High School Parent and Student Handbook Grant St., Suite 402 Northglenn, CO Main Office: Fax:

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1 High School Parent and Student Handbook Grant St., Suite 402 Northglenn, CO Main Office: Fax:

2 Contents Welcome Letter... Error! Bookmark not defined. INTRODUCTORY INFORMATION... 8 Mission Statement... 8 Vision Statement... 8 Provisions... 8 High School Model... 8 Advisor/Content Teachers/Counselors... 9 Parent and Student Responsibilities PARENT RESPONSIBILITIES STUDENT RESPONSIBILITIES ACADEMICS School Calendar Curriculum Activity and Course Fees Grading Policy Class Connect Sessions Teacher Tutor Time (Office Hours) Extra Credit Late work Policy... Error! Bookmark not defined. Academic Integrity Academic Progress Assessments The Colorado Basic Literacy Act (CBLA) COUNSELING Academic Requirements Credit Requirements Graduation Requirements AdvancedED Requirements Colorado Virtual Academy High School Handbook, Page 2

3 Grade Level Determination/Promotion Grade Point Average (GPA) Pass/Fail Recorded Grades Grade Dispute Credit Recovery Options AP (Advanced Placement Courses) Post-Secondary Enrollment Options and/or Concurrent Enrollment Options Outside Credits Transcripts Course Add/Drop Policy Changing/Dropping Classes High School Credit for TCAP/ACT ADVISING Communication Professionalism in Communications My Info and K-Mail K12 Support Contact Information Change of Information Materials ENGAGEMENT EXPECTATIONS Required Participation Student Transition and Recovery Success Plan (STAR Success Plan) Leave Policy Remote Working Policy Undue Hardship Exclusion Maternity/Paternity Leave Policy Bereavement Policy Withdrawing from COVA Probationary Status Colorado Virtual Academy High School Handbook, Page 3

4 COMMUNITY AND EXTRA-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES Activity Calendar Homeroom Sessions New Parent/Student Onboarding COVA Student Clubs Fieldtrips and Other Activities COVA High School Event and Field Trip Guidelines/Policy/Procedure COVA Policy on Dances: Cancellation Policy for Events Dress Code Emergency Policy/Procedure: Infractions of Policy/Procedure: Strike Policy: Student Health, Illness and Attending Events Zero Tolerance Policy Extracurricular and Interscholastic Activities Student Work Permits/Age Certificates SAFETY Netiquette Cyberbullying Harassment Reporting Discipline Policy and Procedures Monitoring ENROLLMENT IN COLORADO VIRTUAL ACADEMY Home Based Education Program Admittance/Enrollment Guidelines Student Part-Time and Dual-Enrollment Policy Part-Time Enrollment Prior Home Schooled Enrollment Guidelines Accepting Home School credits Placement Colorado Virtual Academy High School Handbook, Page 4

5 Student Records Transcripts SPECIAL SERVICES Gifted and Talented Education (GATE) Special Education English Language Learners (ELL) FAMILY EDUCATION RIGHTS AND PRIVACY ACT (FERPA) GRIEVANCES Grievance Policy and Procedure TECHNOLOGY Technology Issues Computer/Software Restriction Communication Security INTERNET SUBSIDY POLICY APPENDIX COLORADO VIRTUAL ACADEMY CONCURRENT ENROLLMENT HANDBOOK Concurrent Enrollment Application Deadline Approval Process COVA Concurrent Enrollment Contract Colorado Virtual Academy High School Prior Approval of Outside Course and Credit INTERNET SUBSIDY DIRECT DEPOSIT AUTHORIZATION FORM Permission for Non-Custodial Adults to Pick Up Students from School Events or Activities STUDENT FIELD TRIP PERMISSION FORM OUTDOOR EDUCATION PERMISSION FORM COVA HIGH SCHOOL VISITOR PERMISSION SLIP COVA HS REQUEST FOR LEAVE FORM COLORADO VIRTUAL ACADEMY LEVEL ONE EMPLOYEE/STUDENT/PARENT COMPLAINT FORM COLORADO VIRTUAL ACADEMY LEVEL TWO APPEAL NOTICE EMPLOYEE/STUDENT/PARENT COMPLAINT FORM COLORADO VIRTUAL ACADEMY LEVEL THREE APPEAL NOTICE EMPLOYEE/STUDENT/PARENT COMPLAINT FORM Colorado Virtual Academy High School Handbook, Page 5

6 Colorado Virtual Academy High School Handbook, Page 6

7 Dear High School Students and Parents, On behalf of the high school staff, we would like to welcome you to Colorado Virtual Academy (COVA). We are excited and honored that you have selected COVA as your school of choice. This handbook was created to provide families with specific and helpful information about policies and procedures of COVA. The COVA community has had a hand in the development of our high school, which we believe meets the unique needs of high school students in a virtual setting. Some of the high school model components include: o Parents and students receiving direct instruction and support from Colorado State certified content specific teachers. o Opportunities for students to interact academically and socially with their peers. o Virtual classrooms offering students academic instruction from our teaching staff. o Advisors and Counselors to guide our students through COVA HS. Partnering with an online school as a student, parent, or staff member is an exercise in a pioneering spirit. We look forward to traveling with you toward our destination of collaboration, accountability and academic success. We encourage you to familiarize yourselves with this handbook and keep it handy for reference as needed. The high school handbook addresses many topics pertinent to all of our students and families. Again, thank you for choosing Colorado Virtual Academy. We look forward to an exciting year with you! Sincerely, COVA HS Administration Grant Street #402 Northglenn, CO Colorado Virtual Academy High School Handbook, Page 7

8 INTRODUCTORY INFORMATION Colorado Virtual Academy is a public charter school in the state of Colorado. COVA s charter is granted through Adams County Five Star School District 12 (Adams 12). COVA maintains an independent school board and is managed by K12, Inc. (K12), which also provides the curriculum and online delivery system. This Parent/Student Handbook is intended to inform COVA parents and students of relevant policies and procedures and to identify specific responsibilities pertaining to families enrolling in COVA. Additional policies are covered in the booklet titled Rights & Responsibilities of Parents and Students published by Adams 12 Five Star Schools. District policy can be found at Rights_and_Responsibilities.pdf COVA firmly agrees with state statute (a) the general assembly hereby declares that two of the most important factors in ensuring a child s educational development are parental involvement and parental responsibility. The general assembly further declares that every child under such parent s care and supervision receives adequate education and training. For all questions regarding policy & procedures, technology, or curriculum, your experienced advisor is your first point of contact. Mission Statement COVA, a state-wide, online k-12 public school, brings alive an individual, content-rich curriculum to students, supported by highly skilled teachers in partnership with parents. Vision Statement Colorado Virtual Academy offers Colorado elementary and secondary students a researched-based and content-rich online public education. Our students are supported by state-of-the-art technology and a highly-skilled teaching staff. Our students master classical core subjects, are culturally literate, and are prepared for college. Colorado Virtual Academy is known for its academic excellence and its ability to support the individual needs of students statewide. Provisions Policies and procedures listed in this Handbook may be changed at the discretion of COVA without prior notice. Any alterations to this document will be communicated to affected parties via and will come from the student advisor. High School Model Our high school community works together to significantly improve our high school to ensure it is meeting the unique academic and social needs of our students. This section provides a brief overview of our high school. Additional details will be provided in later sections of this handbook. Highlights of our high school include: Parental control and high parental commitment. Parents or guardians of high school students are the Learning Coaches of their students. The Learning Coach is responsible for ensuring daily Colorado Virtual Academy High School Handbook, Page 8

9 attendance in school. They also have the ability to utilize lesson and unit learning objectives to determine the focus of critical skills and concepts. They have immediate access to academic progress information on the LMS, and play an integral role in partnership with COVA. Individualized learning experience. Students take courses not based on their ages or grade level, but rather their abilities. We offer a large range of courses which suit students differentiated abilities. Instructional and academic support to parents and students. Both parents and students receive direct instructional and academic support from our highly qualified and caring teaching staff. Students and parents receive support from teachers through the use of phone, , threaded discussions, and a live online learning environment. Developing community among students. High school students will have countless opportunities to meet with their peers at high school student fieldtrips, discuss their course work through threaded discussions, or in cutting-edge interactive online learning environments. Student clubs allow for more opportunities for COVA high school students to join and support our community. Developing community among parents. Parents will have numerous opportunities to connect with other parents of high school students all around the state to share best practices and success stories. Please stay in close touch with your advisors, teachers, and administrators about these opportunities. Motivating learning experience. Motivating a high school student can be a real challenge. We believe we have created a high school that gets students excited about learning. Our recipe for a successful high school experience includes frequent interactions with their peers, increased choice, and the opportunity to take ownership for their own learning. Advisor/Content Teachers/Counselors A COVA student is assigned a highly qualified COVA teacher who is responsible for student achievement in each course. The COVA teacher will be in regular contact with the parent-assigned Learning Coach to guide educational decisions and ensure accountability for school expectations. People assisting with education outside of COVA are called Mentors, for the purposes of clarity in communications. A healthy, supportive relationship between students and the assigned COVA advisors, counselors, and content teachers is essential. All COVA teachers hold valid Colorado teaching licenses, participate in extensive and ongoing teacher professional development, and represent a diverse spectrum of educational backgrounds and experiences. COVA advisors are the first points of contact for parents with questions or general issues, and the advisors will respond to parent and student communications within 24 hours on regular school days whenever possible. Advisor responsibilities include, but are not limited to: Providing logistical and non-instructional support to high school teachers and students Assisting students in academic success and planning Gathering and evaluating student attendance and achievement data Interacting several times a year face to face with students via orientations, field trips, outings, sponsoring clubs, etc. Hosting weekly Homeroom sessions Establishing relationships with students as adult mentors Ensuring students have all materials and questions answered at the start of the school year Colorado Virtual Academy High School Handbook, Page 9

10 Content Teacher responsibilities include, but are not limited to: Providing academic support and instruction to students enrolled in their courses Grading assignments and assessments as well as assigning final grades Facilitating Class Connect sessions and virtual interactions for students enrolled in their courses Proctoring standardized assessments Interacting several times a year face to face with students via orientations, field trips, outings, sponsoring clubs, etc. Counselor responsibilities include, but are not limited to: Advising students regarding course selection and creating a four-year plan (or graduation plan) for students Counseling students toward future career and college paths Facilitating relationships with colleges throughout the United States Social/emotional support as needed Parent and Student Responsibilities PARENT RESPONSIBILITIES Parents are an essential component in the education of children, particularly in the online educational environment. Successful online students have parents who work with them on a daily basis to ensure understanding, progress, and completion of assignments and courses. Parents are responsible for providing a computer, high speed internet, printer/scanner, microphone (for Class Connect sessions, especially in World Languages and English Languages courses), software (for specified technology classes) and Internet access in order to participate in the program. The LMS works best with High-Speed Internet service. BEGINNING OF YEAR: Report to COVA any changes in contact information (including phone or ) by logging onto MyInfo. If you are changing your home phone number, you will need to change it for each of your enrolled students. Report to COVA any changes in mailing address, or shipping address information by filling out the Change of Address form and Affidavit of Colorado Residency form; return both to the COVA office. Report missing/damaged materials to within 2 weeks of delivery. DURING THE YEAR: Access Learning Coach account on a regular basis Log attendance on a regular basis Review lessons with student on a regular basis Check student progress and provide assistance as needed on a regular basis Check K-Mails from COVA staff on a regular basis Attend or schedule student-parent-teacher conferences Attend for you student: IEP or 504 placement meetings (if your child is identified with special needs), RtI (Response to Intervention) conferences Complete parent surveys for K12 and COVA Colorado Virtual Academy High School Handbook, Page 10

11 Attend orientation sessions Record contact information changes immediately (address, , phone) using the methods mentioned above. Ensure your student s attendance in mandated State Assessments - enrollment includes full participation in all mandated state testing on the required dates and at the assigned location. Read and respond to s, K-Mails, and phone calls from the COVA teachers in a timely manner. END OF YEAR: Gather returnable materials and prepare for shipping back to K12 in original boxes Review/discuss course placement with your student s guidance counselor for the following year PROBLEM RESOLUTION Please follow these procedures for general information or for assistance in resolving a problem: Step 1. All concerns and academic issues should first be directed to the student s teacher. Step 2. All non-academic issues that are unresolved in Step 1 should be directed to the student s advisor. Step 3. Escalated issues can be reported to the High School Assistant Director or the High School Director. Step 4. If there are still questions or concerns, issues can be sent to the Head of School. STUDENT RESPONSIBILITIES BEGINNING OF YEAR: Attend and participate in virtual orientations Set up student account Complete Introduction to Online Learning Course Set up learning space and organize materials Take Scantron testing if requested (for 9 th and 10 th grade students) DURING THE YEAR: Students are most successful when they work on a regular, consistent schedule. We recommend you spend 4-6 hours during the day time on school and do an additional 2-3 hours a night on homework. While we recognize that many individuals have chosen online school to accommodate their need for flexibility, students should attempt to log into every class, every school day if possible. On average, students will need to spend 60 minutes online/offline each day for each class and additional time on homework. Check K-Mail Log into each course Read announcements in each course Review the calendar, the schedule posted in announcements and the course checklist at the bottom of the course home screen to determine the lessons and assignments to be addressed Post questions in the Raise Your Hand area found in each unit (in each LMS classroom) or K-Mail your teachers with questions Complete work for each course and submit assignments through the dropbox tool (unless they are computer scored) Respond to staff , K-Mail, and phone calls in a timely manner (24 hours) Colorado Virtual Academy High School Handbook, Page 11

12 Before you log out of a course, make sure you have completed all of the work for the day, including the non-graded lesson work and go to the Course Checklist and check off the sections that you completed fully that day. AS REQUIRED: Attend training sessions and testing workshops Report contact information changes immediately (address, , phone) to your Advisor Attend Homeroom sessions -Complete ILP conference with COVA staff END OF YEAR: Gather returnable materials and prepare for shipping/pick-up back to K12 in original kit boxes Review/discuss course placement with your teacher for the following year STUDENTS ARE REQUIRED TO SAVE COPIES OF THEIR ASSIGNMENTS All students must save a copy of their assignments to their hard drives. These must be saved until the semester grades are received, or until they exit the class. (Assignments that have not been saved first to a student s hard drive are oftentimes difficult to attach and submit through the online Dropbox.) Each student should create a file folder for each class, each semester (teachers may give you a specific format to save your assignment). It is highly recommended that students also back-up these folders once a week to a disc or thumb drive in case their hard drive crashes Each assignment should be saved with the name of the class and the name of the assignment ACADEMICS School Calendar The school calendar is published annually. The school calendar provides important information such as the first and last day of school, holidays, days when teachers are not available, and the TCAP testing window. Curriculum COVA uses the K12 Online curriculum for students in grades K-12. The K12 curriculum is mandatory for students enrolled in COVA. Parents seeking to provide the best possible education for their children often enrich the curriculum with extra activities or family trips. Time spent for these academic enhancements may be logged in the attendance area of the Online School. It is important that plans for additional activities and curricula be discussed ahead of time with the assigned COVA teachers so as not to interfere with required curricular objectives. It is also important to note that additional activities and curriculum do not replace completion and mastery of the student s K12 lessons. High school students must take a total of six courses or credits each semester at the secondary level to include core and electives courses. Students wishing to take additional courses may incur a cost per course above the six required courses. Please refer to the COVA High School Course Catalog for a complete listing of our current courses and course descriptions. Colorado Virtual Academy High School Handbook, Page 12

13 Activity and Course Fees Activity and course fees for some elective courses may be issued at the beginning of the school year. *Other fees may be applicable for field trips and extra-curricular clubs/activities. **Fees also may apply for courses requested above the six course (per semester) requirement. ***Summer School courses require a fee. Grading Policy Graded activities will be assigned points. Final grades will reflect the actual points earned compared with the total points possible. A percent grade will be calculated using those points and teachers will then assign letter grades according to grading policies. Late assignments will be handled by the content teacher/department on a case by case basis. All concerns on late assignments should be directed to the specific teacher. Grading Scale % A 80-89% B 70-79% C 60-69% D Below 60% F Please note: Grades of a D or higher are considered passing and student will receive the associated credit. Please note: Student who are in the COVA Middle School and taking COVA High School courses may receive a grade, but will not receive credits for high school courses under any circumstance. Class Connect Sessions It is expected that all students attend Class Connect teaching/office hours sessions offered by their teachers. Because flexibility in scheduling is an important aspect of schooling with COVA, students will be permitted to watch recorded Class Connect sessions when they are unable to participate during live sessions. It is recommended that students attend live sessions to fully benefit from this method of instruction. Teacher Tutor Time (Office Hours) Students are encouraged to attend content teachers Tutor Times weekly. This is an open session where a content teacher is available via IM, phone, and Elluminate to offer live academic support to students who have specific questions on assignments or lessons or who need extra academic support. These Colorado Virtual Academy High School Handbook, Page 13

14 times are scheduled by teachers. Please refer to your course to know specific hours and attend when you need help. Extra Credit Extra credit will be offered based on teacher discretion. It is not required or offered in all courses. Please contact each teacher for further information. Late work Policy Students are expected to turn work in on time in order to keep up with their courses and benefit from working alongside their peers. Teachers will assign due dates with assignments and students should strive to stay on pace. All work for the week is due by Sunday night at midnight. The late work policy is intended to assist students that have had a circumstance that prevented them from completing schoolwork (illness, family circumstance, technology complications, etc.). All assignments/assessments will have a specific due date associated with it. Teachers allow for a free grace period beyond this date to the Sunday night (midnight) of that same week. Assignments from the week that are not submitted by Sunday at midnight will be replaced with a zero in the grade-book. When a student needs to submit work later than the Sunday date, the student should communicate directly with the teacher and advisor as soon as the student is able. Teachers will accept work that is late for up to full credit when reasoning is sufficient and communication is timely from the student. Timely communication is either before an excused absence or within one week of an unexpected absence (student needs to notify teacher within this time period of the absence of work and reasoning for it). Academic Integrity COVA seeks to establish academic integrity within the high school community. COVA has identified the following as unacceptable practices, including, but not limited to: Cheating in its various forms, whether copying another student s work, allowing your own to be copied, using unauthorized aids on an assignment, essay, quiz, or test, having someone else complete an assignment, essay, quiz, or test for you, submitting as your own another person s work, rescheduling a test on a false excuse, etc. Plagiarizing (e.g. presenting as your own the words or ideas of another person), including inadequate documentation of sources (electronic, internet, or print) and excessive dependence on the language of sources even when documented, relying on similar order of sentences while altering a few words or word order Using any answers from yahooanswers, or any other similar site, as your own. Submitting the same work for more than one course or assignment without prior written approval from the instructor(s) Using copyrighted material without appropriate citation or copying software or media files (such as music, movies, etc.) without permission Colorado Virtual Academy High School Handbook, Page 14

15 Fabricating data: This includes falsifying or manipulating data to achieve desired result, reporting results for experiments not done, or falsifying citations in research reports; Destroying, tampering, or altering another student s work to impede academic progress; Signing in to a Class Connect session for another student who is not present, or leaving a Class Connect session without logging off or indicating that you have stepped away from the session; Falsely reporting completion of reading assignments Many courses require written work in which you will need to cite sources. Any direct quotations from your textbook or online material must be cited. For textbook citations, (Author, Page Number); for online material citations, (UnitX, LessonY, Page Number). Any quotations from outside sources require full citations, including author, title, publisher, date of publication, and page number. If a student is citing information found on a website, they must provide the complete Web page or site title, URL, author if known, page number if applicable, and publication place and date of the site, if available. Violations of our Academic Integrity policy carry escalating consequences with each infraction. Infractions will be recorded in the student s permanent COVA record. The total number of infractions is not considered per course, but cumulative over the student s time at COVA. 1 st offense teacher will notify student and parent and determine best action on assignment 2 nd offense zero on assignment, teacher will notify student and parent. Administrator will also contact student and parent. 3 rd offense fail the course 4 th offense expelled All materials in the courses are copyrighted and provided for use exclusively by enrolled students. Enrolled students may print or photocopy material from the website for their own use. Distribution to others is prohibited unless expressly noted. Unauthorized copying or distribution may result in revoked access to course(s). Users shall not upload, download, transmit, or post copyrighted software or copyrighted materials, materials protected by trade secrets, or other protections, using COVA computer resources. This includes copyrighted graphics of cartoon characters or other materials that you found that may appear to be non-copyright protected. Academic Progress The LMS (Learning Management System) provides a recommended schedule that will ensure all lessons in each content level are presented in one academic school year. The LMS is designed to provide lessons on selected days as specified by the teacher for each student. Progress data is used by COVA teachers and parents to evaluate student progress and learning and to efficiently prepare the student for required standardized testing. Excessive absences from the online school can interfere with student learning and consistent progress. Colorado Virtual Academy High School Handbook, Page 15

16 Assessments All COVA students will be assessed on progress towards learning benchmarks and state standards using various standardized assessment tools. Assessments and grading standards are applied consistently to students of similarly demonstrated ability. Assessments include LMS lesson assessments, unit and semester assessments, and standardized assessments determined by COVA. It is important to understand that students are expected to complete LMS assessments unassisted in order to insure that the student s ability and knowledge is accurately assessed. Students in 9-12 will participate in literacy assessments to comply with Colorado Basic Literacy Act requirements. Students may also be required to participate in math proficiency and other assessments as requested. Student attendance and participation in scheduled standardized assessments includes, but is not limited to, TCAP and literacy and numeracy assessments. Participation is mandatory during our standardized testing window. As a public school, all students enrolled in grades 3 through 10 participate in the Transitional Colorado Assessment Program (TCAP) during the state mandated time frame. Student grade level rather than course level determines the level of standardized testing. All testing times, dates, and locations, including testing information for students enrolled will be communicated to students and parents by their COVA advisors and teachers. COVA will provide as much notice as possible to facilitate family scheduling and planning. TCAP testing window information can be found on our school calendar, which is located in the Appendix of this handbook. Families are required to be available during the entire TCAP testing window. Additionally, all students in grade 11 will be required to take the Colorado ACT during the state mandated time frame. Participation by grade 11 students in Colorado ACT is mandatory. All testing times, dates, and locations, including testing information for students enrolled will be communicated to students and parents by COVA advisors and counselors. The data collected from standardized assessment is used in a number of ways by the parent, teacher, and in the evaluation of the effectiveness of our program. All individual results are also provided to the parent of each student. If a student fails to take TCAP, ACT, or required COVA testing, the family will be required to attend a face-to-face meeting at the COVA office in Northglenn, which will include additional testing and a meeting with the COVA administration. Additionally, the family waives ISP (Internet Service Provider) reimbursement for the coming year. The Colorado Basic Literacy Act (CBLA) A literacy framework is in place to ensure literacy achievement and adequate monitoring of individual student progress. Students reading below grade level or performing below grade level in math will receive specific attention. A document will be created to define individualized goals and benchmarks for progress and to provide clarity for the teacher and parent on goals. Student growth will be monitored on a regular basis by parent and teacher using a variety of assessment tools until students are performing at grade level. Colorado Virtual Academy High School Handbook, Page 16

17 COUNSELING Academic Requirements It is the responsibility of the student to be aware of graduation requirements and entrance requirements for colleges and universities in which he or she may be interested. Colorado Virtual Academy faculty and administration make every effort to keep students and parents informed about their student s progress and any graduation requirement updates. However, it is the student s responsibility to be familiar with the necessary requirements in order to graduate and receive a COVA high school diploma. Students are encouraged to meet with their counselor throughout the school year to make sure they are on track towards graduation, enrolled in the correct courses, and to discuss any career/college plans or goals following high school completion. Students must have completed all graduation requirements by the last day of school to be eligible for participation in the graduation ceremony. Credit Requirements The State of Colorado and Adams Twelve Five Star Schools requires all students to be enrolled in a minimum number of courses per semester. All courses at COVA are worth.5 credit per semester. The only exception to this is the course Finding Your Path which is worth.25 credit each year it is taken. Finding Your Path is taken every year as a part of CDE s requirement that each student maintain an Individualized Career and Academic Plan. Within Finding Your Path, students will be expected to participate in test prep Study Island assignments and Pathfinder college-prep questionnaire inventories. Grade # of courses/credits # of core subject courses required Grade 9 6 courses/3 credits *4 core courses Grade 10 6 courses/3 credits *4 core courses Grade 11 6 courses/3 credits *4 core courses Grade 12 6 courses/3 credits *3 core courses *Core course subject areas: English, mathematics, science, social studies, World Language. Graduation Requirements Students must earn 23 credits in grades 9-12 to receive a Colorado Virtual Academy High School diploma. These credits must be as follows: Subject # of credits English 4.0 Math 4.0 Science 3.0 Social Studies 3.0* World Language 2.0** Physical Education 1.5 Colorado Virtual Academy High School Handbook, Page 17

18 Health 0.5 Electives 5.0 *Students are required to meet the following course/credit requirement in Social Studies in order to graduate from COVA: World History (1 credit), US History (1 credit), Geography & World Cultures (.5 credits), Civics (.5 credits). **Both world language credits must be completed in the same language. Two world language credits must be completed by every high school student, including students transferring in from other schools. Contact the school counselor for further credit and language requirements. **American Sign Language has been approved as a world language by COVA. This course will be treated the same as other world languages under the above policy. Note that not all colleges accept sign language as a fulfillment of their world language entrance requirement. AdvancedED Requirements COVA is accredited by Advanced Ed. COVA is committed to providing a rigorous, quality enriched education for all students. Accreditation is designed to help educational institutions boost their ongoing performance efforts for the benefit of their students. AdvancED insists on a relentless pursuit of excellence for itself and for the institutions it accredits. This ethic of excellence ensures that institutions will find rich benefits from accreditation and that parents can confidently make informed decisions about their children s education, knowing their child s school is accredited. Accreditation matters because our students deserve the highest level of educational excellence possible. As an AdvancedED accredited school, all students seeking to graduate and receive a diploma from Colorado Virtual Academy must complete a minimum of 6 credits of COVA online schooling. This includes newly enrolled seniors who must take and pass all courses each semester to be compliant with this requirement. Grade Level Determination/Promotion It is COVA s expectation that students who regularly attend school and achieve academic success will be promoted to the next grade level. The high standards and rigor of the K12 curriculum are more challenging than most traditional curricula. Students are expected to make sufficient progress in mastering a year s worth of curricular content and objectives in a year s time, according to the Colorado State Standards. Grade level determination is based on a comprehensive view of reasonable progress in skill development, satisfactory attendance, satisfactory achievement, and student s age. A student s grade level is determined by the student s age. A student will have the ability to move from one grade to another at the beginning of each school year only. For questions on grade placement by age, please contact your student s counselor. Students are able to obtain a copy of their transcript, to determine credits earned and grade level placement by contacting our high school registrar at ext Colorado Virtual Academy High School Handbook, Page 18

19 Grade Point Average (GPA) A grade point average (GPA) is an average of all the grades earned and the number of classes attempted. The following point scales will be used to compute grade point average on COVA HS transcripts: Unweighted A = 4 points B = 3 points C = 2 points D = 1 point F = 0 points Weighted A = 5 points B = 4 points C = 3 points D= 2 points F = 0 points *Please note: Only AP courses earn a weighted grade point average. Honors courses are not weighted. **Honor Roll status will be awarded each year in June to students with a 3.5GPA or higher for the school year. Pass/Fail Grade marks P will not be figured into a student s GPA, but will be recorded on the transcript as a P. A failing grade will be figured into the student s GPA and recorded on the transcript as an F. Pass/Fail courses are Physical Education, Finding Your Path, and some independent study courses. Passing is defined as a grade of 60% and higher. Recorded Grades A grade for each course must be recorded on the student s permanent record and may not be removed or changed without the approval of the teacher and the Director of High School. Grade Dispute If for some reason a parent or student has a valid dispute about a final grade given in a class, this dispute for change must begin within three months from the end of the semester when final grades were posted. The parent should contact the High School Director with any grade disputes. Credit Recovery Options Students who fail classes must schedule an appointment with their counselor to explore credit recovery options. Students may not be able to continue on in the required sequence of core classes unless they show an effort to make up failed classes. Students can participate in many programs to retrieve lost credit, including, but not limited to: summer school, night school and correspondence courses. Any courses taken outside of COVA require the student complete the Prior Approval for Outside Credit/Course form prior to enrolling in the course (to receive the transfer credit). It is imperative that prior to the student enrolling in any outside correspondence course, the student communicates with their counselor to ensure COVA will transfer the credit for the graduation requirements. There will be costs to the student for credit recovery and summer school programs. Costs for Credit Recovery and Summer School courses are the responsibility of the student. Colorado Virtual Academy High School Handbook, Page 19

20 For COVA or K12 Credit Recovery courses, it is still a requirement for students to log in daily, check K- Mails and participate in class. Due to the condensed nature of these courses, students are required to return phone calls and K-Mails in a timely manner. Students can count on working more than an hour a day for these courses in order to finish in the shortened time period. Communication throughout the credit recovery course with the student s counselor is highly encouraged. AP (Advanced Placement Courses) Advanced Placement, or AP, courses may be taken by 11 th and 12 th grade students. Successful completion of prerequisites, teacher/school counselor recommendation, and a strong interest in the subject are required for enrollment in an AP course. This is a state-wide norm and is due to the extreme rigor of these courses. Students who take AP courses through COVA are eligible to sit for the AP Exam. AP exams are taken during the first two weeks in May. Students will be notified through AP classes about expected dates. It is the responsibility of the student to secure their test site location (typically at a high school within their district of residence, however it is the discretion of that school to approve a space for the student) and cover the financial cost of the exam(s). The cost is $86 (cost dictated by the College Board and subject to change) per exam for which students are financially responsible. The College Board does offer some financial assistance to those who are in need, so please visit their website ( for more information. Post-Secondary Enrollment Options and/or Concurrent Enrollment Options The Concurrent Enrollment Handbook and Procedures is located in the APPENDIX of this handbook. Please use the information in the Concurrent Enrollment Handbook information and contact your counselor for all details regarding Concurrent Enrollment options. Outside Credits Students wishing to take courses outside of COVA other than Concurrent Enrollment courses with the intent of applying credits towards graduation must first complete a Request for Outside Course/Credit Approval Form. Students must submit the completed form to the school Counselor 30 days before signing up for the course to ensure that the credit earned will transfer to the student s transcript and apply to graduation from COVA. Classes must be taken from an accredited public institution, (not another public high school), be taught by a Colorado licensed teacher, and formal grades must be assigned and be accompanied by an official transcript (other stipulations may apply, please contact your counselor for further guidelines and policies). Students who are dually enrolled with another high school institution in addition to attending COVA will be given the choice to withdraw from one of the institutions. Transcripts Unofficial transcripts will be issued twice a school year - once after the end of the first semester and again shortly after the end of the school year. Students who withdraw during the school year will be issued a progress report that can be used for enrolling in a future school. While transcripts will be Colorado Virtual Academy High School Handbook, Page 20

21 issued twice a year, students and their parents always have up-to-the-minute access to their grades 24 hours a day, 7 days a week on the LMS (Learning Management System). At the end of each semester, unofficial transcripts will be mailed to students in lieu of progress reports. A student who withdraws from a course without completing the entire semester will receive a grade of withdrawal-passing or withdrawal-failing based on the student s grade at the time of the withdrawal. Credit will not be received if the student has not completed the entire course and taken the final exam for the class. Students may not work ahead to finish a course in order to earn credit before they withdraw from COVA, unless at the direction of the counselor, and approved by the Director of High School. Students may only withdraw or change a course with no grade penalty the first ten school calendar days after the beginning of a course. Course Add/Drop Policy It is essential that students make responsible educational decisions. To that end, students are given the opportunity to learn about and select the courses they wish to take during the academic year. Though some course changes may be necessary to make, only course drop requests due to academic misplacement may be considered. If there is an academic misplacement, the student must request a course change directly through their assigned COVA Counselor within the first 10 school days of the start of each semester. Students with approval from their counselor will not be penalized during this time frame. Students may add, drop or make changes to their course schedules within the first 10 school days of the start of each semester without penalty as long as the minimum credit and core requirements are not impacted. Any class change/withdrawn after the 10 day period will result in a WD/F on the transcript. Year-long courses are designed so that students remain in the course for the entire year. Changing/Dropping Classes Students may be removed from semester or year-long courses for valid academic reasons; however, changing or dropping classes may impact a student s progress toward graduation. Requests must be discussed with the individual teacher, guidance counselor and/or administrator. Students who drop a course may not be eligible for computer or internet subsidy and may impact the student s track toward graduation. Course changes are granted only with the approval of a counselor or administrator. Students should choose their classes wisely during registration because changes are often not possible at the beginning of a semester due to course capacity and availability. High School Credit for TCAP/ACT These procedures will be reviewed annually and may be updated. All credits will be awarded on transcripts the fall of the following year as an academic elective credit (ie. For the spring 2014 TCAP, credits will be awarded on the transcript for fall of 2014). TCAP: Colorado Virtual Academy High School Handbook, Page 21

22 9 th grade students may earn up to a maximum of.5 credits (.25 for Language Arts and/or.25 for Math) for scoring at the identified level on the TCAP assessment. Please note: this would begin with the testing of spring Students will receive.25 credit of academic elective Language Arts credit if their TCAP Reading and Writing scores reflect one of the following: o Proficient or advanced; o Raise their score from unsatisfactory to partially proficient; or o Raise their partially proficient scores by.5 or more on the TCAP Reading and Writing. They must score this on BOTH assessments in order to receive the.25 academic elective Language Arts credit. Students will receive.25 academic elective Math credit if their TCAP Math assessment score reflects one of the following: o Proficient or advanced; o Raise their score from unsatisfactory to partially proficient; or o Raise their partially proficient scores by.5 or more. 10th grade students may earn up to a maximum of.5 credits scoring at the identified level on the TCAP assessment. Please note: this would begin with the testing of spring Students will receive.25 credit of academic elective Language Arts credit if their TCAP Reading and Writing scores reflect one of the following: o Proficient or advanced; o Raise their score from unsatisfactory to partially proficient; or o Raise their partially proficient scores by.5 or more on the TCAP Reading and Writing. They must score this on BOTH assessments in order to receive the.25 academic elective Language Arts credit. Students will receive.25 academic elective Math credit if their TCAP Math assessment score reflects one of the following: o Proficient or advanced; o Raise their score from unsatisfactory to partially proficient; or o Raise their partially proficient scores by.5 or more. Students will receive.25 academic elective science credits if on their TCAP science assessment their score is proficient or advanced. ACT Colorado Virtual Academy High School Handbook, Page 22

23 11 th grade students may earn up to.5 credit for their preparation and score on the State Mandated ACT testing on the identified state-wide testing day. This credit will be awarded based on the following criteria. o Scoring a 22 (composite score) on the test will award the student.5 academic elective credit; or o Students who take a standard ACT preparation training from the school (to be given by the counselors early March-April 2013 during a live Elluminate session) and earn a score of 19 and above will receive:.25 academic elective credit for attending the live preparation training; and,.25 academic elective credit for a score of 19 and above ADVISING Communication In a virtual model, consistent and appropriate communication between parents, students, and COVA staff is essential for the success of the program. It is also a requirement for enrollment in COVA as a public school. The primary responsibility for communication compliance between school and home lies with parents and students. Parents are responsible for maintaining an active Internet connection and an active account. All communications requiring a response should be replied to in a timely manner and generally within 24 hours. Parents are expected to check K-Mail daily. Professionalism in Communications All communication between the COVA administration, the COVA staff, parents/learning coaches, students, K12 Inc., and other parties directly related to COVA must be conducted with appropriate professionalism. Demeaning language, foul language, or derogatory remarks/innuendos are not acceptable. This includes communication during virtual interactions, communication in , and fieldtrips. Things to Avoid: Intentionally insulting someone Threatening someone Sending Spam Making offensive or obscene remarks Making inappropriate comments Posting or sending inappropriate pictures, documents, cartoons, etc. These should be kept in mind when posting for chats, in online threaded discussions, in responses, when document sharing, in shared journals, and in virtual classroom sessions. My Info and K-Mail K-Mail is a primary communication platform for COVA teachers, administration, parents and students ( is a secondary resource). Colorado Virtual Academy High School Handbook, Page 23

24 The majority of academic information needing to be communicated to the COVA families will be sent via K-Mail. Often, the information is time-sensitive and many items require a specific response. Therefore, parents are expected to inform their COVA advisors promptly of any changes to their and physical address. Parents and students are responsible for checking their K-Mail daily and replying promptly (within 48 hours) to any K-Mail requests received from COVA or K12 Inc. Be aware that teachers and administrators have complete access to your K-Mail so nothing you do with your school account is considered private. Any inappropriate use of K-Mail will result in administrative action. K12 Support Contact Information High school students and their parents (mentor/learning coach) who are experiencing technical or materials related issues should contact the K12 Support Team directly. If after following up with the K12 Support Team, a student or parent feels they need additional support, then they should contact their Advisor. Contact information for the K12 Support Team: K12 Help Web Site: help.k12.com Form: K12 Customer Support: K12-CARE ( ) K12 Technical Support: Change of Information Parents (mentor/learning coach) are responsible for promptly notifying their Advisor of any changes to address, phone number, address, or other pertinent information. Learning coaches are expected to keep all family records and addresses up to date on the OLS. The Advisor will then direct the parent on how to change their personal information. Materials COVA provides specific materials to families to support the Online School. These materials are public property assigned to the school and must be kept in good condition. Parents (mentor/learning coach) enrolling students in COVA accept the responsibility of paying for lost, stolen, or damaged school materials. Parents are responsible for following all materials return procedures promptly at the conclusion of the school year or upon withdrawal from COVA. Misuse of hardware or software may be determined grounds for exclusion from COVA. In the case that materials are missing, damaged or lost, parents should complete the online request form at Advisors can provide additional support when needed. ENGAGEMENT EXPECTATIONS Colorado State Statute CRS (2)(a) notes A student who is participating in an on-line program shall be subject to compulsory school attendance and shall be deemed to comply with the compulsory attendance requirements through participation in the on-line program. Colorado Virtual Academy High School Handbook, Page 24