Stephanie Pellegrino doesn't have a typical school day.

When the Franklin Regional senior goes to her creative writing or communication class on most days, she doesn't have to worry about what she's wearing or showing up on time.

Instead, Pellegrino can listen to teacher Kristin Giron's lessons from the comfort of her Delmont home and work on "in-class" writing assignments when her creative juices are flowing not at 8 a.m. in the morning.

"You become more independent, and it's on you to get your work done," said Pellegrino, 17. "It definitely gives me a different level of responsibility."

More than 250 students have enrolled in one of Franklin Regional's four for-credit hybrid or online courses since the district began offering the classes in 2009-10. Officials hope that number increases drastically when four more classes are added to the schedule this fall. Honors speech and communications and honors physics will be offered as hybrid courses, while international business and 12th-grade English will be offered as online-only classes in addition to being held in a traditional setting.

"The kids enjoy it and find it challenging," said Roger Crider, the high school's technology coach and a business teacher.

"The content isn't any different (from a face-to-face class), it's just the deliver method."

Crider's online Microsoft Office course is the newest addition to the online offerings, which began with an online wellness course that officials say has been very popular. The courses enable students to add additional classes and different types of learning to their schedule.

For instance, Crider said students who take his Microsoft Office course learn how to communicate differently than in a typical classroom setting.

"It's difficult for a lot of people to communicate online," he said. "It's easy enough to send an email or post something to Twitter, but sometimes it takes two or three emails to be able to get the right question or answer across."

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FR dips into future of education with online, hybrid course offerings