September 21, 2020
Greetings, everyone!
We will post a new progress report on Thursday. See details in the Trending Updates and Progress Report Action Steps sections.
We have full details on AP Join Codes, and we also have another week of Digital Transition webinars scheduled.
Please forward this e-lert to any stakeholders who may need it. They can subscribe here.
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Sept. 24 Progress Report – This Thursday, we will post a new progress report. You can help your students and assist our teachers by following the steps in the Progress Report Action Steps section below.
Semester Success with NCVPS – Students are registered, now what? We’re glad you asked! We have a webpage just for that. Visit our Semester Success page to see how you can support your students. Early Start Students in Standard Start Courses – Our Standard Start classes end on January 8, 2021. However, if your students need to finish before the winter break, let our instructors know. They will adjust the pacing guide to make that happen. Please do that early in the semester to give our instructors time to adjust the pacing guides.
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Our teachers shared their AP Join Codes with students during the first week of class. If students enrolled late or don’t remember the code, have them ask their NCVirtual teachers again.
AP Exam Registration Process for Online Students
Students taking AP courses through an online provider, such as NCVPS, must be enrolled in 2 AP Classroom sections (on the College Board’s registration site) for each course taken online. (NOTE: Students taking AP courses face-to-face enroll in only one AP Classroom section. This may potentially cause confusion for students taking both online and face-to-face AP courses.) All NCVPS AP teachers have created their AP Classroom sections (on the College Board’s registration site) and have provided the join code to all students enrolled in their section. AP Coordinators at face-to-face schools create “EXAM ONLY” AP Classroom sections and must provide the join code for that section to students. Joining the “EXAM ONLY” section is necessary for schools to order AP exam materials, but it does not grant students access to AP study resources for the course. NCVPS students must join the AP Classroom section associated with their NCVPS teacher in order to have access to valuable study resources.
AP Exam Fees
North Carolina requires students taking an AP Exam to be enrolled in the corresponding course in order for those students to receive state funding for their exam. Students solely enrolled in an exam only section for a given AP subject won’t receive funding in this case. For example, students taking AP courses at a virtual school must be enrolled in both the exam only section at the school where they’ll be taking the exam and a class section for the corresponding course through their virtual school. AP Coordinators at face-to-face schools should confirm that their students are enrolled in both the exam and class section to avoid having their school charged for the corresponding exam registration fees. AP Coordinators should have students not enrolled in the class section contact their NCVPS teacher immediately to get the join code.
Spring Block AP Courses
There are multiple AP exam deadlines communicated by the College Board. This can be confusing. This is the first deadline:
- 11/13, 11:59 p.m. ET: Final ordering deadline. This is the deadline for the AP coordinator to submit the exam order for all full-year and first-semester AP courses, and all exam only sections. For details, go to Ordering Exam Materials.
For this deadline, schools need to submit exam orders for yearlong, fall, and any student they expect to take an AP class with us. It does not mean students enrolled in spring classes have to join our teachers section by that date.
Schools have another deadline in March to adjust their previous exam orders and make additions for students taking AP classes in the spring:
- 3/12, 11:59 p.m. ET: AP Exam order deadline for AP courses that begin after November 13 and changes to fall orders. Submit any changes to existing exam orders or submit new exam orders by this deadline.
- Check exam registrations. Before March 12, review any students listed as No or Undecided in AP Registration and Ordering and check with them to confirm their exam plans.
Students in our spring block AP courses will receive their join codes from our teachers once the spring classes start. This does not impact their ability to order exams for those students.
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Transfer Students – We can accept transfer students after regular enrollment has ended. Transfer students must be enrolled in the class at the face-to-face school, have instructional time with a teacher, and have a passing grade to transfer in with. We must also have an available seat in the course to accommodate the transfer.
Contact the Virtual Support Center to transfer students. Be sure to include the following in your ticket:
- student’s name
- PowerSchool ID#
- school name
- transfer grade
- course needed
- any student details that can help the NCVPS teacher
Transfer options will remain open through midterms each semester.
OCS Enrollments – We can still enroll OCS students into existing sections. We can’t open new OCS sections for schools, though.
Spring Semester – Enrollment is still open for Spring 2021. We have a lot of capacity in our spring courses. Your students may temporarily land on a waitlist until we begin opening new sections.
Flex Enrollments – Our Flex Learning enrollment option is available for students who have special circumstances or in an emergency situation. Visit our Flex Learning page to see if this option is right for your student’s situation.
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Meet Raj A., NCVirtual Peer Tutor
“When I originally took my first NCVPS class, I was looking to get ahead on my credits. The first class I took was during the summer before my ninth grade year as I was transitioning to high school. Until high school, there weren’t many choices you could have on the classes you signed up to take. The core classes were required as were many of the electives for my school. I looked into taking an NCVPS class because I wanted to get ahead on my high school path and prepare myself for higher curriculum. The very first class I took was Math 2 Honors. It was through this class that I was first introduced to the Peer Tutoring Center. Since then, I have taken many courses including Civics Honors and AP Government and Politics.”
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What Grades Are Currently Posted?
Sept. 10 – Progress Reports Posted in Registration System
What’s Next on the Schedule?
Sept. 24 – Progress Reports Posted in Registration System
Reporting Overview
See our Grades and Testing Quick Reference Guide for an overview of our reporting. We have details on our Student Status (No-Show) Reports, Progress Reports, Final Grade Reports, and how we calculate grades.
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Progress Report Action Steps
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What should your action steps be with our progress reports? We’re glad you asked! Here are a few steps you can take.
Schools have access to our posted progress reports. Parents, facilitators, and mentors can use the Canvas App for Parents to monitor student progress. Schools should check the following two items on every progress report:
- Check Student Progress – If you have any underperforming students, we have several supports ready for you. Students have time to improve their grades, but they should start immediately. Please review the following supports.
- Check Teacher Comments – Our teachers will request data that they need from school, like parent contact information and IEP/504 modifications. They may need the school to contact the student if the student has stopped logging into the course and does not respond to teacher communications.
We have several levels of support for students.
Student Help Page – If students are having any problems at all aren’t sure where to find help, they should visit our Student Help page. They are never more than two clicks away from help!
Peer Tutoring Center – Do not let this resource go unutilized for any student who needs help. There is a link to the Peer Tutoring Center in every course. Teacher Communications – Students do not always advocate for themselves very well. Go ahead and reach out to the NCVirtual teacher to see if adjustments can be made for struggling students. Our teachers are eager to help.
Intervention Strategies – NCVirtual has a list of intervention strategies for districts and schools to follow. These are good for any low-performing, under-performing, or at-risk students. Visit our Intervention Strategies page for details. Virtual Support Center – If you have a complicated support question or problem and don’t know where to start, open Virtual Support Center ticket. We will escalate your ticket to the right person. Be sure to include the student’s name, PowerSchool ID number, and your school name. If your ticket is about a specific course, please include the course name and teacher name.
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Digital Transition Webinar Series
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Our Digital Transition webinar series is back!
We have a great set of experienced online teachers lined up to bring you a webinar series with a variety of topics that will help you in your remote instruction and online learning environments. Here’s our schedule for this week:
Creating a Better Teaching Experience – Tuesday, September 22, 7:00 PM
This session will cover a myriad of topics to create a virtual teaching experience designed for success and optimal learning outcomes. Participants will also be introduced to the following topics:
- Start of the semester checklist
- Setting up a routine that makes sense
- Using SpeedGrader and the to-do list
- Hacks like changing SpeedGrader to sort students
- Using “Notes” in gradebook
Time Management and Shortcuts – Wednesday, September 23, 11:00 AM
This session will cover a myriad of topics to save time and increase productivity while teaching virtually. Participants will be introduced to the following topics:
Comment Banks and Text-Expander
Automatically graded quizzes
Saving announcements for future use
Importing from other courses
Course calendar to change due dates
Generic Rubrics that will “fit” many assignments
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The Outreach and Support team has office hours to Monday-Friday from noon to 1 p.m. Anyone can join, and we have breakout rooms ready if needed.
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NCVirtual is a support organization, and we are here to help! Check out our guides and support pages below.
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THANKS, EVERYONE!
Your North Carolina students appreciate your dedication and hard work!
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