ONLINE LEARNING AT BRIGHTON HIGH SCHOOL

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1 ONLINE LEARNING AT BRIGHTON HIGH SCHOOL Brighton High School recognizes that online learning allows us to better meet the needs of our diverse population. Students take online courses through Brighton High School for two main purposes: to recover credit or for increased course selection and schedule flexibility. EXPECTATIONS FOR ALL ONLINE LEARNERS Success in any online course ultimately depends upon the student. Unlike traditional courses, online courses are self-directed. This self-direction gives students flexibility in the time they spend on their coursework as well as the responsibility to complete it by the final deadline. Brighton High School expects all online learners will: Take responsibility for their own learning and course completion Monitor their own progress and set goals to insure timely completion Log-into the online courses and complete activities on a regular basis Complete activities and assignments in order and to the best of their ability Only submit their own work, avoiding plagiarism and violation of copyright Take tests and quizzes using only resources approved by the course instructor Communicate with the instructor, mentor or facilitator about any problems and ask questions about anything that is unclear or that they do not understand.

2 ONLINE LEARNING FOR CREDIT RECOVERY Eligibility Any student that has failed a core subject area course that is required for graduation may choose to recover the credit online through our credit recovery program. Students who have attempted to recover credit during a previous semester, but failed, are no longer eligible. Signing Up for Online Credit Recovery Students that are interested in recovering credit through our online credit recovery program should talk to their counselor. Counselors can enroll students in the online learning lab. The program coordinator will set-up the student account and assign the student to the appropriate class. Students should know the class(es) for which they need to recover credit and verify that the program coordinator has assigned them to the appropriate class(es). Pacing Since a typical semester is 18 weeks long, students should complete between 5 and 6% each week. Since the amount of time to complete a module or activity may vary, students may complete more, or less, some weeks. Students should be roughly 25% complete by the first progress report, 50% complete by the end of the first (or 3rd) marking period and 75% complete by the second progress report for the semester. The program coordinator will monitor student progress and periodically update the counselors and administrators of the students progress Deadlines Students must complete their course by the end of the semester. Students that fail to recover credit for a class in one semester will not be allowed to enroll in the program again. Students that are recovering credit for multiple courses in one semester, must complete at least one course during the semester. Students that complete at least one course may have their progress in other courses carried over to the second semester. Progress for courses cannot be carried over to the next school year. Coursework Our online credit recovery program uses Plato Courseware offered from edmentum. Students are expected to complete all modules and activities for which they do not receive an exemption. (Students recovering credit in some courses may exempt out of learning modules by demonstrating mastery of those modules through a pre-test.) Students are expected to complete the activities in order. The online learning facilitator, or coordinator, may lock activities to help the student complete the activities in the proper order. All activities (with the exception of pre-tests, post-tests, midterms and end of semester tests) may be completed anywhere the student has access to the Internet.

3 Courses Available Most core subject area classes that are required for graduation are available for credit recovery. Brighton specific courses, such as active physics may not be available. Spanish 1 and 2 are the only world language classes that are available for credit recovery through Plato. Tests and Quizzes All students must take all pre-tests, post-tests, midterm and end of semester tests in the online learning lab. Students can use notes that they have take on these tests; however, they cannot use any other resources. Scores on these tests, taken outside of the lab, will not count. Credit To recover credit, students must earn a calculated grade of at least 59.5% for the course. Grade calculations are based on test scores, assignments and completion of online activities. Grades Students completing a Plato course for credit recovery will earn a letter grade for their coursework, based upon their calculated percentage. Although this does not replace the original E on the transcript, the letter grade can help repair damage to the students grade point average. Seniors All seniors taking credit recovery courses during second semester must be passing their online coursework by the last full day for seniors. Students that are not passing be the last full day for seniors will not be able to participate in commencement. Online Learning Lab Students taking online courses for credit recovery will be scheduled in an online learning lab. Students will receive either a G for passing, or an E for failing the online learning lab. Students will earn a passing grade for the online learning lab by completing written assignments, meeting expectations and successfully completing at least one online course. Even if students complete the online learning lab assignments, they will receive an E in online learning lab if they fail to receive a passing grade in their online course. Students that fail to complete a course during a semester of online learning lab will not be allowed to take the online learning lab in the future.

4 ONLINE COURSES FOR INCREASED COURSE SELECTION OR SCHEDULE FLEXIBILITY Eligibility All BHS students are eligible to take up to two courses online. Although all students are eligible to take online courses, online courses are not appropriate for all students. Students that need to take three or more online courses may apply to do so through the Brighton High School Seat Time Waiver Program. Online Learning Readiness Online learning is not a good fit for all students. In many cases, taking courses online is more challenging than taking traditional courses. It is important that students enrolling in online courses understand their areas of weakness so they can develop plans to be successful in the online learning environment. Prior to enrolling in online courses, Students must complete and print this online learning readiness rubric. Students must turn in the completed rubric with their online learning enrollment forms. Signing-up Once a student has decided to take an online course and has completed the online learning readiness rubric, he, or she, must inform the appropriate grade level counselor of their intent to take an online course and obtain the necessary parental consent forms and agreements. The student must turn in all completed forms to Mr. Vecchioni and he will enroll the student in the specified course(s). Courses Available The online courses available to Brighton High School students are located in the course catalog for Michigan Virtual School ( or in statewide catalog of online courses (micourses.org). Pacing Students enrolling in online classes are responsible for completing all requirements of the course. Although some classes (like AP courses) have weekly deadlines, most do not. Students should follow the pacing guide or suggestions of the instructor. The mentor teacher will monitor the student progress and alert the counselor and/or administrator if the student falls behind. Students that are below specified benchmarks at designated checkpoints may be required to attend a monthly Saturday work session. Communication It is essential that students communicate with their instructor(s) and mentor. Since the class is online, the usual means of communication is . Teachers and the online mentor will share crucial information with students through . Students must check their regularly and respond promptly.

5 Policies As Brighton High School students, students taking online courses must follow all Brighton Area School policies, including the acceptable use policy, the student handbook and the online learning program policies and requirements. In addition, students must also follow the policies of the school, or agency, providing the online course. These policies include, but are not limited to Acceptable use policies, Plagiarism policies and general Netiquette policies. Location Students enrolled in courses through Michigan Virtual School, or the statewide catalog of online courses, are considered virtual students for the hours of their online courses. Students may work on-site or off-site. If the readiness rubric indicates that a student will need extra support, the mentor and administrator may require the student to work on-site until the mentor decides that the student is ready to work off-site. If, during the course of the semester, a student demonstrates that he, or she, is not capable of making acceptable progress working off-site, the mentor and administrator may require the student to work on-site. Attendance Since students have the option of working off-site, there will be no record of physical attendance for online courses. Attendance for online courses is measured by student log-in records. A student may be considered truant if he, or she, does not log-in. Students that specify that school is their primary work location are expected to be in school unless a parent calls in and the students sign-in or out through the attendance office. Attendance will be recorded for the statewide student count day. To be in attendance for count day, students must log-in and access the online course. Students may also be required to physically check-in, or sign-in, with the mentor teacher on count day. The online mentor will notify students of the state-wide count day and the expectations for attendance on that day. Technology Access to technology is a requirement for online coursework. Brighton Area Schools is required to provide online students the same access to technology as traditional students. All online students are allowed to use our online learning lab and media center to work on their coursework. Students may also choose to use their home or personal computers and Internet access to work on their coursework. Students without access to a computer and Internet outside of school may talk with Mr. Vecchioni about checking out such technology for the semester. Support It is important that a student contact the appropriate person as soon as he, or she, recognizes there is a problem. If a student has questions and doesn t know where to turn, he, or she, should contact the mentor teacher. If a student has questions about the actual content of the course, he, or she, should contact the online teacher. Credit Students taking courses through Michigan Virtual School, or the statewide catalog of online courses, will earn credit in the online course by completing the course with a minimum of 59.5%.

6 Grades The online instructor will report students final percentages to the online mentor. The online mentor will assign the student a letter grade based on the students final percentage and the BHS grading scale. Questions about a student s final percentage must be directed to the online instructor. Online instructors are not employees of Brighton Area Schools and follow the grading policies and time frames of their school district or agency, not those of Brighton Area Schools. AP Grades Online AP courses are not subject to the BHS grade weighing policy for AP courses. Grade Reporting Students will not receive progress report or marking period grades, like traditional BHS courses. Students will only receive a final grade for the semester. Due to time frames for final grade reporting, grades for online courses may not appear on a student s report card. In the case that grades come in after report cards are processed, the grade will be added directly to the student s transcript. Seniors All seniors taking online courses during second semester must be passing their online coursework by the last full day for seniors. Students that are not passing be the last full day for seniors will not be able to participate in commencement. Plato courses Students are only allowed to take Plato courses for new credit under special circumstances with administrative approval. Students taking Plato courses for new credit will not be allowed to exempt out of modules through the pre-tests. Students taking Plato courses for new credit will receive a G for credit if their calculated grade is at least 59.5%. Online Learning Lab Although all online students may use the Online Learning Lab to work on their coursework, students taking online courses for first time credit do not enroll in, or earn credit for the Online Learning Lab. Students taking two online courses may enroll in Online Learning Lab as an elective, with administrative approval. Seat Time Waivers Students can take more than 2 online courses if the administration approves them for a seat time waiver. In addition to the above policies, seat time waiver students must also sign the seat time waiver contract, maintain weekly contact with their mentor teacher and meet specific login requirements.