Parkland Virtual Academy

Students with intense social-emotional and behavioral needs require an educational setting that allows them to complete an academic experience and gain the necessary skills to reintegrate into a less restrictive educational environment on an individualized basis. PPA has demonstrated competence in improving student academic and social-emotional outcomes through evidence-based practices (EBP) and commitment to educating the whole child.

Parkland Preparatory Academy is now introducing Parkland Virtual Academy, a remote learning opportunity. This new program is geared towards high school students’ in unique, at -risk of dropping out circumstances, which are likely to prevent a student from regularly attending the therapeutic day school setting prescribed within their IEP. The remote program means that students can receive the benefit of our traditional in-person program, without being restricted by the unique life barriers they have, making it difficult to attend a physical school on a regular basis.

Solutions to Traditional Academic Barriers

Parkland Virtual Academy supports the critical need to ensure students in grades 9-12, who have unique situations, receive the education prescribed within their IEP and help to obtain their high school diploma.

Our therapeutic staff will:

Increase student self-esteem about academics.
Offer flexibility in the delivery of the education services needed to help students graduate.
Provide students with access to recovering the credits they once lost.
Personalize educational coaching, through materials and access to related services such as social/emotional therapy, speech, language, and/or occupational therapy.
Demonstrate an awareness and understanding of how trauma and toxic stress impact learning and behavior, and help to decrease defeating patterns of behavior and thought processes.
Facilitate and grow a relationship with at-risk students, based on trust and understanding, to help them become invested in their own future educational outcomes, such as graduating and becoming successful citizens in the community.
Collaborate with families and outside providers to support students working to increase time spent within a school setting, reintegrate into a less restrictive setting or to complete their educational experience by graduating.

How the Parkland Virtual Academy Individual Remote Plan Works

All students will be provided a Chromebook or may choose to use their own device to access course work.
Students will be paired with a case manager.
Upon entry an Individual Remote Plan will be established to outline agreeable expectations surrounding hours of instruction, access to the assigned case manager, and when the student will attend related services like OT, Speech, and Counseling.
The Individual Remote Plan revolves around the student’s schedule (within reason) and includes being able to access their case manager at non-traditional hours of the day, to accommodate their obligations of their unique circumstances.
VPA uses technology to connect with students in the way they are most comfortable: phone calls, online meeting forums, small groups online with peers, texting, emailing, instant messages, etc.

Curriculum for Students Grades 9-12+

Teachers have access to Edgenuity/Imagine Learning and My Path, online platforms used to design unique instructional experiences for students, while still individualizing instruction according to their IEP accommodations and modifications.
Students are assigned 7 courses per semester. However, some students find it less overwhelming to complete one course at a time. The approach will be to hold a 7-course schedule unless a modification needs to be made in the best interest of the student.
Courses are aligned to state standards and allow teachers to modify material and modality to differentiate instruction meet each student’s needs.
Academic interventions are accessible to students who are not achieving within the national average range of their grade/age level peers as well through My Path.

Note: We are required by ISBE to maintain the same staffing ratios as if we are in-person so the student still receives the same intensive support.

Requirements

A student and their parents must meet with program Administration prior to acceptance (even if it is remotely), and demonstrate they have the desire to work remotely with a Special Education Teacher and Therapist, as their learning coaches. At this point, it will be determined if the student needs technology to access our program. We will offer Chromebooks capable of connecting to private or public wifi networks. For students outside of our physical location of Morton Grove Illinois, they may be shipped the technology if they do not have access to their own. If a student does not have internet access, a wireless hotspot connection will be provided to the student as well.

Attendance

Each student must check in by 10 am daily, or another mutually agreed upon recurring daily time.
Direct synchronous teaching, therapy or re-teaching is available from 8:30-2:20 pm. Alternate time may be arranged with the case manager.
Related services like counseling, OT and Speech must be scheduled in a session that is the same day and time weekly between 8:00 am and 2:30 pm.
10% absence rate = intervention meeting at school with the student’s entire team. Meetings may be conducted in person or remotely.
After an additional 5 days of unexcused absences and no contact with staff, when feasible there will be a home-visit, or a wellness check phoned into community resources in the community in which the student resides.
At 10 days absence with no contact, a re-entry meeting will be held where the student, parent and district representative will be expected to meet in person or remotely, and address the barriers to attendance and add interventions to the student’s remote learning plan.
If the student participates in the 10-day intervention meeting and required therapy session to process the re-entry plan, and then still chooses not to engage or attend in any capacity the following week- VPA will issue a 20-days-notice to discontinue service to the student. This means the district will work with the student and their family to place the student in a new program within 20 business days.