Josh DeSmidt of West Bend, a junior at iQ Academy, a virtual high school run by the Waukesha School District, poses with his guitar, basketball and some school books at his home. DeSmidt, home-schooled for most of his life, likes virtual high school because of the flexible schedule that allows him to play hoops and in his band.

WEST BEND - High school junior Josh DeSmidt didn’t get a day off from school today.

Snow piles don’t impede turning on a laptop computer.

DeSmidt is a student at iQ Academy, a four-year-old virtual school that is part of the Waukesha School District.

The West Bend resident who has been home-schooled most of his life, aside from fourth and fifth grade, has smoothly adjusted to his first year at a virtual high school.

It has taken his mother a little longer.

One big difference between home and virtual school is the parents’ responsibility. While his mother was Josh’s primary teacher for years, virtual school has its own instructors for each class. Parents monitor their children to stay on task and help with work as needed, but questions are usually directed to teachers via e-mail, Instant Messaging or cell phones.

Maggie DeSmidt, Josh’s mother, has learned to step back. She now spends more time with Josh’s three younger siblings, all of who attend Wiscon-sin Virtual Academy, the virtual school arm of the Northern Ozaukee School District.

Josh has learned to take his time management skills to another level. With homeschool basketball team practices three mornings per week and band practice in the afternoons, Josh takes advantage of virtual school’s most obvious draw.

"It’s cool that you can work on it whenever you want," he said.

And from wherever you want. Last Thanksgiv-ing, Josh took his laptop to Arizona and did some schoolwork while visiting family. Also in Novem-ber, the family went to Guatamala to meet a child it sponsors, and Josh, with his laptop along, didn’t miss any school.

Some limits to class freedom do exist, as teachers will sometimes call for an entire class to be online at a given time. Aside from that, Josh tends to work on one class per day, all day - no taking attendance or putting away lab materials or books after 47 minutes.

"The advantage of that is he doesn’t have to start and stop," said Kristine Diener, principal of iQ Academy.

Some classes prove easier than others to learn via a laptop. Drawing shapes in geometry on the computer is hard. The teacher will send work back several times before Josh gets it right.

That is another difference between virtual and traditional school. In virtual school, students must understand one concept before moving on to the next.

"That’s the beauty, I think, of virtual schools," Maggie DeSmidt said.

But does using a laptop and textbooks prevent Josh and other virtual school students from developing socialization skills?

No, say Maggie DeSmidt and Diener.

"It’s such a myth. We live in a city. We’re involved in different activities in church and sports and things," Maggie said.

"Initially, going into it, everybody thinks it’s going to be more impersonal. But students find they develop a deeper relationship ... because it’s one-on-one," Diener said.

Josh, a more reserved student, gets to know some teachers better than others, just like in a traditional school. Teachers are available via some mediums traditional schools don’t allow, like Instant Messenger and cell phones. They are supposed to return e-mails within 24 hours. Josh likes text messaging because of the shortened lingo.

"There are fun ways of typing," he said.

He doesn’t miss the traditional classroom atmosphere.

"The kids aren’t always nice and stuff," he said.

His mom put it in another context.

"Real life is not sitting in a room with 25 kids your own age," she said.

And in real life, Maggie De-Smidt knows how her son is doing in virtual school. Parents are sent weekly reports via e-mail, and three times per semester they receive progress reports via snail mail, Diener said,

Students may work at their own pace, which brings dreams of early summer vacation, Diener said. But in most cases, students complete their work for the year at about the same time traditional students’ school years end.

Exams are all open book. Diener explains why.

"It’s more, ‘take the information and apply it,’" she said. "We think that that’s really a life skill."

While the traditional Waukesha School District doesn’t have a community service requirement, iQ Academy does - 180 hours before graduation. Josh went to New Orleans last summer to visit a detention center and work on houses.

The four-year-old virtual school that started with 200 students now has 800 full time and 300 more part time, Diener said. It has 37 teachers, 13 of whom are full time and 15 half time or more. Elective classes may be taught by a teacher who has one virtual school class and the rest brick-and-mortar classes, Diener said.

Regardless, as well as the virtual school system can work for some, it doesn’t for others, and Maggie DeSmidt and Diener know it.

Just doing school at home isn’t the easy way out for the parent or student, Maggie DeSmidt said.

"They have to be much more disciplined with their time," she said of students.

Diener said the school works great for students highly skilled in music or dance or a sport. They may train during part of the day and go to school the other part.