Students in kindergarten through 5th grade will have the opportunity to participate in the full-time Schools PLP learning pathway that offers Asynchronous lessons through independent (At Home Focused)  learning opportunities for students.

Students will attend weekly advisory sessions with their teacher.

Online learning requires active parents(s)/guardians(s) as an active learning coach.  A virtual learning coach is a parent or caregiver (under direction from the parent/guardian) that is dedicated to supporting the academic and social emotional learning success of a virtual learning student. This is an active and intentional role. The learning coach is responsible for providing each virtual learning student a quiet space to learn and attend virtual meetings if applicable. They are also responsible for helping each virtual learning student maintain daily attendance, working with learning tools and turning in assignments on time. The learning coach is an active team member with the virtual teacher to help make virtual learning a success.

*Each subject areas is anticipated to take betwee 45-60 minutes

• 8-11 Independant Lessons
• (5 min Break)
• 8-9 English Language Arts
• (5 min Break)
• 9-10 Math
• (5 Min Break)
• 10-11 Science
• (5 Min Break)
• 11-12 Social Studies
• 12-1 Lunch
• Lessons Continued
• 1-2 Health/PE
• 2-3 Art/Music

Scheduled Weekly 1:1 Advisory Meeting

*Lesson pace will depend on student attention, success, and participation in lessons. Lesson times may vary by student.

Students 6th-8th will have the opportunity to participate in full-time or hybrid models of Schools PLP . Schools PLP courses online are predetermined curriculum monitored by local certified teachers. This option allows for more flexibility in an at home learning schedule. Students are required to maintain daily adequate progress and demonstrate attendance in each of their courses during each scheduled school day.

Full- Time students attend the VLA courses as full time students in our Schools PLP platform

Hybrid students attend the VLA courses in our Schools PLP platform along side in person courses provided by their district.

Both options require an active learning coach (and either is the parent/guardian or is under direction from the parent/guardian). A virtual learning coach is a parent or caregiver that is dedicated to supporting the academic and social emotional learning success of a virtual learning student. Students in 6th -8th grades still need an active and dedicated learning coach to help establish an at home learning schedule, support in maintaining regular daily attendance, supporting time management, and monitoring of assignment due dates. The learning coach will be an active team member with the virtual teachers to help make virtual learning a success. 

Students in 7th through 12th grade will also have the opportunity to select from two different learning options, as well as the flexibility to combine online and district based classes. Students may choose to be full time, or a hybrid model. It is strongly recommended that students select one learning platform to take all their courses via the virtual learning academy. Students who combine courses from Google classroom and Schools PLP are less successful than students who take all their courses in a single platform.

The Google Classroom option is a teacher guided independent learning pathway with the opportunity for Teacher support as needed. All Google Classroom courses are designed and taught by Regional Certified teachers. Google Classroom offers a more personalized and rigorous learning opportunity. Many Google Classroom teachers have established office hours or schedule individual times to meet with students for extra support. Students are required to maintain adequate progress and demonstrate attendance in each of their courses during each scheduled school day.

Schools PLP courses online are predetermined curriculum monitored by local certified teachers. This option allows for more flexibility in an at home learning schedule. Students are required to maintain daily adequate progress and demonstrate attendance in each of their courses during each scheduled school day.

Both options require an active learning coach (and either is the parent/guardian or is under direction from the parent/guardian). A virtual learning coach is a parent or caregiver that is dedicated to supporting the academic and social emotional learning success of a virtual learning student. Students in 7th -12th grades still need an active and dedicated learning coach to help establish an at home learning schedule, support in maintaining regular daily attendance, supporting time management, and monitoring of assignment due dates. The learning coach will be an active team member with the virtual teachers to help make virtual learning a success. 

HOME COACH REQUIREMENTS

To be successful in virtual learning the home coach must: 

• Support required daily attendance and participation in school
• Students need a consistant, dedicated adult at home to serve as a home learning coach
• Provide a quite place for your child to learn
• Help with virtual and physical learning tools
• Ensure assignments are completed and turned in on time
• Check your email and parent accounts (ParentVue) for grade and attendance updates
• Consistantly communicate wtih yoru child's teacher
• Support regular daily attendance

We want all students to be successful. Selecting the best learning environment has a major impact on student success. Virtual learning requires an Active and Dedicated learning coach. 

Communicating consistently with your childs teacher, and s,chool liaison is vital in making the virtual learning experieince a successful experience for all! 

We beleive in an all in approach to student support. This includes surrounding the student with support and guidance from the District, IMESDVLA and the Home or Home Coach. This program is successful becuase students have support from their VLA teachers for each of their courses. They will also receive support from their local school district for extra academic support and enrichment opportunities. Students will have access to their district learning lab. And students have the strength and support of home and their home coach to be successful in their coursework. 

Students and families will have access to school counselors for help with any work or questions about credits, transcripts and graduation.

All special plans, including special education, talented and gifted, English Language Development, and 504 will be supported by the local district and followed by teachers within the online program.

Students have access to district services and extra curriculuar activites. Making this program unique, your student is connected to the school to recieve the sercices, and opportunities they need and desire to be their best learner. 

Attendance for in-person kindergarten through 12th grade students is taken daily based upon a student’s presence at school. Attendance for virtual learning students is taken based upon engagement in school through daily two-way communication.  This can include two way communication with a teacher, attending a live class or tutoring session, learning lab time, and/or submitting assigned work. Due to the flexibility of virtual learning, sometimes learning happens in evenings and on weekends. To accommodate for that, the IMESD Virtual Learning Program will accept academic time spent within the 7 day week (Monday - Sunday) will be counted toward attendance. Attendance will be monitored at the start of each week. 

Here are some examples of when substantive attendance may count: 

• Participation in live class activities
• Two way communication over an assignment.
• Two way communication  messaging in academic platforms.
• Two way communication in rooms messaging app.
• Substantive email communication
• Substantive communication over assignment questions
• Participation in a video session or zoom/meet.
• Substantive response to teacher posted activity, stream, or assignment.
• Office hours or phone calls with instructors.

Students must demonstrate four days of attendance per week to be marked as present for the entire school week Monday-Thursday.

Maintaining regular daily attendance in all courses is vital to being a successful student in a virtual learning environment. Students who do not maintain regular attendance are more likely to fall behind in coursework.

Attendance is tracked in the Parentvue portal.

ParentVue

Teachers will establish due dates for all graded coursework and assessments in determining a student’s grade and proficiency on grade-level standards. Late work and grading policies are outlined in each course syllabus.

At the middle school and high school level, failure to complete assigned coursework will result in failing the class, loss of credit, and not maintaining on-track status or athletic eligibility.

One of the benefits of online learning is that students can access their classes when they are ready to learn or families have scheduled time to support their learning.  Online classes can be accessed 24/7 and provide a flexible solution to learning.  Students and parents can plan to focus on one or more classes per day. However, students and parents should be aware that online learning does take focused time (about 30 minutes per class per day on average), and they should have well-established routines to be successful. 

The best approach for success is to work each scheduled school day, in each class. 

Online learning is hard and requires significant time, attention, and commitment. – it is not for everyone. While flexible, all students are required to complete assigned coursework within each semester to avoid negative impacts to grades and credit particularly at the middle school and high school level. Students are expected to participate in their coursework, be kind, respectful and responsible while participating in the VLA courses. Students are expected to adhere to the expectations laid out in the IMESD VLA Student Handbook, and the Student Conduct and Technology User Agreement.

Students are expected to attend, and participate in school daily Monday-Thursday. We recognize the desire for flexability - and are willing to work with families and students to support flexability. The best way for students to be successful and retian what they learn is logging in and working in each class daily. 

Expectations also include particpiating as a whole learner - adhering to school expectations, policies, practices and requirements as outlined in the student handbook (below). 

We are here to help and support the whole students in being successful, that takes a team of caring people, motiviation to do well, and drive to see success in online learning. 

IMESD VLA Student Handbook

Yes! Homeschool students can take up to 50% of their scheduled coursework through their district with the VLA. Homeschool students register with the VLA through their resident district. This means you may take up to 2-3 courses with the VLA grades 6-12 including core subject area courses, electives, and dual credit options. Elementary students due to teacher licensure requirements will need to check with their district policies and registration practices. 

The VLA operates on a Monday-Thursday school day schedule. The learning platform is open 24/7 for student access.