Parents/Guardians of Virtual Scholars Academy students play a major role in the success of their children. Parents/Guardians will be at the forefront of their child’s learning and will be able to work with their child face-to-face. Parents/Guardians of Virtual Scholars Academy students will be considered Learning Coaches throughout their child’s progression in Virtual Scholars Academy. A Learning Coach will assist with creating and maintaining a schedule for their child's academic, family, and social time. They will provide the structure needed to ensure their child establishes a routine to remain successful. The Learning Coach will monitor attendance and ensure their child is engaged in academic content.

A Learning Coach is an adult in the student’s residence that can support a student during their VSA journey. The Primary Learning Coach is the adult in the home that is available for immediate communication regarding the academic and social achievement of the VSA student. A Secondary Learning Coach is an adult in the home that can be contacted if the Primary Learning Coach is unavailable. 

The Learning Coach will also maintain communication with the teacher through email, Canvas, Zoom, and additional communication tools the teacher may utilize. Below you will find a glimpse of the responsibilities a Learning Coach has while their child is enrolled in Norfolk Public School’s Virtual Scholars Academy.

Learning Coach Responsibilities

When determining how much support students need from their Learning Coach, it is crucial to understand that every child will have a variety of needs to be met. It is recommended that Learning Coaches provide intensive support to students in grades 4 & 5. A reduction in Learning Coach support could begin as the student enters middle and high school. 

Learning coaches will be responsible for learning the virtual tools their students will be utilizing. They will also be required to attend the Virtual Orientation around August/September 2020 (dates will be provided).

General Learning Coach Responsibilities

1. Establish routines and expectations

• Set the home expectations and routines on the first day of Home Learning. Consistent routines are essential for student success.
• Use the school provided Daily Schedule to guide the structure of your day at home. We understand that this may not be suitable for all families and learning engagements can be completed at different times of the day in accordance with family routines.
• Please check teacher emails/Parent Communication Portal (i.e.: ClassTag)/phone calls at the start and end of every day and respond accordingly in receipt of the communication.
• Continue with regular morning and bedtime routines.

2. Define the physical space for your child’s study

• Identify a single space within your home that is suitable for Home Learning for an extended period of time.
• This should be a public/family place, not a child’s bedroom.
• A routine, single location where the child can learn is the most beneficial.
• Space should be where an adult presence is preferred and where they are able to monitor the child's learning.
• Ensure your student has the necessary tools to participate in learning activities and complete assignments:
  • Chromebook/Laptop/Desktop Computer
  • Charging Cable
  • Headphones (preferably with integrated microphone)
  • Webcam
  • Access to the Internet
  • General School Supply list
  • Other equipment and supplies, as needed

3. Monitor communication from your child’s classroom teacher

• Be aware and a part of daily communication. As part of the daily plans, teachers will contact students (morning instructions with the learning plan for the day, throughout the day for follow up, at the end of the day with feedback, etc.).
• Review instructional material posted by teachers. These materials will outline the learning for the students each week.
• Ensure students have seen and understand instructions sent by teachers via Canvas/email/Synergy.
• Be mindful that your student's teacher is supporting many families and that communication with them should be essential, succinct, and mindful of the VSA process. It is important to be aware that a teacher may not reply to emails immediately.
• Emails to teachers after 4:30 pm may not be responded to until the following school day. Teachers will attempt to reply to emails within 24 hours where possible during a regular school week.
• Become familiar with other learning platforms being used by the teacher (Flipgrid, IXL, Epic!, SmartyAnts, etc.). If unfamiliar with additional platforms, contact the teacher for help understanding the other learning platforms.

4. Check-ins with students and parents/guardians

• Check in with your student as they work through their learning tasks. Some students can be hesitant to ask for help. Check-ins should be a regular part of your daily/weekly routine and be established from the first day of Home Learning.
• Check progress reports that will be provided by your child's teacher.

5. Take an active role in helping your child process and own their learning

• Regularly engage with your student about their learning. The hundreds of interactions with other students and adults in a traditional setting include sharing ideas with peers, large and small group discussions, collaborating on group work, and asking for clarification. Only some of these interactions are replicated online. The rest must be facilitated by the learning coach or family.
• Beyond the check-ins, regularly circle back and engage with their child about their learning.
• Do not complete learning tasks on your student’s behalf. It is important to remember that the Home Learning tasks are the student’s work: seek clarification if you are not sure how to support your child.
• Monitor student comprehension and grades by checking Synergy, ParentVUE, and Canvas Assignments
• Attend VSA Learning Coach-Teacher conferences.

6. Establish times for quiet learning and reflection

• One challenge may be balancing the needs of multiple students at home and their individual learning needs.
• If possible, siblings may need separate locations in the house to work quietly and avoid distractions.

7. Encourage physical activity and/or exercise

• Physical activity is an important part of health and wellbeing and has been proven to have a positive impact on learning.
• Encourage/require students to complete physical education activities recommended in PE teachers' weekly subject lessons.
• Ensure students are taking brain breaks and physically moving around. Brain breaks will be shared regularly with you by staff. You may even consider chores and responsibilities that will get them up and moving.
• Model and encourage exercise. It is important for students to see adults being healthy.

8. Remain mindful of your child’s stress or worry

• Help manage students' worry, anxiety, and other possible emotions. Remember: students' well-being remains our highest priority, as it does and should for you.
• Allow opportunities to discuss feelings and emotions as a family and talk about some of the changes that are happening.
• Maintain a regular routine as much as possible to support your student best.

9. Monitor students’ online screen time.

• Many activities or learning sequences will be set online, this does not mean that have to be completed online. Follow online instruction and make, play, do, create using hands-on approaches.
• We are mindful of how much screen time we are assigning as a part of the Home Learning engagement.

10. Keep your student social

• The initial excitement of Home Learning will quickly fade when students begin to miss their friends, classmates, and teachers.
• Help your child maintain contact with friends by phone, video calls, or other means when appropriate.

11. Set rules around students’ social media interactions

• Monitor your child’s social media use.
• Norfolk Public Schools’ sanctioned social media outlets (Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter) will regularly release news updates. These outlets can provide useful information on VSA and other events occurring within the district.
• TikTok, WhatsApp, Snapchat, and social medial apps (other than Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram) will NEVER be used or encouraged by the school.
• Students are to comply with the NPS policies and acceptable user agreements.
• Canvas, Zoom, and any other chat platforms being used for instruction must be used responsibly during learning experiences.
• Remind your student to be polite, safe, responsible, respectful, and appropriate in all digital communications (including school email and other school platforms).
• Students will have both off-screen and on-screen learning activities designed to engage learners in experiences that connect to current curriculum.
• Each Home Learning task provided will include direction for learning coaches and families on how best to support student learning. It is expected that students in 4&5 will need higher levels of support than students in 6-12.
• The primary tool for communication between teachers and families will be email/Parent Communication Portals.

‘Learning from Home’ Plan for Students:

Approximate Time Frames of Learning School Student Daily Schedule

The Home Learning tasks will provide Learning Coaches and families with the learning engagements their student should complete whilst learning in the home environment.

A daily timetable to help structure your student’s day has been provided; however, we appreciate that each family may need to adapt the schedule to fit their individual context.

Please complete the tasks and send any required work back to relevant teachers as required. This will account for attendance and help your student’s teacher gather information about his/her progress and any questions or other information you or your child wish their teacher to know.

Teachers (Classroom and Specialists) will respond to questions shared through this process in a timely fashion by email or Parent Communication Portal. Teachers will design student activities with approximate time lengths relevant to the year levels. We understand that Home Learning often takes much longer than synchronous face-to-face learning and that some children may take shorter or longer to complete tasks, therefore, please use the allocated timing as a guide only. The timing provided will include time to unpack the instructions, watch any tutorial videos provided by teachers (if applicable), and active engagement in the learning experiences themselves.

Suggested activities from your child’s teachers may include;

• Independent Inquiries: What questions can you explore related to your units of inquiry?
• Board games that include Mathematics, Reading, Problem Solving, Word Work, Strategic and Critical thinking
• Reading for enjoyment, individual interests, and hobbies

If students have additional time after completing the learning experiences, they may complete any of the flexible learning tasks suggested. If students are experiencing significant difficulty in completing any learning task within the given time frame, please stop your child and seek further support by indicating this to the relevant teacher.