For most high school students, learning begins in a classroom, but a few local students are throwing that tradition aside and taking their lessons on-line.

They're part of a program IQ Academies, an on-line charter high school that hundreds of students from all across Wisconsin, who are looking for an alternative option, have embraced.

Teachers say IQ's students earn their high school diplomas on-line at home, completing all the requirements of the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction and the same curriculum as any student in the Waukesha school district, where the program was founded.

Entering high school can be a scary thing, students worry about making friends, fitting in with their peers and passing those challenging classes.

But, Emily Phernetton had a more pressing problem, she wondered if she could go at all.

"I was diagnosed with a rare connective tissue disorder at the age of eight or nine and the idea of going to Memorial or North with the size of the building was really scary for me," Phernetton said.

With her delicate health, graduating from a traditional school would be daunting task. IQ Academies was the perfect solution.

"The traditional model doesn't work for them so they go to school on-line, they take all their classes on-line," IQ teacher Rick Nettesheim said.

Nettesheim teaches information technology classes at IQ and says working on-line gives student like Emily the flexibility they need to succeed.

"Every class has a pace chart and it tells you this is what you need to accomplish each week in class but after that you set your own schedule," he said.

"It all depends on what's happening that week in my classes and how I'm feeling, you know if I don't feel good I don't need to work as hard," Phernetton said.

Class work includes on-line lectures, tests and often times readings in a textbook.

"I think that the work is just as difficult as it would be at a traditional high school," Phernetton said.

And like any other school, teachers are there to help every step of the way.

"That's one of the real advantages of our school is that you have access to teachers 24/7, you know when I'm on-line, I'm available for students," Nettesheim said.

Helping them learn and grow in an environment that's right for them.

Still, he says IQ isn't for everyone and says successful on-line students need to be self-starters who have the discipline to work for hours independently without a teacher checking in.