspondence courses and belonged to the university's Extension Division—a logical fit in this land-grant university hierarchy. Historical records show that the Center offered high school courses as early as 1913. At one time, MU had a bricks-and-mortar school that combined high school and elementary school divisions in a single K-12 private school known as the Laboratory School. The elementary school division operated from 1857 until 1978, and until 1904 constituted the entire Laboratory School. The high school division, known as the Teachers College High School, was added in 1904 and operated until 1973.Berge, 2005 p. 161. The 1970s brought the use of technology and the telephone to submit lessons via the Computer Assisted Lesson Service (CALS). CALS, a precursor of today's online independent study courses, was a method of grading objectively scored lessons by having students submit answers via a phone line. The Center received the National University Continuing Education Association's (NUCEA) Significant Achievement Award in 1985 for its use of technology in independent study. Although the University of Missouri had offered high school-level independent study courses since at least 1913, those courses were only used as transfer credit to another institution. Establishing MU High School in 1999 as an accredited diploma-granting high school enabled CDIS to provide students in Missouri and elsewhere with a complete program, as well as to fulfill the university's land-grant mission in new ways.Berge, 2005 p. 163. The MU High School recently merged with Mizzou K-12 Online in order to offer more courses to online students.

Accreditation

MU High School is accredited by AdvancED and the North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement (NCA CASI). Under accreditation guidelines, MUHS has an ongoing school improvement plan and submits an annual report to renew accreditation.

Impact

University of Missouri High School has allowed non-traditional students, home schooled students, and others to achieve high school educations where they otherwise might not. Students with athletic or acting careers are often unable to participate in traditional schools. High school students at Mayatan Bilingual School in

Copán Ruinas Copán Ruinas is a municipality in the Honduran department of Copán. The town, located close to the Guatemalan border, is a major gateway for tourists traveling to the Pre-Columbian ruins of Copán. The Copán ruins house a UN World Heritage si ...

, Honduras were able to receive American diplomas through MU High School, completing some tests and coursework online.

Notable alumni

Gracie Gold Grace Elizabeth Gold (born August 17, 1995), known as Gracie Gold, is an American figure skater. She is a 2014 Olympic team event bronze medalist, the 2014 NHK Trophy champion, the 2015 Trophée Éric Bompard champion, and a two-time U.S. nati ...

, an American figure skater *

Lindsey Vonn Lindsey Caroline Vonn ( ; born October 18, 1984) is an American former World Cup alpine ski racer on the US Ski Team. She won four World Cup overall championships — second only amongst female skiers to Annemarie Moser-Pröll — with three ...

, former American World Cup alpine ski racer on the US Ski Team

References

Berge, Z. L. & Clark, T.(2005). ''Virtual Schools. Planning For Success''. Teachers College, Columbia University.

Footnotes

External links

MU High School Website

AdvancED
{{Mizzou Public elementary schools in Missouri Public middle schools in Missouri Public high schools in Missouri University-affiliated schools in the United States Educational institutions established in 1999 Educational institutions established in 1904 University of Missouri High schools in Boone County, Missouri 1999 establishments in Missouri