INCLINE VILLAGE, Nev. — Maintaining a competitive skiing schedule across the west while keeping up on the books sometimes requires students to drop out of public high school and supplement their education with tutors or expensive private ski academies.

Thanks to a new program at Incline High School local students won't have to make that choice any more.

The school recently unveiled its Winter Sports Academy, a program which allows students to couple in-classroom study with online learning to provide flexibility for a serious athlete's training schedule.

The idea came from recommendations made by the Incline Schools Reflective Task Force, a group convened earlier this year to find solutions to Incline's dropping student enrollment.

“It's a problem at the high school level; we were losing kids to different online programs when they were pulled out of school to train,” said Doug Fulton, an IHS parent and the parent liaison responsible for the high school's new academy. “What we've found out now is the school district can be more flexible than we thought with WOLF (Washoe Online Learning for the Future — the county school district's online learning website).”

The academy currently has four enrolled students and is actively recruiting more, said IHS athletic director Dan Schreiber.

“It'll be great for alpine skiers, nordic athletes, snowboarders; we want to see who we can get,” Schreiber said.

The program basically functions by allowing athletes to substitute online courses through the school district for missed class time during the school year.

“Kids can train during the day and fit in school around it,” Fulton said.

The first semester of a student's school year is structured for his or her to attend IHS for four periods of the school's six-period day and take two periods online through WOLF.

In the second semester when the weather cools and the alpine race schedule heats up, students attend IHS for two classes a day and take the other four online.

Fulton said organizers of the program are not only hoping it retains students who would otherwise need to change schools for skiing but also attract students, using IHS' nationally-ranked academics as well.

“It's an attraction to have that available, to know those rigorous academics are available from Incline,” Fulton said.

The program is relatively low-cost compared to other expenditures in ski-racing, Fulton said.

The school district will pay for two WOLF classes each semester for academy students, meaning students would only need to pay for two classes in the second semester. WOLF courses cost $120 each, so, Fulton said, the program would cost $240 annually.

Information and applications for the academy are available at the IHS office.

What is WOLF?

Washoe Online Learning for the Future is the school district's online school, launched in 2004.

You might have seen WOLF commercials recently on local TV and wondered what the program is about.

It's essentially an online school for Washoe County students in grades 6-12 offering a wide array of courses.

The program is gaining both full- and part-time students in areas like Incline and Gerlach, where small school enrollments mean students are having a tougher time scheduling all the courses they desire as teaching staffs shrink.

“We certainly understand the obstacles Incline has,” said Juanita Ydiando, director of supplemental credits for the Washoe County School District.

She's positive about the program, which serves 208 full-time students and another 1,500 on a part-time basis. WOLF offers remedial courses in addition to catering to students who are confined to medical centers, athletes, actors and students traveling during the school year.

“We've had some stories of students whose parent's have gone on sabbatical and they never skipped a beat for school work,” Ydiando said.

Students sign up for the program and are required to attend an orientation along with their parents. Students are then required to attend proctored midterm and final exams in Reno, although Ydiando said WOLF is currently looking for an Incline-based proctor so students don't need to travel down the hill.

“WOLF has a strict policy of working with both parents and students and we do expect a student spend six hours a day on WOLF work if they do a full time schedule,” Ydiando said.

Ydiando said WOLF organizers generally counsel students to take one course at a time but allow them to take as many as three and must complete a semester's worth of work and pass their exams before they are passed on. Teachers are available on the site 12 hours a day to talk to students by e-mail, phone or online chat.

Earlier this year, Incline parents expressed some concerns about the responsiveness of teachers to the WOLF program and the program's overall quality of education.

Ydiando said WOLF administrators are aware of the complaints and monitor the teachers carefully for responsiveness.