DURHAM - About 100 students who didn't get into the N.C. School of Science and Mathematics are getting a pretty sweet consolation prize. Starting in August, the runners-up may take school courses -- they'll just have to do it from home instead of living on the Durham campus.

"I guess it would be the next-best thing to getting into the school," said Tyler Smith, a 16-year-old from Eastern Randolph High School in Ramseur.

If all goes as hoped, the school next year will enroll a second class of about 100 students in its NCSSM Online program, and eventually participants could receive a school diploma. For some students, having access to accelerated math and science courses isn't just an exciting opportunity -- it could be a lifeline. Teaching shortages in science and math have been weighing heavily on North Carolina, and the rest of the country, for years.

Frequently, schools lack a qualified teacher for an upper-level class or can't enroll enough students in such a class to justify hiring a teacher, said Darlene Haught, NCSSM's dean of distance learning.

"It's providing opportunities that schools can't provide, especially in under-served areas," she said.

The shortage of math and science teachers has become a broad source of concern. A report due out next week by the UNC system on its 15 schools of education will show that its schools prepared 4,003 teachers last year, but just 12 percent were in math or science.

A student missing out on an advanced math and science course in high school is much less likely to pursue the field in college or as a career, said John Dornan, director of the Public School Forum of North Carolina, a Raleigh-based nonprofit education research and public policy group.

"This is such a big problem that we're feeling a lot in education, but it's not exclusive to education," Dornan said. "The real issue is how can you get kids motivated to get excited about science and math leading to an interesting, challenging job."

Through the NCSSM program, administrators hope they'll be able to touch more of the state's brightest students, who clearly are motivated to achieve.

"We have a lot of students who want to come here, and are qualified to come here, but because of bed space, couldn't come," said the school's Chancellor Gerald Boarman.

Students choose one or two classes from seven free advanced math and science courses in a Web-based program. Most class activities won't be conducted in real time -- students will complete the work on their own schedules, but may use Web conferences and chat rooms during live class discussions.

Participating students will need to have access to computers, but the state-funded school will provide textbooks, software and visits to the Durham campus for labs and other activities.

They'll either take the course as part of their regular school schedule, or commit to completing the course after school, possibly to earn college credit, Haught said.

Smith, the Randolph County teen, said he hopes to take computational or medicinal chemistry through the program -- courses not offered at his school -- and will do the work in his spare time.

"I tend to get bored a lot in class, so I might as well get some extra work," he said.

NCSSM administrators have been considering the online courses for years, Boarman said, particularly because of the enthusiasm of students who apply to the specialty school.

"We get letters from students wanting some piece of the school," Boarman said. "They say, 'Can I come here on weekends?' "

Taking courses online -- a method suited to students who already use the Internet every day -- was a way to broaden the school's reach. The model isn't far from the distance-learning NCSSM has already been doing for more than 10 years through videoconferencing.

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