2. October 2015
Mission
Virtual Virginia is a program of the Virginia Department of
Education serving students in Virginia middle and high
schools by providing flexible options for the diverse
educational needs of students and their families. The
program offers equal access to online courses for students
who might not be able to take Advanced Placement, world
language, core academic, and elective courses due to the
lack of a highly-qualified instructor, too few students to
offer the course, or scheduling conflicts within the school.
3
3. October 2015
The VVa Model
Partnerships with local school
divisions
School mentors for on-site support
Communication and real-time
instruction
4
4. October 2015
Courses and Curriculum
Aligned to Virginia’s SOL
Authorized by the College Board
NCAA-approved
Includes readings, discussion forums, written
assignments, media, student presentations and
projects, case studies, simulations, virtual lab
assignments, models, interactive assignments,
and opportunities for collaboration
Offered 56 courses in 2014-2015
5
5. October 2015
Teachers
62 Highly-qualified teachers
Licensed in Virginia
Endorsed in subject area
Trained in providing online instruction
Average Student-teacher ratio is 109:1
6
6. October 2015
Virtual Virginia Students
Who uses Virtual Virginia courses?
Virginia Public School Students (10,097)
Virginia Private School Students (41)
Virginia Home-schooled Students (9)
Out-of-State Students (43)
7
10. Standard Courses
Arabic I, II, and III
Chemistry (Advanced and Honors)
Chinese I, II, III, and IV
Creative Writing
Earth Science I
Earth Science II: Astronomy
Economics
Economics and Personal Finance
French I, II, and IV
Intro to Game Design
Latin I, II, III, and IV
Physics (Honors)
Pre-Calculus
Psychology
Spanish (Intro, Beginning, Intermediate, and
Advanced)
Survey of World Languages
World History and Geography I
Word Mythology
Algebra I
Algebra II and Trigonometry
Biology
English 9
English 10
English 11
English 12
Geometry
Virginia and US History
Virginia and US Government
World History
Health and PE 9
Health and PE 10
Algebra, Functions, and Data Analysis
10
11. Advanced Placement Courses
Art History
Biology
Calculus AB
Calculus BC
Chinese Language and Culture
Computer Science A
English Language and Composition
English Literature and Composition
Environmental Science
European History
French Language
Government and Politics:
Comparative
Government and Politics: U.S.
Human Geography
Latin
Macroeconomics
Microeconomics
Physics 1
Physics 2
Psychology
Spanish Language and Culture
Statistics
U.S. History
World History
11
12. October 2015
Economics and Personal Finance
Over 20,000 students have
completed the online course
65 localities returned the agreement
to host the course within local
systems
41 divisions are hosted by Virtual
Virginia
17
13. 2015-2016 Academic Year
Currently, there are 10,448 course
enrollments; 4,310 in VVa-led
courses and 6,338 in EPF. (EPF
students continue to enroll now.)
In September, there were over 1,900
students on waiting lists.
14. 2015-2016 Academic Year
The Waiting List
Waiting list data does not reflect
course need.
Schools enroll students in
multiple sections of the same
courses.
**Before classes started in August, 1,344 students dropped
courses. In September, 1,501 more dropped. During that
time frame, we accepted 3,206 more students into courses.
15. Full-time High School Pilot
Program
Partnership with local public schools
following current VVa model
Additional 13 core courses offered
One cohort - began Sept. 8
90 students in grades 9-12
41 divisions participating
15
16.
17. Algebra I Outreach Pilot
Synchronous, interactive, online
instruction (recorded)
Collection of suggested activities,
resources
Hosted via eMediaVA
**Applications accepted now to VDOE; training begins October 30th.
17
As a program of the Virginia Department of Education, Virtual Virginia offers online Advanced Placement (AP®), world language, core academic, and elective courses to students across the Commonwealth and nation. Virtual Virginia is committed to providing high-quality, rigorous course content with flexibility to meet the varied schedules and needs of schools and students.
Virtual Virginia works with Virginia public schools to provide students access to courses that are unavailable to them due to low enrollments, scheduling conflicts, and the lack of highly qualified teachers. Virtual Virginia ensures the availability of high quality and rigorous Advanced Placement and world language courses to underserved populations and provides equitable access to educational options throughout Virginia.
Any Virginia public school student may elect to take a course; students enroll in Virtual Virginia courses via their local school counselors beginning in April each year. Schools must provide an adult mentor, the required textbooks, and technology resources. This year, 123 school divisions are participating in the Virtual Virginia program.
Courses are delivered via the Internet through a secure, Web-based environment; students may participate at school or at home. The courses promote a high level of interaction among students and teachers.
Virtual Virginia courses meet Virginia’s Standards of Learning. All Advanced Placement courses are audited and approved by the College Board as well as the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).
Virtual Virginia teachers are all licensed in Virginia and highly-qualified—endorsed in their respective content areas. VVa teachers receive training in online instruction and pedagogy as well as professional development around teaching Advanced Placement courses. Teachers are observed and evaluated several times each year using a program based on the iNACOL standards for quality online instruction. Although teachers’ loads vary by course, the average student to full-time teacher ratio is 1:109.
Currently, 99% of the students enrolled in Virtual Virginia are Virginia public school students.
Public school students enroll in Virtual Virginia courses via their local school counselors. Schools must provide an adult mentor, the required textbooks, and technology resources. The local schools award letter grades and graduation credit for the courses taken.
Advanced Placement courses are tuition free for students participating in the Early College Scholars (ECS) program; non-ECS students pay a reduced tuition of $375 times the Local Composite Index (LCI). Standard courses are tuition free for public school students. Tuition is charged for nonpublic and out-of-state students; in addition, a $75 drop fee is assessed if students withdraw after the 21st day of class.
Virtual Virginia has served over 40,000 students since its inception in 2002. Currently there are 22,750 half-credit enrollments, including more than 7,000 students enrolled in the Economics and Personal Finance course. Two hundred and fifty-nine students remain on waiting lists for spring courses, including AP Psychology, Economics and Personal Finance, and Introduction to Game Design and Development. It is anticipated that most students will be served this semester. Of the 259 student currently on the waiting list for courses, 116 (45%) are due to affiliation caps– 97 of those are from one large school division. (Virginia Beach).
Standard courses are tuition free for public school students. Tuition is charged for nonpublic and out-of-state students; in addition, a $75 drop fee is assessed if students withdraw after the 21st day of class.
Course completion rate for 2013-2014 was 95.4%
Advanced Placement courses are tuition free for students participating in the Early College Scholars (ECS) program; non-ECS students pay a reduced tuition of $375 times the Local Composite Index (LCI). In addition, Virtual Virginia students may receive reimbursement for exam fees from the VDOE.
In 2012-2013, 415 students completed the EPF course via Virtual Virginia. An additional 30 completed the course during the 2012 summer session, and 3,546 students completed the course via the hosted option with local division teachers.
In 2013-2014, 442 students completed the EPF course via Virtual Virginia. An additional 90 completed the course during the 2012 summer session, and 7,206 students completed the course via the hosted option with local division teachers. In addition, 190 students completed EPF in the 2014 summer session. This means that, to date, 11,919 students have completed the EPF course via Virtual Virginia’s systems.
During the 2014-2015 school year, 390 students enrolled in the EPF course via Virtual Virginia. Virtual Virginia also offered the hosted option for local divisions again this year; 142 local teachers from 58 high schools taught 8,218 students using the EPF hosted option.
Enrollment for the 2015-2016 school year opened on April 1st; to date, there are 112 students enrolled in the EPF course for this fall and 160 students enrolled in summer session EPF courses.
Sixty-five localities (63 school divisions plus the Appomattox Regional Governor’s School and New Horizons Regional Education Center) have returned the license agreement to host the EPF course within their own learning management systems.
Thirty-six divisions have requested a PDF of the course content (the printable text).
Beginning about October 15th, we will offer 6-8 live, interactive lessons in two day cycles. For example, Monday and Tuesday, 3-4 times each day, our instructor will teach one topic live via Blackboard Collaborate. A suggested activity or assignment will be provided after the lesson. We will record the sessions and post one video of each topic, along with the assignment, in eMediaVA, so that any teacher in Virginia can access these materials asynchronously.
The teacher will also keep virtual office hours one day per week, and after each lesson, to answer questions and provide support.
