CCS Virtual Program

Vision

Become the most virtually relevant rural school district in the state of South Carolina.

Mission

Actively and relevantly[1] contribute to the learning community for the students of all areas of Chesterfield County School District.

Orientation

Welcome to CCS Virtual! We are excited to support families that choose a virtual option as the best manner for educating their children.

CCS Virtual is not established as an individual school, but rather as an extension of each school in our district. While academic needs will be met virtually, students will yet have all the benefits of association with their home school. Administrators, teachers, counselors, coaches, and others will yet be connected to each student.

Where virtual learning expectations are not met, school and district administrators will monitor each student's progress to determine the best possible action to improve. This consideration may result in the requirement to discontinue virtual learning in that situation and return to face-to-face instruction.

Program Expectations

CCS Student Handbook

All rules and practices outlined in the “Student Handbook” for Chesterfield County Schools apply to the virtual environment. School and district staff will work together to acknowledge and implement these practices to the best extent possible. Students, with parent support, must also acknowledge and implement these rules and practices which are intended to provide a framework for success.

For Students

Rules

In the virtual environment, expectations and guidelines outlined in the “Student Handbook” are particularly relevant, as are the possible consequences.

Vandalism – the intentional or negligent damage to a school-owned computer or device. Since the device provided by the school district is essential to the virtual curriculum, damage to the device will severely impede the success of a student.
Threatening, intimidating, taunting, or harassing a student, teacher, or other school official - particularly related to cyberbullying. (This could also be considered “Inappropriate use of technology”.) No action will be tolerated that disrupts a safe and secure environment free from any hazing or harassment of any kind. This includes but is not limited to emails, text messages, direct messages, social media posts, webpages, or blogs. It also refers to the distribution or posting of material that creates insulting or dehumanizing gestures that are pervasive and causes discomfort or hostility in the educational environment, as well as interfere with an individual’s school performance or participation.
Violation of the Chesterfield County School District Technology Use Agreement Policy – access to inappropriate sites with a school device. (This could also be considered “Inappropriate use of technology”.) Devices issued by the school district are for educational purposes, only. Accessing gaming sites for non-educational purposes, or obscene or pornographic sites is strictly prohibited.
Students attending synchronously are reminded that they should be dressed appropriately for class.
A list of synchronous classroom rules will be addressed by the Teachers of each class.

Attendance

As in the regular school environment, attendance is crucially important in the virtual environment. Students should strive for 100% attendance.

Attendance will be monitored in both asynchronous (unscheduled) grades 9-12 and synchronous (scheduled) grades 4-8.

Grades 4-8 - Students will have designated meeting times (synchronous) with their teacher and/or administrator(s). Failure to attend designated meetings will also be considered an absence.

Grades 9-12 – Students will be provided a scheduled time for class meetings, assignments, etc. At the mid-term, a report will be received by the District informing us of students’ status in terms of “On Track” or “Off Track” which gauges their attendance and performance. Students deemed Off Track will be removed from our Virtual Platform and be required to return Face to Face for instruction at their Home School.

Virtual school absences will be determined lawful or unlawful by the principal by state law. For such considerations, absences due to illness should be documented with a doctor’s note.

Reporting to the school for required meetings and testing

On occasion, for orientation and other required meetings, students will report to the school. Generally, these meetings may be held on days or times outside of the normal face-to-face schedule. These instances will be noticed well in advance. Also, virtual schooling does not relieve the requirement for testing, as determined by the state.

“A Day in the Life” of a virtual student

Academic Integrity

Student work is used to determine their success; and, while quantity and quality are both important, quality is most significant. For this reason, the authenticity of student work is considered very seriously in the virtual environment. Students should not cut, copy, or otherwise plagiarize content to present as their work; nor should they accept work completed by someone else to present as unique. Copying, knowingly allowing others to copy from you, and/or misusing internet content could result in disciplinary action.

“Digital Citizenship”

In every instance, students should maintain appropriate “Netiquette” (proper behavior and manners on the internet). Always adhere to rules and behaviors that are widely accepted in the professional world, such as:

Be respectful.
- Remember there is always a person on the other end of the computer (who will see or receive your messages).
- Think before you send or submit.
Understand the internet is not private.
Know that many websites and pages are copyrighted.
Do not give out any personal information over the internet, except in cases of request from associated CCS Virtual staff.

For Parents

Involvement

As with any educational pursuit, parent(s)/guardian(s) play a tremendously important role in the success of the virtual student. Perhaps more than any other person, parents are responsible for overseeing the participation and success of a virtual program. Parent(s)/guardian(s) – or someone designated to represent them – serves as a “learning coach” for the students. Duties of a learning coach may include, but are not limited to:

Require that the student attends all regularly scheduled orientation meetings, including those that are virtual as well as any required face-to-face meetings.
Discuss and explain the rules and practices of the Chesterfield County School District to ensure understanding and compliance.
Require and monitor regular attendance through participation in class discussions and assignments. This should include the development of a regular daily schedule that accounts for both synchronous and asynchronous instruction.
Require academic integrity, which includes the submission of authentic work as a part of the virtual experience.
Stress and support the use of proper “Netiquette” in every communication or interaction in the virtual environment.

The goal is for virtual schooling to be a positive experience for all involved. Intensive parental involvement is the best way to ensure this is the case. If there are ever any questions or concerns regarding the virtual offerings, those should be directed from the parent to the teacher. If not satisfied, those concerns may then be referred to the building principal or district virtual administrator.

For Teachers

In any educational circumstance, the teacher is the most important factor in student success. When teachers are engaged and focused on meeting the needs of students, they will experience success. In the virtual environment, teachers accomplish this as they are there for students; as they adequately and safely prepare for instruction; and as they are aware of and report to administrators on students and their progress.

Attendance

Virtual teachers have similar responsibilities as traditional face-to-face teachers. In the CCS Virtual model, the following applies to all teachers.

The home school is the “place of business” for the virtual teacher each day.[2]
- This applies to all teachers, whether considered completely virtual (all day, every day) or only partially (shared virtual and face-to-face, each day).
- Virtual teachers fulfill all duties assigned by the building administrative team (bus, lunch, car, etc.). Inclusion as a virtual teacher does not provide an exclusion from these designations.
- Virtual teachers attend trainings at the school, as well as those scheduled specific to virtual teaching by district administrators.[3]
Academic planning is a requirement for both the building principal and CCS Virtual administrators. Plans will be reviewed regularly.
- For virtual teachers, collaborative efforts will be developed to normalize curricular plans (i.e. pacing guides, scope, and sequence) across the district.
Student contact is the most important factor in virtual teaching. Regular reports of both actual and attempted contacts with virtual students and/or parents will be required of both the building principal and district administrators. (Suggested contact requirements are listed below. Note, these defined contacts are a minimum suggested number.)

Grade Level	Synchronous Contacts per Week[4]
4-5	5
6-8	5

Synchronous instruction occurs at a specified time each day, normally during the established in-person class time.
- Synchronous instruction, as determined and announced by the teacher, should be attended with fidelity. Causes for absence from a scheduled synchronous meeting should be documented for both the building principal and district administrator.
- Completion of asynchronous assignments may complement or be considered classroom attendance. For attendance, assignments should generally be completed weekly (for example, all done by Sunday night, at midnight).

Academics

The determined district platforms for virtual instruction must be utilized with fidelity. The district-provided Google Chromebooks are central to the virtual curricular program. The Google Suite of resources is available to all students; Google Classroom is the primary source of synchronous instruction. Other district-provided programs may also be utilized as instructional resources.

Teachers should be attentive to academic integrity. In cases where integrity is in question, teachers or administrators may utilize an “Academic Integrity Matrix” in dealing with students. (See Appendix B for an example of such a matrix.)

“Safe Schools” in the virtual environment

The digital world is wonderful and provides tremendous and flexible opportunities for students. However, it can also be harmful and thus requires serious attention for teachers. Please be diligent in applying the principles stressed in the “Safe Schools” training (required by CCSD) in all online communications with students, parents, colleagues, and supervisors.

Reporting

Attendance, grades, and other reports are primarily the responsibility of the building principal. District administrators will regularly review and consider those reports in defining ways to improve the virtual platform. Where noted, concerns will be discussed between parties and the building principal, with district administrators included where required.

For Administrators

Oversight of virtual learning requires a concerted effort of both principals and district administrators. Teachers are primarily the responsibility of the building principal, as are the students and their parents. However, district administrators will work together with the building principal to facilitate:

Scheduling opportunities (through the CCS Virtual Franchise, and others as needed).
Distribution of devices (where applicable).
Training for all virtual platforms.
Follow-up with student success (attendance, grades, etc.).
Stakeholder communication.

Appendix B

The following is an example created in another school district. This should not be considered the established policy for CCS Virtual.

Academic Integrity Matrix

Plagiarism

(Partially or completely copying work from other published sources and either not giving credit appropriately or presenting as original)

Sharing of Work

(Copying from someone, or allowing others to copy from an original work)

Assistance

(Completing online coursework on behalf of another student, or allowing any person or entity to complete coursework)

Offense

Learning Intervention[5]

Parent Contact

Resubmit – Full Credit

Resubmit – 80% Credit

Resubmit – 50% Credit

Zero assigned

Meeting with Administration

In Summary:

Students attending the CCS Virtual Program must follow the same disciplinary, attendance, and performance guidelines that all students follow.

For Grades 4-8 there will be a window during the first month, August, that students' progress and participation will be monitored. If during these first few weeks, it becomes evident that adequate progress and participation are not meeting the standard, students will be required to return to their home school.

For Grades 9-12, Students' progress and participation will be monitored through the first quarter of the academic year.

At the mid-term, any students deemed “Off Track” or “Not on Track” will be required to return to their home school.

Any violations of the expectations listed in this handbook or the CCSD Student Handbook will be handled in accordance with the District’s disciplinary procedures and will also result in the student’s potential return to their home school.

It is the Chesterfield School District’s goal to provide a virtual platform that allows students to continue their path to becoming a graduate. To monitor student progress and have a policy to return students back to face-to-face instruction is not a punishment. Not all students flourish in a virtual platform and need the support of remediation, hands-on examples, and real-time answers to misunderstandings and misconceptions.

[1] Defined as “appropriate to the current time, period, or circumstances; of contemporary interest”; see https://www.google.com/search?q=definition+relevant&rlz=1C1GCEA_enUS859US859&oq=definition+relevant&aqs=chrome..69i57j0l7.6927j1j4&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

[2] Any requested exception to this must be approved through the Office of Personnel and by the Superintendent.

[3] This includes any teacher who is approved to work from a distant location, provided that Zoom or some other equivalent technology is made available for attendance.

[4] These may include contact through virtual meetings through Google Meets or other video platforms (Zoom, etc.).

[5] A “Learning Intervention” may be an alternate assignment, or an additional element to the original assignment.