As we announced last week, our district, along with all other school districts in Pierce County, will be returning to school via 100% online learning to begin the 2020/21 school year. This decision was made following the recommendation of the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department to help ensure the health and safety of students, staff and families during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Goodbye, Family Access ... Hello, ParentVUE!
Family Access, where you’ve always gone to view class schedules, test scores, and health records, has been discontinued. Our replacement system is called ParentVUE.
Using ParentVUE, you’ll be able to enroll new students, submit attendance, check grades, update information and review information about your student(s).
Students who are already enrolled in our schools will not be required to complete new enrollment applications, however there is a process to activate your new ParentVUE account. This week, an email was sent to you with instructions.
Click here for more information about ParentVUE.
Online curriculum chosen for secondary students and Bethel Virtual Academy
At this week’s School Board meeting, the Board adopted Edgenuity as the online platform for the Bethel Virtual Academy and all secondary students. Teachers, administrators, parents and students provided input into the selection.
We have used Edgenuity for credit retrieval in the past, but that didn’t give it a free pass. Six major online curriculums were vetted by before the decision was made. The curriculum was discussed at length during the Board meeting. You can hear the full presentation by clicking here.
The deadline to apply for the Bethel Virtual Academy is this Monday, August 3.
Students enrolled in BVA will need to complete the entire quarter (elementary) or trimester (secondary) of learning. If at the end of a quarter/trimester a parent wants to return their student to their home school, space availability will determine when they may transition back. As soon as space is available, a student would be allowed to return to their home school.
If you have questions about the Bethel Virtual Academy, we have created an FAQ to help you make your decision. You can find it at bethelsd.org/BVA.
How will the Bethel Virtual Academy work for elementary students?
The Bethel Elementary Virtual Academy is designed for any family seeking a self-paced and highly independent learning experience. BVA students access learning through recorded lessons, learning support materials, and an instructional schedule set by the teacher.The BVA uses our adopted elementary curricula to guide the independent learning progression for each student.
Parents play a critical role and must commit through a formal agreement to provide continuous support as their student’s BVA learning coach. Students are asked to maintain enrollment; however, there will be pre-established transition dates for families that wish to re-enroll at their home school.
The BVA schedule follows Washington State’s Alternative Learning Experience guidelines, including a requirement for 333 minutes of daily student engagement. Students will have an assigned certified teacher to manage and monitor their independent learning plan.
If the Bethel Virtual Academy’s unique and highly independent design is not a fit for your student or family, your home school will be offering a remote program with more teacher guidance. Please reach out to Chris Brauer, Elementary BVA administrator at cbrauer@bethelsd.org, for more information.
