Are Charter Schools Really Public Schools?

So this item scrolled through my inbox from Education Dive

Justice Dept asks Supreme Court not to hear North Carolina charter school case

The case raises the question of whether a private nonprofit authorized by the state to operate a public charter school is subject to federal requirements.

This is just another example of a private company that is directly or indirectly operating a public school arguing in court that it is not a public entity and therefore doesn’t have to follow the same rules and regulations that all other public schools have to follow.

If you do a quick search on the question “are charter schools public schools?” you’ll find a slew of school choice and charter school organizations and proponents that make the claim that charter schools are indeed public schools.  However, as we have seen in case after case, the companies that operate so many of these charter schools (and the vast majority of cyber charter schools based on student attendance), the companies have argued that they are not public schools and don’t have to disclose information or don’t have to follow certain regulations (and often these regulations are around providing services to students).

So give us your public money, but don’t you dare hold us to the same standards as public schools…  At least that would be more intellectually honest than the “a charter school is a public school” line that you see littered all over their marketing and promotion!

NCVirtual E-lert for May 24, 2023 (Credit Recovery Added to Summer Catalog)

An item from a US-based K-12 online learning program.

May 24, 2023 Greetings, everyone! We have some great news to share! We will offer credit recovery courses this summer! See the details in our News and Updates section below. Final grades will be posted Thursday, May 25. This report will have both Standard Start and Early Start final grades. Action Item If you’re registering students for summer, we need your school’s or district’s summer contact information. This is an urgent need for our summer school teachers. Please complete our Summer Contact Information form. Please forward this e-lert to any stakeholders who may need it. They can subscribe to the e-lert here. 2023-2024 Guide Grade Reporting Office Hours News & Updates Credit Recovery Returns to NCVPS Summer School We are adding 16 credit recovery courses to our summer catalog. Your special ESSER III funds for summer will cover these enrollments. In the coming days, we will add these courses to our registration system: CR NC Math 1 CR NC Math 2 CR NC Math 3 CR NC Math 4 CR Pre-Calculus Honors CR American History CR Founding Principles of the United States of America and North Carolina: Civic Literacy CR World History CR English 1 CR English 2 CR English 3 CR English 4 CR Biology CR Earth/Environmental Science CR Physical Science CR Health and Physical Education Free Professional Development Did you know we offer over 50 free, self-paced professional development courses? Check out our Professional Development page to find the course that’s right for you. District and School Stakeholder Survey Please complete our District and School Stakeholder Survey Survey. This survey is intended to provide feedback from district and school stakeholders related to the North Carolina Virtual Public School. We will use your input to improve NCVPS processes, communication efforts, and the planning of courses and programs as we strive to serve schools and districts. This survey will take approximately 10-15 minutes to complete. Be sure to submit your survey responses by June 16. Thank you for participating and helping us build the future! Partnership Course Program Let us provide the technology, content, training, and support. Schools or districts provide the teachers. See our Partnership Course Program page for details. Digital Transition Webinars The Digital Transition Webinars move forward into the month of May. See our transition page for details and registration. End of Semester Reminders We have a few tips for schools to help close out the semester. Following these steps will help with the success of your students and help you have grades prepared for your final report cards. EOC and CTE Testing Schools must administer all EOC and CTE state tests. (Note: Some CTE courses do not have a state test.) Schools will also need to average the EOC and CTE scores into the grades that we post for those courses. If you’ve not already made arrangements with your school’s testing coordinator, please do that right away. Our final grade report will have EOC and CTE anticipated scores for your testing coordinators. Grades Our final grade report will show the weighted coursework grade (80%) and the final exam grade (20%), and final grade. EOC and CTE courses will only show the one marking period grades. Schools will need to calculate in the EOC and CTE state test grades. Follow this link to see what the final grade report will look like. Report Cards and Transcripts Schools must enter grades into PowerSchool. Be sure the data manager has access to the grade report and understands our grade calculations. Be sure to examine the spreadsheet closely to find the final grade. This will be essential when your data manager enters NCVPS grades into PowerSchool to avoid data entry errors. Middle School Reporting Middle schools should ensure that they use the NCVPS course codes so that their students can receive high school credit for high school courses that they take with us. You can find course codes in our catalog or in the second column of any grade report. NCAA Eligibility Center Please see our “Reporting NCVPS Classes On Transcripts for the NCAA” quick reference guide here. There are some essential reporting steps to take to ensure a student’s NCAA eligibility. Grade Questions If you have questions about a student’s grade, you should send those directly to the student’s teacher or submit a help ticket to the Virtual Support Center. Registration 2023-2024 Registration is open for the 2023-2024 school year! Here are the resources you need to get started. Summer Funding Don’t miss the State Board’s special funding for NCVPS summer school. Be sure to use your funds! It’s no cost for your district or charter. See our full announcement with all the details. Summer Contact Information If you’re registering students for summer, we need your school’s or district’s summer contact information. This is an urgent need for our summer school teachers. Please complete our Summer Contact Information form. IEP Modifications in our Registration System We have a new and easy process for sharing IEP modifications. Be sure to watch our how-to video guide for this new process. NCVPS in NCEdCloud NCVPS is now in NCEdCloud for easy student access. See our announcement for full details. Academic Guides We have two guides for you: Summer 2023 2023-2024 Academic Year And don’t miss our 2023-2024 Catalog and 2023-2024 Calendar. Course Spotlight Current Reporting What Grades Are Currently Posted? May 18- Final Grades Posted for Early Start Classes What’s Next on the Schedule? May 25 – Final Grades Posted for Standard Start Classes Progress Report Action Steps What should your action steps be with our progress reports? We’re glad you asked! Visit our Progress Report Action Steps page for all the details. A Snapshot of NCVirtual Grading Guidelines See our Snapshot of NCVirtual Grading Guidelines for a quick overview of NCVirtual’s grading and testing policies and procedures. Please note that NCVirtual teachers must adhere to the NCVirtual grading guidelines, practices, and procedures which can be found in our Grading and Testing Quick Reference Guide. NCVirtual teachers cannot adjust their NCVirtual grading guidelines, practices, and procedures based on a local school’s or district’s policy. 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. Progress Check Be sure to do a progress check on your NCVirtual students. We post progress grades every two weeks in our registration system. Here’s what you can do. Download the most recent progress report (see our download guide). Look at both the grades and the teachers’ comments. Determine which students need assistance. If they aren’t showing mastery (80%+), they can use some support. Reach out to our teachers for your students who need help. Our teachers have a number of support plans and will work with students to help them catch up. ELAs, facilitators, and parents can use the Canvas App or Canvas Portal to track student progress and communicate with instructors. If parents are interested in helping, this is the best way to do it. We also have a guide for parents and facilitators. If students are working off campus, consider bringing them back into a lab until they are passing. Logging in consistently and working are key to student success. Have students sign up for NCVPS Peer Tutoring. The link to the Peer Tutoring Center is on the home page of every course. Our Peer Tutoring Center offers many services, but these are the various support services: Peer Tutoring – Peer Tutors provide tutoring in specific content areas. Virtual Buddy – Virtual Buddies are select student volunteers who have agreed to work with NCVPS students who need more than content help in their online classes. Quick Questions – Services are available to all students at the start of the semester. Writing Center – Are students working on an essay? The Writing Center can help. Tech Support – For students who need some tech help with their courses. English Language Learners – Have your ELL students sign up for this. 6. Be sure students are aware of our basic support structure: Teachers help with course questions and course content. The Virtual Support Center helps with technology issues in the course and login issues. Peer Tutoring Center can provide additional support. The school’s ELAs can help students with enrolling and withdrawing from a course and with transcript and report card questions about their NCVPS classes. 7. See our full list of progress report action steps. 8. Chat with our virtual support team. Visit our Outreach Office Hours any day at noon. We are there to help! Previous News & Updates Did you miss an e-lert? Check out our previous news items and updates below. NCVPS In-Real-Time Pilot NCVPS & EVAAS Rosters End of Semester Reminders German I & II for Spring 2023 NCVPS Honors Current Enrollment Options – October, 2022 AP Join Codes No-Show Reporting CTE Internships  Social Studies Courses with Old Standards Added to Catalog Health and PE 1/2 Credit Courses AP Chemistry Course Materials OCS Enrollments – Adding a Second Classroom Teacher TOT2 (Teacher Online Training) Registration Is Open New District OCS Enrollment Option page Final Grade Reports – Option of 2 Dates for Fall 22 & Spring 23 Permalinks Engage More with NCVirtual Digital Transition Series Our professional development sessions feature interactive conversation webinars for educators. We have three sessions in February. Check out our Digital Transitions webpage for details and registration. Virtual Schools Network The VSN is a great opportunity for all the virtual academies and schools in the state. The VSN creates capacity-building opportunities, designs quality courses, and more. Visit the VSN website to join the network today. Partnership Course Program Let us provide the technology, content, training, and support. Schools or districts provide the teachers. See our Partnership Course Program page for details. Our Teacher Online Training course is a free professional development program for NC public and charter school teachers designed to prepare and support educators as they work in online and remote learning environments. Our E-learning Advisor Orientation course will help support you in the role of E-Learning Advisor to NC Virtual students. Learn about the funding formula, the registration process, our grading policy, and more. The NCVirtual Office Hours meets each weekday, M-F from 12:00-12:30 p.m. Teachers, administrators, parents, and students are welcome to drop in and have their questions answered. Student Life Get Involved! NCVirtual offers many ways students can participate in extra-curricular activities. Check out our Culture Cafe series, the iWorkNC speaker series, our various clubs, and free tutoring! See our Student Life page for details. Connecting with Parents As virtual learning has become a part of everyday learning for most families across North Carolina, many parents, guardians, and mentors continue to struggle with how to support their online learners in blended and online classes. To provide resources and strategies for how to support not only our NCVirtual students, but all online learners in North Carolina, NCVirtual has created two Supporting Online Students (SOS) video courses in Canvas. Both courses are free, open to the public, and do not require login credentials. Please share both links with your educational communities and parent networks.  Supporting Students – All NC The first course, Supporting Online Students – All NC, is general in nature and is designed for parents, guardians, and mentors of any student who is participating in a blended or online course or is enrolled in a fully online program regardless of school or grade level. Supporting Students – NCVPS The second course, Supporting Online Students – NCVirtual, is specific to NC Virtual and includes specific examples, demonstrations, and resources for NC Virtual parents, guardians, and mentors. Get Our Apps! NCVirtual has a mobile app, and Canvas has two mobile apps and a web portal. What does each one do? We’re glad you asked! Here you go: NCVirtual App: Stay connected with what’s happening at NCVirtual. Think of these as “front office” notifications. Canvas Apps and Web Portal: Connect with a student’s course, see grades, due dates, pacing guides, and message the teacher. Check out the guide on our Mobile Apps page to see when and where it’s best to use each app or portal. Mobile Apps Thank you, everyone! Your North Carolina students appreciate your dedication and hard work! {View as Webpage} | Subscribe

North Carolina Virtual Public School | 343 E. Six Forks Road, Suite 130, Raleigh, NC 27609

NCVPS District and School Stakeholder Survey

An item from a US-based K-12 online learning program.

Hello, everyone! It’s that time of year when we survey districts and schools about our performance. Please complete our District and School Stakeholder Survey. The survey will close on June 16. This survey is intended to provide feedback from district and school stakeholders related to the North Carolina Virtual Public School. We will use your input to improve NCVPS processes, communication efforts, and the planning of courses and programs as we strive to serve schools and districts. This survey will take approximately 10-15 minutes to complete. Be sure to submit your survey responses by June 16. Thank you for participating and helping us build the future! Thank you, everyone! Your North Carolina students appreciate your dedication and hard work! {View as Webpage} | Subscribe

North Carolina Virtual Public School | 1017 Main Campus Drive, Partners I Bldg., SUITE 3900, Raleigh, NC 27606

NCVirtual E-lert for May 16, 2023 (Stakeholder Survey and Summer Contact Information)

An item from a US-based K-12 online learning program.

May 16, 2023 Greetings, everyone! Your NCVPS courses are complete! Check out our End of Semester Reminders to see how to close out your NCVPS semester. Action Item If you’re registering students for summer, we need your school’s or district’s summer contact information. This is an urgent need for our summer school teachers. Please complete our Summer Contact Information form. Please forward this e-lert to any stakeholders who may need it. They can subscribe to the e-lert here. 2023-2024 Guide Grade Reporting Office Hours Please complete our District and School District and School Stakeholder Survey Survey. This survey is intended to provide feedback from district stakeholders related to the North Carolina Virtual Public School. Your input will be used to help improve NCVPS processes and communication efforts as well as planning of courses and programs as we strive to serve schools and districts. This survey will take approximately 10-15 minutes to complete. Thank you for participating! End of Semester Reminders The end of the semester is approaching, and we have a few tips for schools to help close out the semester. Following these steps will help with the success of your students and help you have grades prepared for your final report cards. Timeline Students will not be able to submit assignments after the last day of class! Mark these dates on your calendar for the close of Fall 2022 classes: Last Day of Early Start Classes: May 5 Grades Posted for Early Start Classes: May 18 Last Day of Standard Start: May 12 Grades Posted for Standard Start Classes: May 25 EOC and CTE Testing Schools must administer all EOC and CTE state tests. (Note: Some CTE courses do not have a state test.) Schools will also need to average the EOC and CTE scores into the grades that we post for those courses. If you’ve not already made arrangements with your school’s testing coordinator, please do that right away. Our final grade report will have EOC and CTE anticipated scores for your testing coordinators. Exam Exemptions NCVirtual teachers are expected to give final exams or final projects in non-EOC courses and CTE courses that require teacher-made exams. If your district has a policy to exempt seniors (or others) from final exams, here is the NCVirtual process. Notify your students and the NCVirtual teachers that your students will not take the final exam based on your district’s or charter school’s policy. On the NCVirtual final grade report, we report three grades: Classwork (80%), Final Exam (20%), Final Grade. If you notify our teachers about the exam exemptions, they will enter “EX” (exemption) for the exam grade. The classwork grade will then be used for the final grade. If you have students with exam exemptions and have not notified our teachers, only use the Classwork grade for the final grade. You will not record our Final Exam grade and the Final Grade for exempted students. In addition, schools may recalculate the final overall grade by adjusting the weighting of the final exam/project to align with local policies. Grades Our final grade report will show the weighted coursework grade (80%) and the final exam grade (20%), and final grade. EOC and CTE courses will only show the one marking period grades. Schools will need to calculate in the EOC and CTE state test grades. Follow this link to see what the final grade report will look like. NCVPS Grading Policies You will want to be aware of our grading policy and how we weight grades, especially for state-tested courses where you will need to calculate the final grade once you receive your test scores. Review our Grades Quick Reference Guide to see how we calculate grades. Report Cards and Transcripts Schools must enter grades into PowerSchool. Be sure the data manager has access to the grade report and understands our grade calculations. Be sure to examine the spreadsheet closely to find the final grade. This will be essential when your data manager enters NCVPS grades into PowerSchool to avoid data entry errors. Middle School Reporting Middle schools should ensure that they use the NCVPS course codes so that their students can receive high school credit for high school courses that they take with us. You can find course codes in our catalog or in the second column of any grade report. NCAA Eligibility Center Please see our “Reporting NCVPS Classes On Transcripts for the NCAA” quick reference guide here. There are some essential reporting steps to take to ensure a student’s NCAA eligibility. Grade Questions If you have questions about a student’s grade, you should send those directly to the student’s teacher or submit a help ticket to the Virtual Support Center. Extensions We are able to grant a five-day extension for fall and spring courses and a three-day extension for summer courses. These extensions do not require approval from our Instructional Directors. Instead, schools will work directly with the NCVPS teacher for the extension. If a longer extension is required, the teacher will work with the Instructional Director on a case-by-case basis. Registration 2023-2024 Registration is open for the 2023-2024 school year! Here are the resources you need to get started. Summer Funding Don’t miss the State Board’s special funding for NCVPS summer school. Be sure to use your funds! It’s no cost for your district or charter. See our full announcement with all the details. Summer Contact Information If you’re registering students for summer, we need your school’s or district’s summer contact information. This is an urgent need for our summer school teachers. Please complete our Summer Contact Information form. IEP Modifications in our Registration System We have a new and easy process for sharing IEP modifications. Be sure to watch our how-to video guide for this new process. NCVPS in NCEdCloud NCVPS is now in NCEdCloud for easy student access. See our announcement for full details. Academic Guides We have two guides for you: Summer 2023 2023-2024 Academic Year And don’t miss our 2023-2024 Catalog and 2023-2024 Calendar. News & Updates Partnership Course Program Let us provide the technology, content, training, and support. Schools or districts provide the teachers. See our Partnership Course Program page for details. Digital Transition Webinars The Digital Transition Webinars move forward into the month of May. See our transition page for details and registration. Course Spotlight Current Reporting What Grades Are Currently Posted? May 4- Progress Reports Posted in the NCVPS Registration System What’s Next on the Schedule? May 18- Final Grades Posted for Early Start Classes May 25 – Final Grades Posted for Standard Start Classes Progress Report Action Steps What should your action steps be with our progress reports? We’re glad you asked! Visit our Progress Report Action Steps page for all the details. A Snapshot of NCVirtual Grading Guidelines See our Snapshot of NCVirtual Grading Guidelines for a quick overview of NCVirtual’s grading and testing policies and procedures. Please note that NCVirtual teachers must adhere to the NCVirtual grading guidelines, practices, and procedures which can be found in our Grading and Testing Quick Reference Guide. NCVirtual teachers cannot adjust their NCVirtual grading guidelines, practices, and procedures based on a local school’s or district’s policy. 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. Progress Check Be sure to do a progress check on your NCVirtual students. We post progress grades every two weeks in our registration system. Here’s what you can do. Download the most recent progress report (see our download guide). Look at both the grades and the teachers’ comments. Determine which students need assistance. If they aren’t showing mastery (80%+), they can use some support. Reach out to our teachers for your students who need help. Our teachers have a number of support plans and will work with students to help them catch up. ELAs, facilitators, and parents can use the Canvas App or Canvas Portal to track student progress and communicate with instructors. If parents are interested in helping, this is the best way to do it. We also have a guide for parents and facilitators. If students are working off campus, consider bringing them back into a lab until they are passing. Logging in consistently and working are key to student success. Have students sign up for NCVPS Peer Tutoring. The link to the Peer Tutoring Center is on the home page of every course. Our Peer Tutoring Center offers many services, but these are the various support services: Peer Tutoring – Peer Tutors provide tutoring in specific content areas. Virtual Buddy – Virtual Buddies are select student volunteers who have agreed to work with NCVPS students who need more than content help in their online classes. Quick Questions – Services are available to all students at the start of the semester. Writing Center – Are students working on an essay? The Writing Center can help. Tech Support – For students who need some tech help with their courses. English Language Learners – Have your ELL students sign up for this. 6. Be sure students are aware of our basic support structure: Teachers help with course questions and course content. The Virtual Support Center helps with technology issues in the course and login issues. Peer Tutoring Center can provide additional support. The school’s ELAs can help students with enrolling and withdrawing from a course and with transcript and report card questions about their NCVPS classes. 7. See our full list of progress report action steps. 8. Chat with our virtual support team. Visit our Outreach Office Hours any day at noon. We are there to help! Previous News & Updates Did you miss an e-lert? Check out our previous news items and updates below. NCVPS In-Real-Time Pilot NCVPS & EVAAS Rosters End of Semester Reminders German I & II for Spring 2023 NCVPS Honors Current Enrollment Options – October, 2022 AP Join Codes No-Show Reporting CTE Internships  Social Studies Courses with Old Standards Added to Catalog Health and PE 1/2 Credit Courses AP Chemistry Course Materials OCS Enrollments – Adding a Second Classroom Teacher TOT2 (Teacher Online Training) Registration Is Open New District OCS Enrollment Option page Final Grade Reports – Option of 2 Dates for Fall 22 & Spring 23 Permalinks Engage More with NCVirtual Digital Transition Series Our professional development sessions feature interactive conversation webinars for educators. We have three sessions in February. Check out our Digital Transitions webpage for details and registration. Virtual Schools Network The VSN is a great opportunity for all the virtual academies and schools in the state. The VSN creates capacity-building opportunities, designs quality courses, and more. Visit the VSN website to join the network today. Partnership Course Program Let us provide the technology, content, training, and support. Schools or districts provide the teachers. See our Partnership Course Program page for details. Our Teacher Online Training course is a free professional development program for NC public and charter school teachers designed to prepare and support educators as they work in online and remote learning environments. Our E-learning Advisor Orientation course will help support you in the role of E-Learning Advisor to NC Virtual students. Learn about the funding formula, the registration process, our grading policy, and more. The NCVirtual Office Hours meets each weekday, M-F from 12:00-12:30 p.m. Teachers, administrators, parents, and students are welcome to drop in and have their questions answered. Student Life Get Involved! NCVirtual offers many ways students can participate in extra-curricular activities. Check out our Culture Cafe series, the iWorkNC speaker series, our various clubs, and free tutoring! See our Student Life page for details. Connecting with Parents As virtual learning has become a part of everyday learning for most families across North Carolina, many parents, guardians, and mentors continue to struggle with how to support their online learners in blended and online classes. To provide resources and strategies for how to support not only our NCVirtual students, but all online learners in North Carolina, NCVirtual has created two Supporting Online Students (SOS) video courses in Canvas. Both courses are free, open to the public, and do not require login credentials. Please share both links with your educational communities and parent networks.  Supporting Students – All NC The first course, Supporting Online Students – All NC, is general in nature and is designed for parents, guardians, and mentors of any student who is participating in a blended or online course or is enrolled in a fully online program regardless of school or grade level. Supporting Students – NCVPS The second course, Supporting Online Students – NCVirtual, is specific to NC Virtual and includes specific examples, demonstrations, and resources for NC Virtual parents, guardians, and mentors. Get Our Apps! NCVirtual has a mobile app, and Canvas has two mobile apps and a web portal. What does each one do? We’re glad you asked! Here you go: NCVirtual App: Stay connected with what’s happening at NCVirtual. Think of these as “front office” notifications. Canvas Apps and Web Portal: Connect with a student’s course, see grades, due dates, pacing guides, and message the teacher. Check out the guide on our Mobile Apps page to see when and where it’s best to use each app or portal. Mobile Apps Thank you, everyone! Your North Carolina students appreciate your dedication and hard work! {View as Webpage} | Subscribe

North Carolina Virtual Public School | 1017 Main Campus Drive, Partners I Bldg., SUITE 3900, Raleigh, NC 27606

NCVirtual E-lert for May 10, 2023 (Standard Start Classes End This Friday)

An item from a US-based K-12 online learning program.

May 10, 2023 Greetings, everyone! Early Start classes ended last Friday, and Standard Start classes end this Friday. Check out our End of Semester Reminders below. We also have a new ELA of the Year! Congratulations, Melissa Boswell! Please forward this e-lert to any stakeholders who may need it. They can subscribe to the e-lert here. 2023-2024 Guide Grade Reporting Office Hours ELA of the Year Congratulations to our ELA of the Year, Melissa Boswell! Melissa has been the Davie County High School E-Learning Advisor for 15 years. Her innovation has served as a model for other schools, contributing to the success of NCVPS students. Congratulations, Melissa, on this well-deserved award! Our team was excited to present the award to Melissa! Thanks to Dr. Pruitt for helping us with the surprise visit! Pictured from left to right: Dr. Mia Murphy, NCVPS Executive Director; Amber Parker, Director of Outreach and Support; Melissa Boswell, ELA of the Year!; Dr. Michael E. Pruitt, Principal Davie County High; Dr. Lashaundon Perkins, Outreach Coordinator; Marcia Simmons, Chief Operations Officer. End of Semester Reminders The end of the semester is approaching, and we have a few tips for schools to help close out the semester. Following these steps will help with the success of your students and help you have grades prepared for your final report cards. Timeline Students will not be able to submit assignments after the last day of class! Mark these dates on your calendar for the close of Fall 2022 classes: Last Day of Early Start Classes: May 5 Grades Posted for Early Start Classes: May 18 Last Day of Standard Start: May 12 Grades Posted for Standard Start Classes: May 25 EOC and CTE Testing Schools must administer all EOC and CTE state tests. (Note: Some CTE courses do not have a state test.) Schools will also need to average the EOC and CTE scores into the grades that we post for those courses. If you’ve not already made arrangements with your school’s testing coordinator, please do that right away. Our final grade report will have EOC and CTE anticipated scores for your testing coordinators. Exam Exemptions NCVirtual teachers are expected to give final exams or final projects in non-EOC courses and CTE courses that require teacher-made exams. If your district has a policy to exempt seniors (or others) from final exams, here is the NCVirtual process. Notify your students and the NCVirtual teachers that your students will not take the final exam based on your district’s or charter school’s policy. On the NCVirtual final grade report, we report three grades: Classwork (80%), Final Exam (20%), Final Grade. If you notify our teachers about the exam exemptions, they will enter “EX” (exemption) for the exam grade. The classwork grade will then be used for the final grade. If you have students with exam exemptions and have not notified our teachers, only use the Classwork grade for the final grade. You will not record our Final Exam grade and the Final Grade for exempted students. In addition, schools may recalculate the final overall grade by adjusting the weighting of the final exam/project to align with local policies. Grades Our final grade report will show the weighted coursework grade (80%) and the final exam grade (20%), and final grade. EOC and CTE courses will only show the one marking period grades. Schools will need to calculate in the EOC and CTE state test grades. Follow this link to see what the final grade report will look like. NCVPS Grading Policies You will want to be aware of our grading policy and how we weight grades, especially for state-tested courses where you will need to calculate the final grade once you receive your test scores. Review our Grades Quick Reference Guide to see how we calculate grades. Report Cards and Transcripts Schools must enter grades into PowerSchool. Be sure the data manager has access to the grade report and understands our grade calculations. Be sure to examine the spreadsheet closely to find the final grade. This will be essential when your data manager enters NCVPS grades into PowerSchool to avoid data entry errors. Middle School Reporting Middle schools should ensure that they use the NCVPS course codes so that their students can receive high school credit for high school courses that they take with us. You can find course codes in our catalog or in the second column of any grade report. NCAA Eligibility Center Please see our “Reporting NCVPS Classes On Transcripts for the NCAA” quick reference guide here. There are some essential reporting steps to take to ensure a student’s NCAA eligibility. Grade Questions If you have questions about a student’s grade, you should send those directly to the student’s teacher or submit a help ticket to the Virtual Support Center. Extensions We are able to grant a five-day extension for fall and spring courses and a three-day extension for summer courses. These extensions do not require approval from our Instructional Directors. Instead, schools will work directly with the NCVPS teacher for the extension. If a longer extension is required, the teacher will work with the Instructional Director on a case-by-case basis. Registration 2023-2024 Registration is open for the 2023-2024 school year! Here are the resources you need to get started. Summer Funding Don’t miss the State Board’s special funding for NCVPS summer school. Be sure to use your funds! It’s no cost for your district or charter. See our full announcement with all the details. Summer Contact Information If you’re registering students for summer, we need your school’s or district’s summer contact information. This is an urgent need for our summer school teachers. Please complete our Summer Contact Information form. IEP Modifications in our Registration System We have a new and easy process for sharing IEP modifications. Be sure to watch our how-to video guide for this new process. NCVPS in NCEdCloud NCVPS is now in NCEdCloud for easy student access. See our announcement for full details. Academic Guides We have two guides for you: Summer 2023 2023-2024 Academic Year And don’t miss our 2023-2024 Catalog and 2023-2024 Calendar. News & Updates NCVPS Is Hiring NCVPS is hiring a Curriculum Coordinator Specialist. See the job announcement here. Applications will be accepted through Friday, May 12th, via our state application system. You will need to create an account if you have never applied through this system prior. Partnership Course Program Let us provide the technology, content, training, and support. Schools or districts provide the teachers. See our Partnership Course Program page for details. Digital Transition Webinars The Digital Transition Webinars move forward into the month of May. See our transition page for details and registration. Course Spotlight Current Reporting What Grades Are Currently Posted? May 4- Progress Reports Posted in the NCVPS Registration System What’s Next on the Schedule? May 18- Final Grades Posted for Early Start Classes May 25 – Final Grades Posted for Standard Start Classes Progress Report Action Steps What should your action steps be with our progress reports? We’re glad you asked! Visit our Progress Report Action Steps page for all the details. A Snapshot of NCVirtual Grading Guidelines See our Snapshot of NCVirtual Grading Guidelines for a quick overview of NCVirtual’s grading and testing policies and procedures. Please note that NCVirtual teachers must adhere to the NCVirtual grading guidelines, practices, and procedures which can be found in our Grading and Testing Quick Reference Guide. NCVirtual teachers cannot adjust their NCVirtual grading guidelines, practices, and procedures based on a local school’s or district’s policy. 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. Progress Check Be sure to do a progress check on your NCVirtual students. We post progress grades every two weeks in our registration system. Here’s what you can do. Download the most recent progress report (see our download guide). Look at both the grades and the teachers’ comments. Determine which students need assistance. If they aren’t showing mastery (80%+), they can use some support. Reach out to our teachers for your students who need help. Our teachers have a number of support plans and will work with students to help them catch up. ELAs, facilitators, and parents can use the Canvas App or Canvas Portal to track student progress and communicate with instructors. If parents are interested in helping, this is the best way to do it. We also have a guide for parents and facilitators. If students are working off campus, consider bringing them back into a lab until they are passing. Logging in consistently and working are key to student success. Have students sign up for NCVPS Peer Tutoring. The link to the Peer Tutoring Center is on the home page of every course. Our Peer Tutoring Center offers many services, but these are the various support services: Peer Tutoring – Peer Tutors provide tutoring in specific content areas. Virtual Buddy – Virtual Buddies are select student volunteers who have agreed to work with NCVPS students who need more than content help in their online classes. Quick Questions – Services are available to all students at the start of the semester. Writing Center – Are students working on an essay? The Writing Center can help. Tech Support – For students who need some tech help with their courses. English Language Learners – Have your ELL students sign up for this. 6. Be sure students are aware of our basic support structure: Teachers help with course questions and course content. The Virtual Support Center helps with technology issues in the course and login issues. Peer Tutoring Center can provide additional support. The school’s ELAs can help students with enrolling and withdrawing from a course and with transcript and report card questions about their NCVPS classes. 7. See our full list of progress report action steps. 8. Chat with our virtual support team. Visit our Outreach Office Hours any day at noon. We are there to help! Previous News & Updates Did you miss an e-lert? Check out our previous news items and updates below. NCVPS In-Real-Time Pilot NCVPS & EVAAS Rosters End of Semester Reminders German I & II for Spring 2023 NCVPS Honors Current Enrollment Options – October, 2022 AP Join Codes No-Show Reporting CTE Internships  Social Studies Courses with Old Standards Added to Catalog Health and PE 1/2 Credit Courses AP Chemistry Course Materials OCS Enrollments – Adding a Second Classroom Teacher TOT2 (Teacher Online Training) Registration Is Open New District OCS Enrollment Option page Final Grade Reports – Option of 2 Dates for Fall 22 & Spring 23 Permalinks Engage More with NCVirtual Digital Transition Series Our professional development sessions feature interactive conversation webinars for educators. We have three sessions in February. Check out our Digital Transitions webpage for details and registration. Virtual Schools Network The VSN is a great opportunity for all the virtual academies and schools in the state. The VSN creates capacity-building opportunities, designs quality courses, and more. Visit the VSN website to join the network today. Partnership Course Program Let us provide the technology, content, training, and support. Schools or districts provide the teachers. See our Partnership Course Program page for details. Our Teacher Online Training course is a free professional development program for NC public and charter school teachers designed to prepare and support educators as they work in online and remote learning environments. Our E-learning Advisor Orientation course will help support you in the role of E-Learning Advisor to NC Virtual students. Learn about the funding formula, the registration process, our grading policy, and more. The NCVirtual Office Hours meets each weekday, M-F from 12:00-12:30 p.m. Teachers, administrators, parents, and students are welcome to drop in and have their questions answered. Student Life Get Involved! NCVirtual offers many ways students can participate in extra-curricular activities. Check out our Culture Cafe series, the iWorkNC speaker series, our various clubs, and free tutoring! See our Student Life page for details. Connecting with Parents As virtual learning has become a part of everyday learning for most families across North Carolina, many parents, guardians, and mentors continue to struggle with how to support their online learners in blended and online classes. To provide resources and strategies for how to support not only our NCVirtual students, but all online learners in North Carolina, NCVirtual has created two Supporting Online Students (SOS) video courses in Canvas. Both courses are free, open to the public, and do not require login credentials. Please share both links with your educational communities and parent networks.  Supporting Students – All NC The first course, Supporting Online Students – All NC, is general in nature and is designed for parents, guardians, and mentors of any student who is participating in a blended or online course or is enrolled in a fully online program regardless of school or grade level. Supporting Students – NCVPS The second course, Supporting Online Students – NCVirtual, is specific to NC Virtual and includes specific examples, demonstrations, and resources for NC Virtual parents, guardians, and mentors. Get Our Apps! NCVirtual has a mobile app, and Canvas has two mobile apps and a web portal. What does each one do? We’re glad you asked! Here you go: NCVirtual App: Stay connected with what’s happening at NCVirtual. Think of these as “front office” notifications. Canvas Apps and Web Portal: Connect with a student’s course, see grades, due dates, pacing guides, and message the teacher. Check out the guide on our Mobile Apps page to see when and where it’s best to use each app or portal. Mobile Apps Thank you, everyone! Your North Carolina students appreciate your dedication and hard work! {View as Webpage} | Subscribe

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