Opinions Welcome On Arizona Virtual Academy (Flagstaff: high school, universities, law)

[twiggy]

Originally Posted by tina123456

I go to AZVA and thats not how it works you dont have to work at a certain time of day but a certain amount of hours a week. 30 to be specific.

They must have changed that because I remember my kids having to log on a certain times of day for AZVA. Maybe for class discussions? But it was one of the neg. factors for us as well. Not that it's a bad thing it was just one of the reasons we needed virtual education or else they would have just gone to school. We had a hard time with the "no child left behind act", they missed too many days of school because of illness of a family member.

[bhoffert]

I teach at AZVA. The credits transfer just like any high school. We are accredited in the same manner as all high schools in Arizona.

[bhoffert]

There are no situations at AZVA where a student must log in at a certain time.

[bhoffert]

Yes, I have quite a few students with IEPs. The special education department at AZVA is outstanding.

[bhoffert]

You don't have certain log in times, but as we are an accredited AZ high school, the mentor must log in the student's hours each day. These hours may take place at any time during the day or evening.

[observer53]

bhoffert--

Just a suggestion, but you don't have to make a separate post for every sentence. You can edit your post for an hour after you post it, so you can add or subtract info during that time.

[twiggy]

Originally Posted by bhoffert

I teach at AZVA. The credits transfer just like any high school. We are accredited in the same manner as all high schools in Arizona.

Hm, I wish that were true but they don't. Maybe you should check with Corona del Sol, or another high school but I didn't post this without first taking my kids down to the high school and trying to transfer their credits. It's just not the same program they use at the high school. It's accredited but that doesn't mean you can transfer the credits, it means you can get a diploma and the state will recognize it. I used the same argument at the school. They can only transfer credits if you use the same program as they do. Some Charter high schools will accept it I believe but not the public high schools. I would love to be wrong, so please feel free to check into it with the high school.
I don't see why they would tell me that though if it wasn't correct. It was one of those things I wish I would have known before I started the virtual schools. That's all.

[twiggy]

Originally Posted by bhoffert

There are no situations at AZVA where a student must log in at a certain time.

We had to log in at certain times for blackboard, etc. To get credit for showing up to it. We were the first year of the high school program though and they had online classes with the teachers at certain times. Then the students could talk for a bit.
But I think they are referring to keeping on time with the class with work. You can't do it off by a week or two. So, if you were going to miss a week or two you couldn't make it up before or after. It would be late work, like traditional high school. That could have just been the first year though, like I said.
Some Virtual schools you can do it all in the beginning or all at the end as long as you finish and log in attendance as normal. So, if you have to be gone for a while you could catch up later as long as you logged attendance every week.

It might be that some are just more lax about it and it was the first year. Some don't ask as long as you log attendance and finish by the end. AZVA called all the time and seemed to care a lot. Which is really a good thing its just not that different than reg. brick and mortor. It's one of the reasons some pick virtual school, their schedules. lol

[mbhenry]

Hello, my name is Megan Henry and I am AZVA's HS Principal. AZVA's credits should transfer to other Arizona high schools- district, charter, and virtual. Corona del Sol's reasons for not accepting credits are not valid and I think with enough push back, they would be forced to recant. Through our CITA accreditation, we are also recognized by NCA, the accrediting body that Arizona district and charter schools fall under. Under accreditation rules, schools who share that recognition must allow students to transfer credits. In addition to this, last year the legislature revised state statute on this issue ([FONT=Times New Roman]15-189.03, 15-701.01 AND 15-702)[/FONT]:
[LIST][*][FONT=Times New Roman][FONT=Times New Roman]Mandates that a school district or charter school must accept all transfer credits earned by a pupil who was previously enrolled in another school district or charter school in this state.[/FONT][/FONT][*][FONT=Times New Roman][FONT=Times New Roman]Allows a school district governing board or charter school governing board to adopt a policy that determines whether a transfer credit will be assigned as an elective or a core credit.[/FONT][/FONT][*][FONT=Times New Roman][FONT=Times New Roman]Requires a school district or charter school to provide a pupil who transfers from another school district or charter school within the state with a list indicating which credits were accepted as elective credits and which were accepted as core credits.[/FONT][/FONT][*][FONT=Times New Roman][FONT=Times New Roman]Allows a transfer pupil, within ten days of receiving the list, to request to take a test in each particular course where core credit has been denied. The test must be developed and evaluated by a teacher who teaches that particular subject matter.[/FONT][/FONT][*][FONT=Times New Roman][FONT=Times New Roman]Requires the school district or charter school to accept the credit as core credit if the student passes the test.[/FONT][/FONT][/LIST][FONT=Times New Roman][FONT=Times New Roman]As a result, the school must accept the credits- either as core or elective and then the student/parent can take a test to be given core credit if the school decides to grant it as elective credit. Did Corona Del Sol follow this procedure? If the school denied credits after 9/08 then the school was in violation of this statute.[/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman][FONT=Times New Roman]In previous situations in which I was aware of a school putting up such roadblocks, I have been able to communicate with the principal, share our scope and sequences, provide copies of our teachers certification and highly qualified status, and convince the school that our classes align with theirs and more importantly, state standards. [/FONT][/FONT]

[FONT=Times New Roman][FONT=Times New Roman]I am always more than happy to make such phone calls and continue to work with other schools- district, charter, and virtual- to ensure our students are treated fairly and that their hard work is recognized and accredited. If any posters on this thread have any questions about AZVA's HS program or would like additional information about this or any other issue, please feel free to email me at [EMAIL="mhenry@azva.org"]mhenry@azva.org[/EMAIL]. [/FONT][/FONT]

[omegaprix]

My son just finished 8th grade at AZVA. It's a fabulous alternative to brick and mortar schools. My son was above grade level in English and History and below grade level in Math and Science. At the public school, there was nothing to be done - 6th grade (that was the year we pulled him) was 6th grade. He couldn't take advance English (so he was bored) and he couldn't take remedial math (so he was frustrated). It was awful. Now, he can move at his own pace, advancing swiftly through some coursework while being able to spend the extra time required on the subjects he needs extra help with. It is hard - don't kid yourself. It not like just shipping them off to a public school and letting the teacher handle it. I also can't see how any kid could learn less at a virtual school. My son didn't learn anything for a whole year in public school because he was too busy socializing and worrying about gossip and dealing with different personalities. With AZVA, nothing distracts them from the work. I felt like my son learned twice, if not three times as much than he would have in public school (and he isn't some kind of genius, just a regular kid). To address the other points, any high school in the country should take the credits so that was just prejudice of the school. If you let them get away with that they will, its more funding for them. Also, to the poster from Bullhead - there are some fieldtrips here in Mohave County but mostly they are in Phoenix.