What are the procedures for signing up?
First, please check with
the guidance counselor at your child's school to see what courses are
needed to meet graduation requirements.
Once you have determined that an online course or courses will meet your child's needs, follow these steps:
- Check the calendar on the home page to find out the deadlines for each school term.
- Check the list of available courses and the time frame to complete the course.
- Check the course description and the list of required materials.
- Talk to the Onsite Facilitator in your school. They are listed along with phone numbers and email addresses on the Contact Us page.
- Set up an account in Genius, our Student Information System. You must complete all the information requested and make sure it is accurate.
- After your application is approved, you can submit a course request in Genius.
- Your Onsite Facilitator will collect any fees due and then approve your course.
- You and your parents must read and agree to abide by the VITAL Academic Integrity Policy and the VITAL Code of Conduct.
- After you are enrolled in
your course, you will be required to attend an orientation at your
school to help get you started and be successful in your course.
Independent Work Special Permission
Qualified students recommended by the school principal and onsite facilitator may take an online class during the first OR
last class period of the day and work on the course independently at
home. Students are required to attend lab for the first two weeks of
each course to assure that students know how to use the tools in their
online classroom. If progress reports indicate acceptable progress
(minimum grade of 75 in all classes), the student can then begin
working independently from home. This is a privilege that can be
revoked at any time by the Onsite Facilitator should acceptable academic
progress not be consistently maintained. Personal Finance students are
not eligible for this privilege.
Eligible students must:
- Have access to a computer and a reliable internet connection at home.
- Attend an orientation session.
- Work a minimum of 5 days per week on their course.
- Maintain a passing average and/or keep the pace prescribed by each course.
Students who are informed by the
Onsite Facilitator that have their privilege revoked for failure to
maintain the minimum grade and/or keeping pace, must begin attending lab
immediately. Failure to attend lab as required will result in
revocation of the privilege for the remainder of the course and
disciplinary action as outlined in individual school policy.
Please download and carefully read the VITAL Permission to Work Independently Academic Year
form. This form must be completed and returned to the onsite
facilitator at your school along with your other registration materials.
Refund Policy VITAL and Advanced Placement Courses
Students who drop a VITAL or Advanced
Placement Course course by the 15th calendar day (5th day of summer
school) by notifying the Onsite Facilitator at their school would
receive a fee refund of half of fees paid minus a $25.00 nonrefundable registration fee per course.
There will be no fee refunds after the drop deadline or if students are
dropped for failure to attend lab or complete work as required.
Fee Waivers for Free/Reduced Lunch Students
Students who qualify for free/reduced
lunch status may request to have the course fee waived for one credit
(two ½ credit or one full credit course) OR up to a total fee waiver of $360.00 per academic year (July – May). Waivers will be processed as funds are available. Once available funds are expended, students requesting a waiver will be put on a waiting list pending future funding.
High Risk Students
Some students need very little support
to be successful in an online course. These students are generally self
motivated and can work on their own, however, some students,
particularly high – risk students require a greater degree of oversight
and assistance with an online class. Lower performing students will need
a much higher degree of onsite support.
Special Needs Students
Individual schools are responsible for
identifying students and providing accommodations for VITAL courses as
needed. The registration form provides an opportunity to identify
students as special needs and list modifications required by an IEP or
504 plans. Any changes in modifications will be communicated to the
Virtual Learning Coordinator who will notify the online teacher.
Student Attendance and Participation
VITAL students are expected to attend
and participate in their VITAL program courses as fully as they would
attend and participate in a traditional classroom course. Half
credit and recovery courses are designed to require approximately 72?90
hours of work, and full credit courses are designed to require
approximately 144?180 hours of work. At a minimum, students are required to login and perform work in their online education courses at least five times a week, dispersed throughout the week (i.e. not five visits in one or two days) totaling an average of 10 hours per week per course.
The actual amount of time required to successfully complete a course
varies depending on the pace of the individual student.
Homework and Absence Policy
Students are expected to log into
their online course at least five times a week, spread throughout the
week, unless otherwise indicated by the instructor. Homework is to be
completed by assigned deadlines. If work is going to be late, it is the
responsibility of the student to contact the instructor. It is the
responsibility of the student to make up work missed due to absence.
Work turned in more than 14 days past the due date indicated on the
pacing guide for the course will earn a grade of zero on those
assignments.
Unless there are extenuating
circumstances, work should be made up within one week of the student's
return to school. In cases of extended student illness (five days or
more), the student may either contact the online course instructor
directly to notify the instructor of any delay in providing assigned
work or the parents may contact the Lab Facilitator or Onsite
Facilitator as appropriate to make arrangements for work that will need
to be made up.
Suspended Students
Students who are suspended from school
and are enrolled in courses in the VITAL program are expected to
continue their participation at home during the period of suspension.
If students do not have computer/internet access at home, it is the
responsibility of the student and parent to provide access at the public
library or other site. All policies concerning attendance and
participation in virtual courses apply during suspensions.
Progress Reports
The purpose of the progress reporting
system is to provide communication to parents, students, Onsite
Facilitators and the Virtual Learning Coordinator with the online
instructor's assessment of the student's performance in his/her course
work. Progress reports will be e-mailed to the student, parents, the
Onsite Facilitator, and the Virtual Learning Coordinator. Progress
reports are issued on the 1st and 15th of the month during the semester.
Student Eligibility - PCS School Board Policy
What are the alternative credit options approved by the Putnam County School Board?
Current board policy concerning eligibility for VITAL and other alternative credit options is below.
Descriptor Code: 4.209
Rescinds: 4.209
Issued Date:05/07/09
Alternative Credit Options
In addition to regular
classroom-based instruction, students may earn high school credits
through any one or a combination of the following options as described
below:
VIRTUAL/ON-LINE COURSES
High school students may
also earn high school credits to be applied toward graduation
requirements by completing on-line courses offered through the Putnam
County Schools Virtual Instruction to Accentuate Learning (VITAL)
program and agencies accredited by official agencies and approved by the
Board. The director shall annually determine tuition rates for virtual
on-line courses and make them known and available by the beginning of
each school year.
As determined by board
policy, students applying for permission to take a virtual course shall
complete prerequisites and provide teacher/counselor recommendations to
confirm the student possesses the maturity level needed to function
effectively in an on-line learning environment. In addition, the express
approval of the principal/designee shall be obtained before a student
enrolls in a virtual course. The school must receive an official record
of the final grade as well as interim progress reports before credit
toward graduation will be recognized.
Through a supervision plan,
the school shall be responsible for providing appropriate supervision
and monitoring of students taking virtual courses. All virtual courses
must be credentialed by a recognized authority.
CREDIT RECOVERY
High school students may
also complete credits through Credit Recovery. Credit Recovery is a
technology based remediation program, which combines a student's
original failing grade of 50-69 with step by step instruction, tutorial,
computer lab, practice and mastery tests. Assigned remediation and
tasks must be completed to satisfaction or student will not receive
credit.
OTHER CREDIT OPPORTUNITIES
High school students may
earn, through other approved agencies to include, but not limited to,
correspondence, academic credit to be applied toward graduation
requirements. Only two (2) units may be earned during any one (1) school
year. Only courses offered by agencies and institutions accredited by
official agencies recognized by the Tennessee Department of Education
and not offered by PCS VITAL will be accepted.
The express approval of the principal/designee shall be obtained before the course is
taken. The principal/designee and the student will agree on a
reasonable date for completion of the correspondence course(s). The
student shall not be allowed credit if the course is not completed by
the agreed date. An official record of the final grade must be received by
the school before a diploma may be issued to the student. Under
ordinary circumstances, students or their parents/guardians shall pay
for approved correspondence courses the student chooses to take.
Summer School Information
VITAL Summer School - Important Dates
Registration - May 14 - 25
Orientation - Tuesday, May 29
Classes Begin - Tuesday, May 29
Classes End - Friday, July 13
Please consider the amount of work time required prior to enrolling in an online summer school course. If you are committed to sports camps, band camps, church camps, family
vacations, travel abroad, etc. and will not have daily reliable
internet access or time to work on your course each day, you should
carefully consider whether or not you will have sufficient time to
complete the work successfully.
Half credit and
recovery courses are designed to require approximately 72-90 hours of
work, and full credit courses are designed to require approximately 144 -
180 hours of work.
You must be available to work on your class for several hours each day in order to finish in the six week summer term. Online courses are a different and exciting way to learn but they are not the "easy" way to earn credits.
Students may
recover a credit or earn initial credit to move ahead toward
graduation. It is strongly recommended that no more than a half credit
be attempted during summer school unless the student is willing to make
an extraordinary time commitment.
Labs will be
available at each of the three Putnam County high schools each day
during the summer school term. Lab hours are as follows:
CHS - 8 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.
MHS - 8 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.
UHS - 8 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.
Before you register for an
online course, you must first meet with your guidance counselor to
determine if the course you are interested in will meet your needs and
help you move toward graduation.
Once you have determined that an online course or courses will meet your needs, follow these steps:
- Check the calendar on the home page to find out the deadlines for each school term.
- Check the list of available courses and the time frame to complete the course.
- Check the course description and the list of required materials.
- Talk to the Onsite Facilitator in your school. They are listed along with phone numbers and email addresses on the Contact Us page.
- Set up an account in Genius, our Student Information System. You must complete all the information requested and make sure it is accurate.
- After your application is
approved, you can submit a course request in Genius. Click HERE for the
list of summer school courses.
- Your Onsite Facilitator will collect any fees due and then approve your course.
- You and your parents must read and agree to abide by the VITAL Academic Integrity Policy and the VITAL Code of Conduct.
- After you are enrolled in
your course, you will be required to attend an orientation at your
school to help get you started and be successful in your course.
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