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From the Florida Department of Education:
MEMORANDUM
DATE: June 21, 2006
TO: District School Superintendents, Assistant Superintendents for Instruction, District Student Services Directors, District Directors of Secondary Education, Secondary Principals, Secondary Guidance Counselors
FROM: John L. Winn
Subject: Florida Virtual School as School Choice Option
The Florida School Code establishes Florida Virtual School as an educational choice and an acceleration option for parents and students. Approximately 96 percent of FLVS students exercise this option as a supplement to their public, home, or private school education and average 1.1 courses per student.
Almost two-thirds of FLVS students are public school students. Articulation agreements are in place between FLVS and school districts to develop a seamless partnership for students. For the most part, access to FLVS courses and the subsequent transfer of successful credit completions for public school students has been routine. However, in some cases, students, parents, and school district staff have posed questions regarding access to FLVS courses and transfer of FLVS credits. The following questions and answers address these questions.
Read entire memo, with comprehensive questions and answers, at http://info.fldoe.org/docushare/dsweb/Get/Document-3801/policy_memo.pdf
Homeschool Q&A with Florida Virtual School
These are the questions LIFE Inc. asked of Florida Virtual School recently (in response to recent administrative changes and homeschooler inquiries about those changes), and the replies provided by Lori Gully, Director of Florida Services for FLVS. If you have additional questions, send them along!
1) Are homeschool students enrolled in a state online school, or a county online school?
"FLVS is a public school. Any student who resides in a Florida district with a franchise is attached to that franchise for reporting purposes only; they are not forced to take courses with the franchise or with FLVS. Our Student Management System (VSA - Virtual School Administrator) links students to their options by district. Students in franchise districts will see the franchise logo, but they have full control over taking courses with FLVS or with the franchise.During our initial implementation of our VSA produce (5/2005) and during a system upgrade (9/2005), some students in franchise districts had FLVS enrollments moved to the franchise with the hope of serving those students quickly. Some franchises served private and home ed students; some did not. That was a one time move of enrollments which I personally authorized. If I had it to over, I would certainly provide more communication to families explainingtheir options."
2) How does the county franchise program work?
" Franchises of FLVS are contracted to serve students from schools in their district. Although there is some flexibility for general policies (such as the length of the grace period), student-teacher- family contact policies are identical. FLVS course content is used by all franchises, and FLVS trains and mentors all franchise teachers. Serving more student demand is a goal of the franchiseprogram, and we continually evaluate each franchise and work to improve the quality of their instructional delivery. Annual satisfaction surveys conducted by an outside evaluator provide us valuable insight about perceptions about franchises."
3) Can we choose which we'd prefer: county FLVS or state FLVS?
"Although students in franchise districts see the franchise logo, they have full control over taking courses with FLVS or with the franchise. " 4) Are FLVS policies standardized across the board, or do we have to abide by county franchise policies instead? "Although there is some flexibility for general policies (such as the length of the grace period), student-teacher-family contact policies are identical. FLVS encourages franchises to match as many of FLVS's policies as possible. In our minds, a well run franchise will be seamless to a student who may have courses with both virtual schools. " 5) Are *parents* their homeschooled children's "guidance counselors," as in the past, or is the school district or FLVS the final say in "guidance"? "When a home schooling parent approves an FLVS or franchise course inVSA, the guidance approval automatically populates. Although FLVS School Counselors may make recommendations for appropriate courses for home schooling students, the parent is officially the counselor. "
6) Who is the final authority with respect to our children's enrollment, pace, transcripts and reports at FLVS?
"This one has several parts! Course Enrollments - Home school have full control over taking courses with FLVS or with the franchise. Pace - The virtual school serving a given enrollment guides the pace for coursework. Teachers, students, and parents should collectively make this decision.
Transcripts and Reports- VSA offers great flexibility to home school families by allowing them access to an unofficial transcript at any time. FLVS, state, and district-level administrators have logins into the system and can view statistical reports as needed for accountability metrics. Only FLVS can produce an official transcript of FLVS courses; franchises may produce an official transcript of courses they have provided to students. No paper copies of any student records are sent to school districts regardless of the school type (public, private, charter, home). Digital reports are available on demand to those with approved access. Access levels have not changed.
7) Do you have to be enrolled in *some* program in FL: home, private or public ed in order to enroll in FLVS, or can someone simply enroll in FLVS for all their courses?
“All students taking courses with FLVS as a Florida student must be attached to a district somehow – in a private, charter or public school, or as a student registered with the home education office in the district where they reside. Here is a link to the exact language on the website:
http://www.flvs.net/students_parents/residency_age_enrollment_policy.php “
8) How do we know if our kids' courses are in the county or the state? Says one parent, "(I see on the )dashboard that she is in an FLVS course, even though her personal information is under a Hills. County logo/letter head type thing. But I am not 100%. sure”:
“Any student who resides in a district with a franchise will see the franchise logo. It’s just a technology thing – the student belongs to whichever school the enrollment is with. That “servicing virtual school” area should say FLVS instead of the name of the franchise to ensure an FLVS teacher.”
Lori GullyDirector of Florida ServicesFlorida Virtual School - FLVS407.317.3326 x2324http://www.flvs.net/ _________________________________________
Learning is For Everyone, Inc.
www.learningis4everyone.org
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