Pennsylvania Virtual Charter School

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Pennsylvania Virtual Charter School
Type	Public (services available to any PA citizen)
Founded	Norristown, Pennsylvania
Headquarters	Pennsylvania
Industry	Education
Employees	210
Website	www.pavcs.org

The Pennsylvania Virtual Charter School (PAVCS) is a public virtual school of choice chartered and approved by the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) in 2001. PAVCS opened its doors on September 4, 2001. PAVCS serves more than 4 000 students throughout PA from kindergarten to 10th grade in a home-based setting. In 2006, PDE renewed the PAVCS charter for five more years, allowing it continue to grow to the 12th grade. PAVCS provides differentiated instruction through traditional regular education and special education programs.

PAVCS' Diamond Model Partnership is a collaborative partnership integrating parents, teachers, family support coordinators and K12 Inc. curriculum. State-of-the-art technology enhances a rigorous content-rich curriculum that allows for individualized instruction that gives children the opportunity to learn at home at a pace that meets the child's unique needs.

Contents 1 The PAVCS Mission 2 PAVCS' Vision 3 PAVCS' Four Core Principles 4 PAVCS Governance 4.1 PAVCS Board of Trustees 5 PAVCS Diamond Model Partnership 5.1 Parents as Academic Coaches 5.2 Teachers and Academic Support Services 5.3 Family Support Services 6 K12 Inc. Curriculum 7 Online Learning and Technology 7.1 Regular Education 7.2 Special Education 8 No Child Left Behind and the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment

[edit] The PAVCS Mission

The mission of PAVCS is to provide Pennsylvanian students with an excellent education, grounded in high academic standards, which will help them, achieve their full academic and social potential.

[edit] PAVCS' Vision

PAVCS will serve as an example of how a school's parents, students, and teachers can reach their goal of achieving an excellent education through the effective use of technology. In concept, design, and delivery, the school will be a model of innovation and excellence.

[edit] PAVCS' Four Core Principles

Four guiding principles govern the core philosophy of PAVCS:

1. At the heart of the core philosophy is the belief that all young people can achieve academic success, if they are provided rigorous instruction, high standards, informed guidance and individual attention.
2. Numerous studies have demonstrated that when parents become active and informed partners in their children's education, test scores rise, drop-out rates and apathy decline, and the active pursuit of learning becomes a compelling focus for each family. Therefore, the absolute necessity of parental engagement and partnership in the education of their children is another essential kernel of the core philosophy of PAVCS.
3. The PAVCS community believes the content and the quality and rigor of the curriculum directly effects students' academic performance and achievement.
4. Technology can be leveraged to be a powerful tool to support an effective education.

[edit] PAVCS Governance

As a public charter school approved by the Pennsylvania Department of Education, PAVCS is funded by state tax dollars and governed by Pennsylvania public school, charter school, cyber-charter school and applicable federal laws. The school's initial charter from September 2001 to June 30, 2006 was granted by the Norristown School District. Since the renewal of the school's charter, the Pennsylvania Department of Education serves as PAVCS' charter authorizer and monitors PAVCS' compliance with the stipulations of its charter. The school's current charter is for a period of five years from July 1, 2006 to June 30, 2011.

[edit] PAVCS Board of Trustees

PAVCS has a Board of Trustees comprised of parents and community members who are passionate about providing educational options to students in Pennsylvania. The role of the Board of Trustees is to govern the school. With a strong focus on student achievement, the Board also provides fiduciary oversight of the school's administration and accounting of public funds and ensures that PAVCS complies with applicable local, state and federal laws. The PAVCS Board of Trustees holds regularly scheduled meetings every other month. The Board convenes on special occasions as needed. In compliance with the Sunshine Law, Board meetings are advertised in newspapers, the school's calendar, and the PAVCS web site.

[edit] PAVCS Diamond Model Partnership

While the PAVCS education primarily takes place in the home, with the parent as an academic coach, PAVCS developed its Diamond Model Partnership as a collaborative partnership integrating parents, teachers, family support coordinators and K12 Inc. curriculum. In the Diamond Model Partnership:

• Teachers constantly partner with parents to assist with learning techniques, pacing issues, comprehension challenges, positive reinforcement, and other facets of the instruction experience.
• Family Support Coordinators partner with parents to offer non-academic support throughout the year

PAVCS' curriculum provider, K12 Inc., partners with parents to provide a rich and rigorous curriculum in all subject areas.

[edit] Parents as Academic Coaches

For the Diamond Model Partnership successful, PAVCS relies on dedicated teaching adults to serve as academic coaches within the home. In most cases the academic coach is a parent, but it is not a requirement – an academic coach can be a grandparent, aunt, uncle or adult sibling, etc. willing to dedicate 80 percent or more of his or her day to guide a student through the K12 Inc. curriculum and lessons. Our academic coaches are fully supported through every aspect of the education process. Certified PAVCS teachers who are readily available for conference every day and a family support coordinator assists with non-academic issues.

[edit] Teachers and Academic Support Services

PAVCS' hand-picked staff of certified teachers have years of experience in traditional school settings as well as home-based environments. As a public charter school must comply with all regulations outlined in the Federal No Child Left Behind law.

In addition to regular ongoing communication, parents and students interact with teachers and family support coordinators at: Monthly progress meetings; Parent/teacher workshops; Monthly outings; Discovery Days; Testing; and/or Co-curricular activities.

PAVCS participates in the federally funded Title One program to help meet the needs of students who need the most support to achieve academic success. PAVCS structures the Title I program in an innovative way by pairing a Title I teacher with a student through synchronous supplemental sessions in Reading and/or Math. Title I teachers reinforce concepts through synchronous, real-time interaction.

PAVCS' Step-Up Program offers small group instruction to provide services and support to improve educational opportunities for students with academic gaps. Step-Up helps children meet state content and performance standards in reading, language arts, and mathematics. Step-Up assists every child to become successful and to support every parent in this process, through our commitment to academic excellence.

PAVCS' Supporting Our Advanced learners to Reach their potential (SOAR) program provides academic and social support and identifies resources to help PAVCS' advanced learners in Grades 3-10 reach their full intellectual and social potential.

SOAR develops training for teachers, parents, and academic coaches to support the needs of advanced learners, and offers opportunities for advanced learners to interact and socialize with their peers. Students are identified through test scores, advanced grade level placement, previous identification as “gifted,” teacher recommendations, motivation, and the interest profile.

PAVCS also supports its educational community by developing co-curricular learning activities that enhance and enrich all students' educational experiences and further develop academics, creativity, and social skills through an atmosphere of fun and learning.

PAVCS Guidance Counselors provide social, academic, and career advisement while helping families with time management, family crisis, and unmotivated children.

[edit] Family Support Services

PAVCS provides supplemental programs to support the academic and social development of students. Student and Family Support Services supports families by ensuring open communication, providing opportunities for social interaction, developing school community, engaging parents, identifying resources for parents and making certain the intellectual and social needs of all students are met.

Family Support Coordinators are assigned to families to provide consistent one-on-one support for families throughout the school year. They guide parents and students in becoming acquainted with all aspects of PAVCS. Family Support Coordinators continue to work with families throughout the school year. In conjunction with parents, family support coordinators plan monthly geographically convenient outings which provide great opportunities for socialization, education and fun for all PAVCS families.

[edit] K12 Inc. Curriculum

PAVCS uses a comprehensive curriculum supplied by K12 Inc. Developed by a team of leading experts, ranging from Nobel laureates to veteran public and private school teachers, the K12 curriculum is known as one of the most researched and effective learning programs in the nation. The education experts who developed PAVCS' curriculum identified four basic approaches that optimize educational success and built them into our program:

1. Provide rich content and solid skills instruction: K12's curriculum is based on traditional core subject matter that allows students to learn continuously, from the earliest years through high school.
2. Employ varied learning approaches: Our lessons offer many ways to get all students actively engaged in their learning: reading, writing, calculating, speaking, listening, acting, drawing, painting, and more.
3. Use technology wisely: Your child's day is balanced between online learning and other approaches. We use technology only when it is the most effective means of learning and discovery.
4. Always improve: PAVCS uses the input of parents and our teachers to continually enrich and enhance the curriculum over time. This ensures that your children will always get the highest quality home-based education available.

[edit] Online Learning and Technology

PAVCS embraces state of the art technology to enhance one-on-one learning. PAVCS uses the Blackboard Academic Suite as its Instructional Management System allowing PAVCS students, faculty, and parents to access all school resources – email, instructional materials, announcements, course listings, class materials, and PAVCS discussions – in one easy-to-find and secure online location.

PAVCS uses Elluminate as its classroom and teachers desk. The white board is the teacher's chalkboard, bulletin board, overhead projector, and display. Elluminate is used by the teacher to instruct, conference, hold office hours for individualized help, or give students the chance to get to know each other.

[edit] Regular Education

The PAVCS educational experience begins with the effective use of placement testing to determine a student's level in the realm of math and language arts. Students are placed at their developmental skill level for math and language arts so as to meet the needs of the student.

• The PAVCS Elementary Program: one on one phonics' instruction, classic literature, step by step writing process, math journals, scientific process, hands-on science labs, chronological history approach, art and music appreciation and methods; and portfolio assignments.
• The PAVCS Middle School Program: generalist 6th grade teachers, subject-specific 7th and 8th grade teachers; portfolio assignments for each academic course; teacher-assigned grading; instructional Elluminate sessions; email correspondence with the teacher; conference calls; and teacher office hours to assist students.
• The PAVCS High School Program: high-quality, challenging courses with integrated assessments; high standards of accountability and performance; student-centered classes directed by state-certified teachers who are experts in their subject areas; students being intimately involved in determining the direction they take through high school; students meeting or exceeding Pennsylvania graduation requirements; and courses that are aligned to state standards and employ varying levels of teacher pacing and support.

[edit] Special Education

The PAVCS provides a special education program in accordance with applicable federal and state laws, regulations and guidelines. For those who require it, PAVCS delivers special education and related services at no cost to the parent or guardian.

[edit] No Child Left Behind and the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment

As a public charter school, PAVCS is required to meet all mandates outlined in the Federal No Child Left Behind law. The Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA) is Pennsylvania's achievement test required by the Federal No Child Left Behind law, and must be taken by all students to measure academic standards and determine the level to which schools enable students to become proficient. The PSSA is scored on standards of Advanced, Proficient, Basic and Below Basic. Current NCLB standards require 54 percent of students scoring proficient or above in Reading and 45 percent scoring proficient or above in Math.

For the 2005-2006 school year, the Pennsylvania Virtual Charter School met or exceeded all No Child Left Behind academic performance targets related to the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment. The percentage of PAVCS students scoring Proficient/Advanced on the 2005-2006 PSSA are:

• Grade 3: Reading 68%; Math 73%
• Grade 4: Reading 71%; Math 71%
• Grade 5: Reading 55%; Math 47%
• Grade 6: Reading 67%; Math 62%
• Grade 7: Reading 76%; Math 58%
• Grade 8: Reading 67%; Math 46%