Full-time virtual schools face many of the same challenges as brick-and-mortal schools: funding, staffing, curriculum, technology, and operations. Imagine Learning Instructional Services can partner with you to address your curriculum and staffing concerns-and can advise on many other factors that impact students learning full-time from home.
Research has shown that a student’s engagement within the first two weeks of the course is a tremendous predictor of success in the course. It is critical to communicate often with your students and the instructors during this time.
Imagine Learning’s Partnership Advisors are happy to consult with you to help establish goals and policies for your virtual school.
Best Practices:
- Clearly define enrollment dates and semester start and end dates.
- Establish clear and measurable goals for your program. For example, bring X% of home schooling or virtual schooling students back to the district.
- Set clear policies and procedures and be sure to communicate these to parents and families during the recruitment and orientation periods.
- Recruit students who will learn successfully in this environment. Consider time management, communication, and self-motivation skills.
- Build pathways for extracurricular activities to keep students connected to your district and their peers.
- Identify and train strong mentors who will serve as a liaison between students, parents, and Imagine Learning's virtual instructors.
- Act quickly to move students into a more conducive learning environment if they are not experiencing success. Since a full-time virtual environment is not right for all students, it is far better to reach agreement with the family sooner rather than later that the setting is not a good fit.