Since Namine has been attending the Rural Virtual Academy since Kindergarten, the orientation was filled with things we’ve heard before. Don’t take that for complacence, however — it’s exciting to hear how the RVA has grown from year to year.
There was nothing too specific for Namine or her group of freshmen in this orientation. She had already received her schedule, so we were all prepared on that front. Rather, each class got a refresher on how to log into the student dashboard in the morning, how to get into each class, that sort of thing. The particular destinations may have changed over the years (from grade school, to middle school, and now to high school), but the general process has stayed the same. That consistency helps.
Another thing that we love to see from year to year is how the RVA has been able to help more children. I don’t just mean how it has grown from year to year — though I did mention that already. I also mean how it is now able to accommodate IEPs.
In case you don’t know what an IEP is, it stands for Individualized Education Plan. It’s legal document, created for a child by their parents or guardians and school personnel, tailored specifically to the child’s needs.
When we first enrolled Namine (back in Kindergarten!) the RVA was not able to accommodate her IEP. That was not a problem for us: being in the RVA, which is a virtual school, meant that Namine stayed home with us, where we could help her. Her teachers had no involvement with her physical needs, which meant no IEP was necessary.
Had Namine’s IEP involved cognitive needs, the RVA would not have been able to accommodate us. In this year’s orientation meeting, however, we learned that they now are able to accommodate students with IEPs. That is huge, and we are so happy for all the families that this will help!
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