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APEX Learning Operations Guide

HORRY COUNTY VIRTUAL SCHOOLS APEX LEARNING


Horry County School’s Credit Recovery Program

HORRY COUNTY SCHOOLS/HORRY COUNTY VIRTUAL SCHOOL


Horry County Virtual School 335 Four Mile Rd. PO Box 260005

Conway, SC 29528 Phone 843-488-6700

Horry County School’s Credit Recovery Program

H O R R Y C O U N T Y V I R T U A L S C H O O L

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Table of Contents

Section 1: Personnel Duties/Responsibilities HCVS and APEX Learning Overview HCVS Personnel School Administration School Director of Guidance School Guidance Counselors APEX Site Coordinator APEX Learning Classroom Facilitator

Section 2: Participation Guidelines

Online Options and Selection Procedures Credit Recovery Eligibility Allowable Number of Credit Recovery Courses End-of-Course Test Requirements Initial Credit Eligibility Course Selection Course Fees

Section 3: Enrollment Process for APEX Learning

Section 4: Course Completion Policies and Procedures

Academic Integrity Policy and Procedural Requirements Course Completion and Progress Monitoring Procedures Course Completion Protocol Academic Records HCVS Withdrawal/Drop Policy Requests for Online Course Extensions Guidelines for Acceptable Requests for Approval of Course Extensions Procedure for Requesting Course Extensions

Section 5: PowerSchool Procedures Scheduling Requirements Teacher of Record

Attendance Place Holder Online Initial Credit or Credit Recovery Actual Course Schedule Grading Requirements

Section 6: APEX Classroom Facilitation Requirements APEX Learning Requirements Academic Integrity Communication Monitoring Student Progress

Appendix HCVS/APEX Learning Online

Course Offerings for HCS Students

HCVS: Course Request

Agreement

APEX Course Enrollment Form

APEX Classroom Settings

Required Research Component for Initial Credit English II, III,

IV (approval required)


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Personnel Duties/Responsibilities

HCVS and APEX Learning Overview

The Horry County Virtual School (HCVS) is a program designed in partnership with local public schools to expand the access of challenging curricula through the delivery of high quality online courses. HCVS does not offer a complete high school diploma program online. The credit earned by taking an HCVS course is entered into the student’s record by the local public

high school. This document outlines the guidelines for participation in HCVS. These guidelines will help assure that all parties are aware of their roles in assisting students to succeed when participating in online learning options through HCVS. It is important to note that HCVS is the parent program of all online and virtual learning opportunities for Horry County Schools’ students. The following online learning options fall under the Horry County Virtual School umbrella.

• South Carolina Virtual School Program • Horry County Virtual School courses • Courses for which HCVS contracts with other approved providers (FLVS, Aventa) • The district’s approved online credit recovery program (Apex Learning)

This Operations/Registration Guide applies to

• The district’s approved online credit recovery program (Apex Learning)

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I C O N K E Y

1 Academic Records

! Important Points

: Reminders

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Apex Learning Activity Types

Type Description Scoring

Print

Component

Unit Introduces the content of the unit

N/A No

Overview

Lesson Includes lesson objectives and key terms N/A No

Overview

Direct instruction that demonstrates course concepts

Study using text, images, multimedia demonstrations, and N/A Study Sheet

interactive learning opportunities

Quiz Study-level or lesson-level diagnostic assessment Computer No

Checkup Free-response activity that is self-assessed N/A Yes

Practice Helps students apply and extend learned concepts Teacher Yes

Discuss Open-ended prompts that promote online class Teacher No

discussions

Explore Enrichment activities that often include guided research Teacher Yes

using external web links

Writing activities that offer opportunities for personal

Journal reflection on or analysis of unit concepts, themes, or Teacher Yes

Readings

Students perform hands-on (wet), virtual (dry), or hybrid

Lab (both wet and dry) laboratory work. Science courses Teacher Yes

Only

Log Used for recording independent — and usually offline — Teacher Yes

practice. Music Appreciation and Physical Education only

Review Reviews content and skills to prepare students for N/A Print and/or

comprehensive unit tests or semester exams Online

Computer- Summative unit-level assessment

Computer No

Scored Test

(CST)

Teacher- Summative unit-level assessment

Teacher Yes

Scored Test

(TST)

Exam Summative semester-level assessment Computer No

Final Exam Summative semester-level assessment Teacher Yes

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Horry County Virtual School Personnel Responsibilities

Horry County Virtual School Personnel will…

1. oversee the approval and distribution of online learning options, and establish quality assurance guidelines for all online learning options that are made available to Horry County students.

2. provide in-service training to in-school facilitators in the district when HCVS/APEX Learning students are taking classes during the school day or from school based facilities.

3. provide training and awareness programs to meet the needs of the school leadership and appropriate staff (counselors).

4. implement a common drop policy for students enrolled in HCVS/APEX Learning courses.

5. provide schools with information regarding course registration processes and any funding implications.

6. review overall student and course progress information. 7. act as liaison for the school with all other approved online providers.

School Administration Responsibilities

School administration will…

1. be responsible for the implementation of the online learning program at their schools. Specific duties include:

2. designate a school level APEX Learning Site Coordinator. 3. collaborate with the school administrative team to create a flexible master

schedule with opportunities for student movement. 4. designate someone to ensure online course grades and/or comments have

been entered into PowerSchool at each grading period following the PowerSchool procedures included in this document.

5. verify that final grades are recorded on student transcripts. 6. assign highly qualified teachers to participate in the Apex Learning program. 7. ensure compliance with guidelines and policies for online learning. 8. provide training and the approved courses at each school or

homebound/home-based site (not available for home schooled students). 9. staff the online learning lab with the required teacher support. 10. Review a school-wide report provided by the APEX classroom facilitator

detailing individual student progress for students enrolled in APEX courses (to be conducted every two weeks).

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School Director of Guidance Responsibilities

School director of guidance will…

1. recommend students for online courses and/or credit recovery based on teacher consultation, graduation requirements and established district procedures for Apex and HCVS.

2. work with other guidance counselors in the department to ensure students are recommended for online courses and/or credit recovery courses based on teacher consultation, graduation requirements and established district procedures for Apex Learning and HCVS.

3. secure and maintain a signed parent permission form (HCVS/APEX Learning Parent Permission Form prior to enrollment in online courses (found in the appendix and posted online at the HCVS website)

4. communicate with the APEX Learning site coordinator and lab facilitator to ensure proper student course placement.

5. communicate HCVS/APEX Learning expectations, guidelines and procedures to students, parents/guardians, classroom facilitators, site coordinators, administrators, and any other school employees working with online courses (including homebound situations and special education accommodations), as appropriate and follow protocol accordingly.

6. ensure that PowerSchool schedules and grading practices are consistent with procedures outlined in this document.

7. enroll students in APEX Learning courses by adding appropriate courses to the student schedule in PowerSchool and completing the enrollment form (found in Appendix) and sending it to the APEX Site Coordinator (A copy of this form must be kept by the APEX Site Coordinator and the guidance department.).

School Guidance Counselor Responsibilities

School guidance counselors will…

1. collaborate with the school administrative team to create a flexible master schedule with opportunities for student movement.

1. communicate with APEX site coordinator to ensure online course grades and/or comments have been entered into PowerSchool at each grading period following the PowerSchool procedures included in this document.

2. verify that accurate final grades for online courses are recorded on student transcripts.

3. communicate HCVS/APEX Learning expectations, guidelines and procedures to students, parents/guardians, classroom facilitators, site coordinators, administrators, and any other school employees working with online courses (including homebound situations and special education accommodations), as appropriate and follow protocol accordingly.

4. communicate HCVS/APEX Learning expectations, guidelines and procedures to students, parents/guardians, classroom facilitators, site coordinators,

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administrators, and any other school employees working with online courses (including homebound situations and special education accommodations), as appropriate and follow protocol accordingly.

5. monitor student grades and attendance, along with their progress or inactivity and communicate with students, parents/guardians, classroom facilitators, site coordinators, administrators, and any other school employees working with specific students in online courses (including homebound situations and special education accommodations), as appropriate and within HIPPA/FERPA regulations, to ensure students are successful.

6. enroll students in APEX Learning courses by adding appropriate courses to the student schedule in PowerSchool and completing the enrollment form (found in Appendix) and sending it to the APEX Site Coordinator (A copy of this form must be kept by the APEX Site Coordinator and the guidance department.).

7. secure and maintain a signed parent permission form (HCVS/APEX Learning Parent Permission Form prior to enrollment in online courses (found in the appendix and posted online at the HCVS website)

APEX Site Coordinator The Principal or his/her designee will assign a site coordinator for online learning. The Site Coordinator will be responsible for coordinating HCVS/APEX Learning services at the local school. The Site Coordinator will:

1. communicate with students, parents/guardians, classroom facilitators, administrators, and any other school employees working with specific students in online courses (including homebound situations and special education accommodations), as appropriate and within HIPPA/FERPA regulations, concerning student progress or inactivity.

2. add students to appropriate APEX courses after courses have been added to the student schedule in PowerSchool and the enrollment form (found in Appendix)

has been completed, signed and sent to the site coordinator by the guidance department. (A copy of this form must be kept by the APEX site coordinator and the guidance department.).

3. maintain student enrollments in the appropriate courses in APEX Learning.

New—Site Coordinators are not to enroll any

students in an APEX Learning course before

receiving a completed

enrollment form (found in

Appendix) from the school guidance office and checking to ensure matching

courses are displayed on the

student schedule in PowerSchool!

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4. assign students in the same course to the same classroom facilitator (if your school uses multiple Apex classroom facilitators they should be assigned by course).

5. ensure the integrity of the program by monitoring when assessments are available to individual student.

6. serve as the school level expert and trainer in using APEX Learning. 7. serve as the liaison between the classroom facilitator and teachers of

record as needed. 8. maintain a clean and accurate records database in the APEX Learning

system by working with the classroom facilitator in monitoring reports. 9. review weekly update from APEX Learning classroom facilitators and

work with stakeholders to resolve issues. Contact school administration, school guidance department, and HCVS as appropriate.

APEX Learning Classroom Facilitator The Principal or his/her designee will assign a facilitator(s) for AP Learning. The facilitator(s) role is necessary should students be accessing their online course(s) from the school during the regular school day. Once the student is enrolled in a course, the facilitator(s) works directly with the student to provide encouragement and weekly monitoring.

The school-based APEX classroom facilitator along with the school-based site coordinator will manage all user accounts and classrooms for their specific school. The APEX classroom facilitator will…

1. maintain student enrollment. 2. facilitate students in the courses assigned to you if

more than one Apex facilitator is used in your school (if you school uses multiple Apex classroom facilitators they should be assigned by course).

3. generate student progress reports as directed by the school administration.

4. provide teacher training and support for APEX Learning.

5. provide a student-centered learning experience to participants in the learning program.

6. communicate with parents, guidance, and school administrators regarding student progress.

7. prepare substitute plans in case of illness, power outage, or network outage.

8. provide the school administration with a school-wide report of individual student progress every two weeks.

9. grade all teacher scored activities within 48 hours unless another teacher is required to do the scoring (i.e., English writing assignment, research paper, etc.) For those activities where another teacher is responsible for

Reminder—Don’t forget to

communicate with parents/guardians,

school administration, and

guidance counselors

concerning student progress.

NOTE: A student progress report is

required to be submitted to

school administration

every two weeks.

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the scoring, the teacher of record should return the graded assignment no later than one week from the date the assignment was submitted.

10. ensure that the teacher of record receives the activities to be scored within 24 hours of student submission.

11. enter the grades for all teacher scored activities/assignments into the Apex gradebook in a timely manner.

12. Record final grades in PowerSchool, according to the procedures outlined in this document and according to administration timelines, for all courses/students assigned to you as teacher of record.

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Participation Guidelines

NOTE: Prior to enrollment in any online course, students must submit a completed Course Request Agreement (found in the appendix and posted online at the HCVS website). HCVS Site Coordinators are responsible for securing a completed Course Request Agreement and informing students and parents/guardians of NCAA guidelines relating to online courses prior to approving any students for enrollment in online courses or submitting requests for enrollment to the APEX Learning Site Coordinator for APEX Learning courses.

Online Options and Selection Procedures

Enrollment in online courses should be considered in the following priority order: 1. Face-to-face-classroom 2. South Carolina Virtual School Program OR Horry County

Virtual School (i.e. complete course with an online teacher certificated in the subject area of the course based on course lists provided by HCVS)

3. APEX Learning Counselors should utilize the course offering lists issued by HCVS for determining appropriate online program enrollment. Any deviations must be approved by HCVS personnel. Please visit the Horry County Virtual School website for a list of available online courses and services or contact Horry County Schools.

[email protected] 843.488.6709 [email protected] 843.488.6932

Credit Recovery Eligibility Eligible students are allowed to enroll in APEX LEARNING for credit recovery. The S.C. Uniform Grading Policy (2007) specifies the circumstances under which a student may retake a course as follows:

Section

2 I C O N K E Y

1 Academic Records

! Important Points

: Reminders

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“Students in grades nine through twelve may retake a course at the same level of difficulty if they have earned a D or an F in that course. The student’s record will reflect all courses he or she has taken and the grades he or she has earned. The student may retake the course either during the current school year or during the next school year but no later than that second year. In addition, the student must retake the course before he or she has enrolled in the next sequential course (unless the student is granted approval by school administration to do so).”

HCS students are eligible to take courses for credit recovery via APEX LEARNING only for those courses for which they originally earned a failing grade, and the credit may be retrieved only during the current academic year or no later than the next academic school year. HCS students who want to retake a course for which they originally earned a passing grade of “D” must adhere to the above-referenced S.C. Uniform Grading Policy (2007), must enroll in the same regular semester or year-long course that covers all curriculum standards, must complete all course requirements including a state end-of-course test if applicable, and must conform to all S.C. regulations pertaining to student attendance. Please adhere to the following HCVS policy: Students who earn an FA (failure due to absences) in a course, but have a passing grade otherwise, should be required to make up the seat time and receive the grade earned.

Number of APEX LEARNING Credit Recovery Courses a Student May Complete Per Year

• Currently, SCDE does not limit the number of credit recovery courses that a student may earn in one year.

• Per Horry County Schools, students may not be enrolled in more than two APEX courses per semester. Due to the rigor of the APEX coursework, students should not be expected to recover credit in more than two courses per semester.

• For athletic eligibility purposes, students may complete no more than two credit recovery courses per term. Be sure to refer to SCHSL Constitution for dates/deadlines. Student athletes should receive written approval from the school athletic director to ensure that he/she is complying with both SCHSL and NCAA Clearinghouse eligibility requirements. HCVS is not responsible for SCHSL or NCAA eligibility compliance.

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End-of-Course Test Requirements Credit recovery “courses” cover only a part of the standards upon which state end-of-course tests are based; consequently, the student will not complete the state end-of-course test again. In contrast, a student who retakes a course, thus repeating all the curriculum standards, is required to take a state end-of-course test if such a test is required by the state for that particular course. Students who took an EOCT course (i.e., English I, Algebra I, Math Tech II, Biology, and/or U.S. History), who failed the EOCT course, but who did not take the state-required end-of-course test are NOT eligible to take the failed course through credit recovery. The student will be required to repeat the entire course with all curriculum standards and then take the state-required end-of-course test. To take an EOCT course via credit recovery, the student must have received a grade on the appropriate state end-of-course test (a grade which may range from 0-100), and the student’s grade must be reported by the state on the school’s end-of-course testing roster. PowerSchool procedures for online credit recovery courses are outlined in this operations guide in Section 4. Since credit recovery grades are entered within a grade book in PowerSchool, there is no longer a need to complete the district required grade form previously used to record credit recovery course credit. Schools may continue to use the form as part of their individual school procedures if needed. Initial Credit Eligibility

Enrollment in APEX Learning initial-credit courses should only be considered once the following options have been exhausted (in order):

1. Face-to-face-classroom 2. South Carolina Virtual School Program OR Horry County

Virtual School (i.e. complete course with an online teacher certificated in the subject area of the course based on course lists provided by HCVS)

3. APEX Learning Counselors should utilize the course offering lists issued by HCVS for determining appropriate online program enrollment. Any deviations must be approved by HCVS personnel. Please visit the Horry County Virtual School website for a list of available online courses and services or contact Horry County Schools.

[email protected] 843.488.6709 [email protected] 843.488.6932

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Course Selection

1. The school guidance counselor will identify the course(s) for which a student may receive credit based on an analysis of the student’s high school transcript.

2. It is recommended that students enroll in no more than two online courses per term during the regular school year. Exceptions must be approved by the school Principal and HCVS.

3. A student may not retake a course through HCVS if a unit of credit for that particular course is already recorded on his/her official transcript.

4. Student athletes may recover only two units per term to be eligible to play high school sports.

5. Student athletes must recover according to the timeline set by high school league. Principals and Athletic Directors are advised to communicate with SCHSL on matters pertaining to student athletic eligibility and credit recovery.

6. Students, parents/guardians, coaches, athletic directors, and guidance counselors are advised to consult NCAA guidelines and course approvals concerning eligibility.

Course Fees Unless specified otherwise, online courses made available through HCVS are provided at no cost to students.

Note: The online course

start date will be the student’s first login date.

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Enrollment Process for

APEX Learning Courses

Local school guidance counselors should be meeting with students and parents/guardians to ensure students are a good match for the online learning environment and that they are registering for appropriate courses. It is imperative that guidance counselors carefully review student transcripts to ensure progress towards on-time graduation.

*Be advised that it is the base school’s responsibility (HCVS Site Coordinator and Perspective Guidance Counselor) to obtain a completed Course Request Agreement form and to inform students, parents/guardians about NCAA requirements prior to enrollment in any online course.

Enrolling Students in APEX Learning Courses

ü Prior to enrollment in any online course, including APEX Learning courses, students must submit a completed Course Request Agreement (found in the appendix and posted online at the HCVS website). HCVS Site Coordinators and guidance counselors are responsible for securing a completed Course Request Agreement prior to approving any students for enrollment in any online courses or submitting requests for enrollment to the APEX Learning Site Coordinator for APEX Learning courses.

ü Guidance Counselors should add the Attendance Placeholder and specific APEX course(s) to the student’s schedule

in PowerSchool. *Directions for setting up attendance placeholders and courses in PowerSchool can be found in Section 5 of this Operations Guide. *Remember, students should NOT be enrolled in more than two (2) APEX Courses simultaneously without receiving prior approval from the principal and HCVS. Note: Don’t forget to inform students, parents/guardians of NCAA regulations concerning credit recovery courses.

Section

3

I C O N K E Y

1 Academic Records

! Important Points

: Reminders

Note: Don’t forget about the Course

Request Agreement and the APEX

Course Enrollment form.

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ü Guidance Counselors will complete an APEX Course Enrollment form for each APEX course the student should be enrolled in and submit the completed form to the APEX Site Coordinator, so that he/she can add the student to the APEX Course.

ü The APEX Site Coordinator will add the student to the specified courses on the APEX Course Enrollment form, complete the bottom half of the form, make a copy of the form for his/her records, and submit the original form to the guidance counselor requesting enrollment for the student. *Don’t forget to communicate enrollment details with the APEX Classroom Facilitator and Teacher of Record. *Additional instructions and explanation of teacher of record found in this Operations Guide in Section 5: PowerSchool Procedures.

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Course Completion

Policies and Procedures

HCVS SITE COORDINATORS AND SCHOOL ADMINISTRATION MUST ENSURE CLASSROOM FACILITATORS, PARENT(S)/GUARDIAN(S), AND STUDENTS KNOW THESE POLICIES PRIOR TO ENROLLMENT!

Academic Integrity Policy and Procedural Requirements

HCVS Academic Integrity Commitment

The vision of Horry County Schools is to be a premier, world-class school system in which every student acquires an excellent education. Our schools will be welcoming centers organized around high-quality teaching and learning. To honor this vision and our commitment to excellence in education, Horry County Virtual School provides an online collaborative learning environment that promotes academic integrity. HCVS strives to maintain academic integrity in the online environment by ensuring all courses regularly include discussion-based assessments designed to verify the validity and authenticity of student work as well as require semester and final exams to be given in a secure and proctored setting. Our belief is that by fostering honesty and responsibility, we are empowering students to be good citizens and custodians of learning. The HCVS expectations below reflect this commitment. Academic Integrity Policy Prior to enrollment in any course offered through HCVS, students and parents/guardians are required to sign a commitment form as a part of the Course Request Agreement indicating their understanding of academic integrity and the consequences of dishonesty.

Section

4 I C O N K E Y

1 Academic Records

! Important Points

: Reminders

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Students are expected to uphold the qualities of academic integrity by NOT engaging in any of the following unacceptable behaviors: cheating, fraud, or plagiarism. Below, you will find a list, although not all inclusive, of acts of cheating, fraud, or plagiarism. Students should NOT…

copy or use someone else’s work (to include images, words, and ideas) and pass it off as their own

use unauthorized study aids (cheat sheets, references, calculators, notes, other people, Internet, etc…)

falsify information, including research or data commit forgery copy or apply patterns of language, structure, or ideas of another without

internal and external citation or receipt of permission as appropriate

Students SHOULD… ü complete their own original work using resources and references only as

allowed and citing appropriately

Procedural Requirements:

ü Unit assessments are required to be proctored. ü Proctors of HCVS Course Exams must be HCS

personnel and must follow the guidelines below when proctoring an exam:

o Ensure the testing room is conducive to testing. Make sure the room is quiet and that unauthorized references are not on the walls or at the computer where the student will be testing. Make sure the student’s electronic devices are turned off (phones, IPods, MP3 players, etc…) and not in use during the exam. The student should only be using his/her computer or IPad to take his exam, not searching for answers to questions utilizing Internet sources.

o Have the student logon to the computer and access the appropriate page for the exam.

o Stay in the testing room at ALL times and monitor the student to ensure he/she is not receiving any unauthorized assistance while taking the exam. Please ensure no unauthorized study aids, cheat sheets, notes, or references are being utilized.

Note: The procedures outlined in this

section are designed to ensure academic

integrity in the online environment.

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o Once the exam is completed, make sure the student logs off the computer.

Course Completion and Progress Monitoring Procedures

1. All course work must be completed by the assigned course completion deadline unless an extension is recommended by the principal and approved by HCVS.

2. At the end of 3rd quarter, APEX classroom facilitators, site coordinators, and guidance counselors are required to review student progress to determine possible and legitimate need for extensions and request approval from his/her building principal.

3. Students must be progressing successfully according to the online pacing guide before they are recommended for additional courses.

4. Students must complete all courses before HCVS’s stated deadline each year in order to graduate in June.

5. Student/guardians are responsible for online access from home if this is required to successfully complete the course.

Course Completion Protocol

APEX Learning Site Coordinators are responsible for ensuring the following protocols are communicated to classroom facilitators, administration, guidance counselors, and data quality clerks. Protocols outlined below are imperative to keeping student and school records accurate.

Prior to course completion, the APEX Classroom Facilitator should conduct a final student conference. At this time, the student portfolio should be assigned a grade and recorded in the Apex grade book under “Additional Activities.” The portfolio should be maintained and filed for a period of five years. Students should not ever be allowed to leave the Apex classroom with the portfolio. This portfolio is to be considered a part of the student’s permanent academic record. *Administration, along with the guidance department should determine the most appropriate location for portfolios to be stored once courses are completed by students.

*No credit should be awarded for any online course without prior submission of the student portfolio.

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IT IS IMPERATIVE THAT YOU FOLLOW THE FOLLOWING STEPS TO ENSURE ACCURATE REPORTING FOR YOU AND YOUR SCHOOL. DEADLINE FOR COMPLETING THESE STEPS:

1. APEX Classroom Facilitators, along with APEX Site Coordinators should ensure that all legitimately completed enrollments (when Quality of Work and Overall Percent are the same) have Final grades entered. [Remember, students must also turn in their student portfolio in order to receive credit for the course.] You can do this from the Gradebook, but the easiest way to check this is to go to your REPORTS tab:

A. Under Teacher Reports, select the classroom B. Launch the Student Progress Report C. In the Final Grade column, there should be a numerical grade

for every student who completed their work. It is really important that when a student finishes a course, that you NOT withdraw him – you give him a Final Grade instead. For reporting purposes, we want this to show as a completion and not as a withdrawal.

D. *Note: For students in credi t recovery courses who do not successfully complete work or do not pass the credit recovery course, no grade should be entered in the Final Grade in the APEX grade book.

E. If there is no numerical grade, it’s easy to enter it on this report instead of going back to the Gradebook (be sure to click SUBMIT after making changes).

2. APEX Classroom Facilitators, along with APEX Site Coordinators,

from this same report, look for incomplete enrollments that need to be cleaned up. For example, if you marked a student “I” or “wd” thinking he may come back, and he never did, please erase (backspace) these entries and click SUBMIT. The Final Grade field should be left empty/blank in these cases.

3. APEX Classroom Facilitators, along with APEX Site Coordinators

should give special attention to Global Studies I and II for both IC and CR. We only want completion to show for ONE course.

A. Global Studies classrooms consist of TWO courses. If you have entered a “final grade” for one of the courses(i.e. Geography), verify that the Final Grade entered for the second course (World History), is an average of the two courses.

B. Place the Final Grade on the World History line and erase the “final grade” if one was entered for Geography. Click SUBMIT

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C. Upon completion of BOTH courses, Geography and World

History, withdraw the student from Geography.

4. APEX Site Coordinators, remember, never ARCHIVE students. There is ONE exception: duplicate student names. Look through your Student tab and for duplicate students. Make sure students are not entered twice. If they are, and they are currently working in a course, allow them finish, but archive the duplicate so that each student only has one login and thus is only counted once in your enrollment numbers.

5. Upon course completion, all APEX Classroom Facilitators must enter final numeric grades in the Apex Learning Grade Book. This grade is called Overall Percent in the Apex gradebook. This FINAL GRADE should be entered immediately upon course completion into the Apex grade book and the PowerSchool grade book! Do not wait until grades are due in PowerSchool!

6. Print the Final Grade Letter from the Apex gradebook. Give a copy of the Final Grade Letter to the person in your school who is responsible for entering the grade in PowerSchool. Also, be sure to give a copy to the student for a job well done!

See District Policy for entering grades in PowerSchool.

Academic Records

Interim and nine-week grades for online courses will not be reported in PowerSchool since each student may work at a different pace. Final course grades will be posted as soon as a student completes a course.

The fo l lowing SC Uniform Grading Pol i cy and al l Horry

County Schools grading/drop pol i c i es supersede any grading pol i c i es that may be se t by course providers . I t i s

the responsibi l i ty o f s tudents/parents to be informed of local pol i c i es .

As required by the SC Uniform Grading Policy, “students who withdraw from a course after the specified time of 3 days in a 45-day course, 5 days in a 90-day course, or 10 days in a 180-day course shall be assigned grades in accordance with the following policies:

VERY IMPORTANT!!!

FINAL GRADES should be entered immediately upon course completion

into the APEX grade book and the

PowerSchool grade book! Do not wait

until grades are due in PowerSchool!

Note: No student is allowed to be enrolled in any online course(s)

prior to the online course(s) being

added to the student’s schedule in PowerSchool.

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1. For initial credit only, a WF (withdraw/fail) will be recorded on the student’s transcript, and the F (as a 61) will be calculated in the student’s overall grade point average. The student must notify the high school site coordinator/guidance counselor to request a withdrawal from an online course. Students will not be withdrawn without approval from the school counselor.

2. Students who receive below a C on an entry-level online course will not be allowed to advance to the next level course online.

3. Failure to complete successfully an online course required for graduation may result in a student not receiving a South Carolina high school diploma.

Final online course grades must be recorded in the appropriate PowerSchool Gradebook upon completion and counselors must ensure completed course grades are on the high school transcript.

IMPORTANT ACADEMIC RECORD KEEPING PROCEDURES : HCVS Site Coordinators/Lead Guidance Counselors are responsible

for ensuring grades for all completed courses are recorded in PowerSchool upon completion and that the courses and grades show up on student transcripts.

: APEX Site Coordinators are responsible for ensuring online students’ portfolios are kept as part of students’ academic records. APEX Site Coordinators should work with APEX Classroom Facilitators to ensure students are being required to keep portfolios up-to-date.

HCVS Withdrawal/Drop Policy

Only through continuous communication can students be successful in online courses. Within each course the instructor outlines the weekly minimum work requirements and abides by the following HCVS policies:

• For initial credit only, newly enrolled students have ten (10) days to drop a course without being penalized.

• For initial credit only, if a student is inactive during the first 10 days from the date of their enrollment, they will automatically be dropped from the course and receive a WNG as the final grade. The student will not receive credit and will not be allowed to reenroll.

Note: Online Portfolios/ Academic Records

HCVS Site Coordinators must

ensure all guidance

counselors send online student’s

portfolios to transferring

schools as a part of their academic

records.

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• For any APEX Learning course, if at any time after the first ten (10) days a student does not submit the expected number of assignment(s) within a period of seven (7) consecutive calendar days, the student and parent(s)/guardian(s) will receive a phone call from the APEX Classroom Facilitator. During the call, the student, parent(s)/guardian(s), and APEX Classroom Facilitator will work to resolve any issues preventing the student from submitting an acceptable number of assignments each week.

• For any APEX Learning course, if the student does not respond to the phone call by submitting assignments within seven (7) calendar days following the call or does not continue to submit an acceptable number of assignments each week, the APEX Classroom Facilitator will send an email to the student/parent(s) to remind them of the importance of submitting work and detailing the withdrawal process. The APEX Facilitator and APEX Site Coordinator should contact the student and parent(s)/guardian(s) to discuss inactivity and commitment to continuing in the course. The APEX Classroom Facilitator will inform the APEX Site Coordinator and the student’s guidance counselor at the base school concerning the student’s inactivity through an email as well.

• For any APEX Learning course, if the student does not respond by submitting assignments within 3 calendar days (17 total calendar days of inactivity) of the APEX Facilitator/APEX Site Coordinator contact, HCVS will assume that the student does not intend to remain in the course. The APEX Site Coordinator will inform the HCVS Site Coordinator and the student’s specific guidance counselor through an email that the student has continued to be inactive in the course and recommend that the student should be withdrawn from the course due to inactivity. The APEX Classroom Facilitator and assigned guidance counselor are responsible for ensuring the parent(s)/guardian(s) are aware of the withdrawal and resulting grade.

NOTE:

For Initial Credit ONLY, a WF must be recorded on the

student transcript for a course dropped as a

WF. HCVS Site Coordinators/Lead

Counselors are responsible for ensuring this

academic record keeping procedure is

carried out as outlined in the SC Uniform Grading

Policy.

Note:

Enrollment in the APEX Credit

Recovery Program is a

privilege; therefore, students

should not be allowed to be

inactive in courses without the

consequence of withdrawal from

courses.

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Requests for Online Course Extensions

For APEX Learning courses, Horry County Virtual School will allow school principals to grant course extensions within the school year (within district final deadlines for all APEX course completions) based on the following criteria:

Guidelines for Acceptable Requests for Approval of Course Extensions:

Ø The student has worked consistently through the course in a timely manner, but has experienced some unforeseen event that prevents them from completing on-time.

Ø There have not been long periods of inactivity during the original course enrollment period.

Ø The student was enrolled in the course at a time when it is unlikely the course could have been completed by the end of the traditional school year.

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PowerSchool Procedures

for APEX Learning

Scheduling Requirements

All online coursework will be scheduled in PowerSchool. Final grades for online coursework will be entered through the teacher of record’s grade book in PowerTeacher and NOT through a manual entry into PowerSchool Stored Grades. The only exception is for the recording of final online course grades earned during the summer. The following instructions provide the means in which to ensure these objective(s).

Teacher of Record

Initial Credit All initial credit courses offered through APEX must have a certified teacher in the course subject area designated as the teacher of record. Credit Recovery All credit recovery courses may have other personnel as the teacher of record; however, HCVS recommends the APEX Classroom Facilitator (if a certified teacher) serve as the teacher of record. *No students may be enrolled in any online course without the actual course(s) reflected on the PowerSchool schedule prior.

Attendance “Place Holder”

1. Guidance Counselors or Data Quality Clerks should enter the following information. The HCS online course will be scheduled in the master schedule. This “place-holder” course, titled “HCS Online Initial Credit (0899Z400),” or “HCS Online Credit Recovery (0899ZZ00)” will be utilized for students taking HCS online initial-credit or credit recovery courses. The number of sections for each course will depend on the number of periods needed to schedule students. Each section for an online course should indicate what type of online course the student is taking. For example, if a student is taking an

Section

5 I C O N K E Y

1 Academic Records

! Important Points

: Reminders

URL Link

Section

5 I C O N K E Y

1 Academic Records

! Important Points

: Reminders

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APEX online Geometry course, the section title should be “Geometry-APEX1.” If you need an additional section, the next section title for APEX Geometry, would be “Geometry-APEX2.”

Please use the following section titles… For South Carolina Virtual School

Specific Course Name-SCVS Section #

Geometry-SCVS1 Geometry-SCVS2 Geometry-SCVS3

For Horry County Virtual School

Specific Course Name-HCVS Section # (*For HCVS courses taught by in-district teachers, use procedure “enroll in another class in another school.”)

Geometry-HCVS1 Geometry-HCVS2 Geometry-HCVS3

For APEX Learning Specific Course Name-APEX Section #

Geometry-APEX1 Geometry-APEX2 Geometry-APEX3

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Directions for Enrolling in Another Class in Another School:

1. Select Students. 2. Functions 3. Enroll in a class at another school

4. Choose school from drop-down, type course.section number, enrollment

date (usually first day of term) and submit:

2. It is possible that there will be a section for every period of the regular school day to ensure that students will have a complete schedule and not have any “gaps” in their schedules.

3. Each section(s) for the HCS online initial-credit or credit recovery “place-holder” course will be marked by schools as “Exclude from Storing Final Grades.” This section(s) will be utilized to take attendance.

4. When a student is scheduled in an online initial-credit or credit recovery course, the course will appear in the teacher of record’s PowerTeacher grade book and in the public portal. For explaining that the initial- credit or credit recovery ‘place holder’ course will not receive a grade, the facilitating teacher must enter a general comment in his/her PowerTeacher grade book indicating

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that this “place-holder” course will not be assigned a grade. The comment can be entered into the PowerTeacher grade book by the teacher of record using the “fill” function to minimize the number of entries.

5. Attendance will be taken in this “place-holder” course.

Online Initial Credit or Credit Recovery “Actual” Course Schedule

1. Using schedule periods which exist outside the period range of the regular school day (e.g., using 5th period when the school’s regular school day consists of 4 periods) section(s) for “actual” online initial credit or credit recovery course(s) will also be created. Students will be scheduled into the appropriate initial credit or credit recovery course section(s). These sections will utilize the correct regular course number for the course. These section(s) can utilize the same period number outside of the regular school day.

2. Each section will be marked with the appropriate Instruction Type as

indicated below. Course Provider Instructional Type

Course is provided by HCVS through Apex Learning and is credit recovery E : Online Out-of-State

Course is provided by HCVS through Apex Learning and is initial credit. Very strict guidelines are in place for offering initial credit through Apex Learning. (The school administrator must approve the enrollment and the teacher of record is a highly qualified teacher who is grading written work/assisting the student.)

E: Online Out-of-State

3. Each section will be marked by schools to “Exclude from Attendance.”

Attendance will NOT be taken for the schedule period of the “actual” online initial credit course.

4. These section(s) for the “actual” online initial-credit or credit recovery

course will only be utilized for entering and storing grades, not taking attendance. Example: If a student is taking an online initial-credit course for English 2, a section must be created in a period outside of the school day using the correct English 2 course number. If a school has a regular 8 period day schedule and 9th period is designated for a center school, then the section can be assigned to period 10.

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5. The teacher of record must enter in his/her PowerTeacher grade book the comment, “Final online course grade will be recorded when course is completed.” The comment can be entered for all students in the class using the ‘fill’ function to minimize the number of entries.

6. If a student does not complete the online initial credit course at the end of the fall semester term, the teacher of record will leave the grade blank and if the student is making progress, change the grade book comment to indicate, “Online course has not been completed. Student will be rescheduled and allowed time to continue in the same online course for spring semester.” If the student is not making progress and will be rescheduled for a different course, a WF must be recorded for first semester.

7. If a student does not complete the online credit recovery course at the

end of the fall semester term, the facilitating teacher will leave the grade blank and if the student is making progress, change the grade book comment to indicate, “Online course has not been completed. Student will be rescheduled for same online course for spring semester.” If the student is not making progress and will not be allowed to continue in the credit recovery course, no grade is entered in the grade book since a failing grade has already been recorded on the transcript from the original initial credit course.

Grading Requirements

The “actual” online initial-credit or credit recovery course grade will be entered in the PowerTeacher grade book by the teacher of record who was assigned to the section.

Note: If a student is not progressing in a credit retrieval

course, remove the student from all opportunities for

online credit retrieval. Participation in the APEX credit retrieval program is a

privilege that students should not be allowed to abuse.

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IMPORTANT!!! In the grade book, the “actual” online initial-credit or credit recovery course will need only one assignment within the current quarter field. This grade will be 100% of the grade. If the course required on EOC exam, the final course grade must include the calculation for the EOC exam. Only a final grade will be entered in this assignment. Assignment entries must follow designated dates for the term.

Note: Schools with questions should contact …

! Boone Myrick about course numbers

! Kelly Gurney about PowerSchool implementation

! Edi Cox or Buffy Roberts about online learning

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APEX Classroom

Facilitation Requirements

APEX Learning

Requirements

Before students arrive, classroom facilitators should complete the following steps:

• Organize the Apex classroom designating several workstations where students will take proctored exams.

• Gather all course materials. • Print a student roster with usernames and temporary

passwords. • Cascade due dates so that the first scored assignment

is due within the first week of the program and the requested end date for all assignments is at least one week before the end of the semester. Teachers may cascade due dates individually for students who enter the course after the 5th day of the semester.

• Set up parents, counselors and/or teachers as coaches to receive the weekly student progress e-mail.

Classroom facilitators should ensure they have the following equipment and supplies available in the computer lab:

• Printer • Paper • Headphones or ear buds (World Languages must have headphones and a

microphone) • Binders for student portfolios (to house all written work) • Three-hole punch • Course materials such as calculators, English novels, etc. • Science lab manuals for reproducible masters

Section

5 I C O N K E Y

1 Academic Records

! Important Points

: Reminders

URL Link

Section

6 I C O N K E Y

1 Academic Records

! Important Points

: Reminders

New—Site Coordinators are not to enroll any

students in an APEX Learning course before

receiving a completed

enrollment form (found in

Appendix) from the school guidance office and checking to ensure matching

courses are displayed on the

student schedule in PowerSchool!

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Student Portfolios

• Students must keep an offline student portfolio with all written work, including notes, study sheets and practices. Study sheets are required to be printed and completed by the student. The notebook should be reviewed with the student during weekly conference sessions with the APEX classroom facilitator.

• All student written work and study sheets must be kept in the portfolio. The portfolio is to be kept in the classroom. At the end of the course, the school must file and maintain all student written work for period of five years. *This is considered a part of the student’s academic record.

• The Activity Scores Report should be the first page of the student portfolio. This report lists each graded assignment and the corresponding due date.

• Students must show completed unit written work before taking the proctored unit test.

• Teachers review the student portfolio and progress toward course completion with students each week during the designated student/teacher conference time.

• The required research project for IC English II, III and IV must be kept in the student portfolio.

• At the end of the course, the teacher will assign a notebook grade and record it in the Apex Gradebook. Students must turn in a student portfolio to receive credit for the course.

• Refer to notebook checklist found in Edmodo Group for APEX.

The First Day Student Orientation On the first day, classroom facilitators should include the following instruction:

1. Conduct the Student Orientation a. Explain classroom policies and procedures. b. Explain that each student is required to keep a student

portfolio (notebook). The portfolio should have a separate section for each Apex course. Study sheets, printed activities, etc. should be kept in this portfolio.

2. Watch the Orientation Guided Tour with students or have them complete independently.

3. Show students how to find the Getting Started Guides. 4. If students will be working from home computers, show them System

Setup as well as Support contact information. 5. Discuss Routines (key words, study sheets, Unit Test Preparation,

managing due dates). Inform student of their notebook requirement and the research project for IC English II, III and IV. Require students to print the pacing guide for each course and include as the first page in their portfolio.

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6. Explain your Motivational Support System (Show your Stoplight, Student Wall of Fame, Announcements).

7. Explain the HCVS Academic Integrity Policy and school-based policy on cheating or academic dishonesty. Explain that students are NOT allowed to visit Google answers, Yahoo answers, or any other outside website.

8. Distribute student usernames and temporary passwords. 9. Help students sign in and choose good passwords. Record passwords,

if desired. 10. Set up parents/guardians/teachers as coaches to receive an automated

weekly student progress email for their student (coach report). 11. Help students add Spanish Language Assistance, available for some

Math courses, in their profile.

Explain and ensure students are following the process below to complete a unit of study:

1. Students begin with the first lesson, print study sheets and take notes while completing the assigned activities.

2. Students alert the teacher as they complete activities that require scoring or review by the teacher.

3. Student must keep printed documents in the student portfolio. 4. Teachers must unlock the individual student’s CST in the Grade Book.

Teachers either print out or unlock the student’s TST (Initial Credit only) in the Grade Book.

5. Teachers must monitor students as they complete unit tests and exams. Teachers should designate specific workstations in the classroom for students to complete these proctored tests.

6. Teachers must lock the student’s test in the Grade Book before the student enters a non-proctored environment. It is a best practice to relock the test as soon as the student begins the test. This will not kick them out.

To ensure mastery-based learning: Students must achieve at least a 70 % on a quiz or the student is locked out and teacher intervention is required. Before the teacher resets a quiz or test, the student must be required to show all completed study sheets and notes for that lesson. The teacher must not reset a quiz or test more than one time. Teachers may use their discretion in choosing from the following options for progressing students past un-mastered assessments:

***If the teacher resets a quiz and the student does not receive a passing score, the teacher should permit progress to the next block of course content without changing the assessment score.

Academic Integrity

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*Please refer to the HCVS Academic Integrity Policy in its entirety (see section 3 in this Operations Guide) Teaching with a digital curriculum presents new classroom management challenges. The advent of digital curriculum has enabled new models of classroom instruction that offer a higher degree of individualization to better meet the needs of each student. However, an unintended consequence of this integration of technology is that students may have access to information that provides them with an inappropriate advantage when completing their coursework. Concerns about academic integrity — such as ensuring that the work a student submits is his or her own and that the Final grade awarded to a student is based on that student’s completion of the required course material — are not new, nor are such concerns unique to online learning. The following best practices will help to discourage academic dishonesty:

• Students found cheating on an assignment will receive a zero for that assignment and be referred to the administration for disciplinary action.

• Course settings are set to support teacher efforts in ensuring academic integrity

o Proctoring has been applied to all summative assessments. o Course Review has been disabled o Students have a limited number of assessment attempts.

• Teachers are encouraged to lock all unit assignments after each unit is completed.

• Teachers are encouraged to keep all completed teacher scored tests in a locked file cabinet.

• Students are not permitted to utilize WikiAnswers, Google, or any question-and-answer website to complete assignments.

• Students will maintain a portfolio with all written work such as notes, practice sheets and study guides.

Communication Regular communication between teachers, parents and students creates a support system for students. Teachers are expected to establish and maintain lines of communication to discuss student progress and performance. Teachers should communicate in the following circumstances…

• At the beginning of the course by sending a welcome email to introduce themselves, share contact information, and important course information.

• With parents when students are not making progress. • If a student does not sign in and access the course in over 3 consecutive

days. • With parents when a student does not have required materials for a course. • When there is an opportunity to participate in small group instruction

sessions. • When student performance is excellent and deserves recognition. • During the weekly meeting with each student to review course progress. • With periodic announcement posts to the entire class.

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• With any student falling below 70% Quality of Work or Grade to Date in their course.

• When there are holidays, sick, or vacation days taken by teacher. • The dates and attendance requirement for state required course exams. • Final Due Date reminder for the Final Exam and all remaining work. • By sending a congratulatory email upon course completion.

Every Sunday parents, students, and mentors are sent an automated coach email with weekly student progress information from Apex Learning. Monitoring Student Progress In addition to utilizing the Grade Book to monitor student work, the following reports should be used to track student progress:

Student Progress Report Overall snapshot of every student in the classroom with the option of selecting individual student performance data. Note that several of these reports require due dates to be set by the teacher. Special attention is paid to the following:

• Activities overdue or not yet scored (Due dates must be set to ensure proper progress reporting)

• On schedule percent (Due dates must be set to ensure proper progress reporting)

• Quality of work • Days since last access

Activity Scores Report Provides detailed individual student data including:

• Due dates for assigned activities • Assignment completion dates • Student scores • Can be downloaded to Excel to reveal time spent on each activity

Student Summary Report Details student performance showing data for every credit recovery course.

• Displays total course session time

Students should be encouraged to monitor dai ly progress through their Student Progress Report , which provides a snapshot o f the ir per formance . This report a l lows the s tudent to check the fo l lowing:

• Quali ty o f work • Work is on schedule ( indicated by a s topl ight co lor sys tem) • Activi ty Grades

Teachers may ask students to “Show your stoplight color” weekly for a motivational check and positive reinforcement.

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APPENDIX

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Credit Recovery Course Offerings

(utilizing APEX Learning) Important Notes:

• Honors credit is NOT awarded in these courses • APEX Learning courses should only be used for initial credit when enrollment with

HCVS initial credit courses or SCVS courses are not an option. APEX courses that may be eligible for initial credit are marked with an asterisks (*)

ENGLISH - Credit Recovery English I English II* English III* English IV * MATH - Credit Recovery Algebra I Algebra II* Math Tech I Math Tech II Math Tech III* Math Tech IV* Geometry* Probability & Statistics* Pre Calculus* SOCIAL STUDIES - Credit Recovery Global Studies I* Global Studies II* US History and Constitution American Government* (.5 credit) Economics* (.5 credit)

SCIENCE Physical Science Biology Chemistry Health* (.5 credit) WORLD LANGUAGES Spanish I* Spanish II* ELECTIVES Psychology* Art Appreciation* (.5 credit) Music Appreciation* Open to HCEC only: Creative Writing Reading Skills and Strategies Writing Skills and Strategies

Note: English II, III, and IV Initial Credit Courses require a research component.

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HORRY COUNTY VIRTUAL SCHOOL

HCVS and APEX Learning

Course Request Agreement

IMPORTANT NOTE: Signed Agreement Must be Returned to the School Guidance Counselor for the Course Request to be Complete.

Student Name: _____________________________________________________

Course(s) Requested: ________________________________________________

Important: Online courses are available to all HCS students, but it is important for students as well as parents/guardians to have a clear understanding of what is involved in online instruction and what it takes to be successful in an online course. Students should be highly motivated, good readers, technology proficient, self-disciplined, and well-organized. Students and parents/guardians are advised to meet with school guidance counselors to discuss online learning expectations and requirements in-depth prior to course enrollment. STUDENT COMMITMENT - As a student enrolled in Horry County Virtual School you have made a strong commitment to perform in order to achieve academic success. Specifically, you are agreeing to the following.

1. I will abide by the district’s most current Internet Safety and Acceptable Use Policy http://www.horrycountyschools.net/about_us/board_of_education/district_policies/ and HCVS Academic Integrity Policy, and I completely understand that HCVS expects a full commitment to academic integrity and appropriate internet use from each student. I further understand that if an instructor confirms that I have violated this Academic Integrity Policy, I will be subject to the consequences as established by my local school and may be removed from the course with a failing grade.

2. If my course has a pacing calendar, I will check the calendar at the start of each week to establish where I need to be by the end of a week. If my course is self-paced, I will abide by use time efficiently to complete the course no later than the established end date. I understand lessons must be completed and submitted at least weekly. I will complete all assignments according to established guidelines and dates.

3. I will log-in, interact with the content, activities and assignments, and check email daily. The length of time I may need to spend at each log-in will vary with what I need to accomplish on that day or session. I understand that it is much easier to "keep up" than to "make up" assignments.

4. I understand that all lessons and exams must be completed by a specified date each semester for courses to be posted to my transcript. I understand that it is my responsibility to discuss this date with my school guidance counselor.

5. I will check e-mail daily for correspondence regarding the course and contact my instructor immediately if I have questions.

6. I understand that the SC Uniform Grading Policy applies to all online courses. 7. I will make arrangements with my school to take the EOCE for courses as required by

the South Carolina Department of Education. The EOCE exam will count 20% of my final grade.

Page 1 of 2—HCVS Course Request Agreement

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PARENT COMMITMENT - By signing below you are giving your child permission to enroll in Horry County Virtual School. You are agreeing to the following.

If my student will be accessing their online course outside of the traditional school day, I will ensure my student has access to the Internet either at home or through a public institution (i.e. school or public library). I understand that hardware problems and/or computer virus problems are not the responsibility of the school district. I will ensure that the teacher is notified if a virus or other problem exists on the home computer.

Student Signature _______________________________________Date_____________

Parent Name (PRINTED) ______________________________ Date______________

Parent Signature__________________________________________ Date______________

ADVISEMENT FOR STUDENT ATHLETES

The NCAA has very strict guidelines regarding credit for courses taken online. Some online courses may not be approved by the NCAA. Before enrolling in any online class, be sure to consult with your high school’s athletic director and your guidance counselor to determine if the online course that you are considering is approved for credit by the NCAA.

Disclaimer: Horry County Schools shall not be responsible or liable, either directly or indirectly, for any error, damage or loss caused by or in connection with use of or reliance on any content, goods, or services available on or through external web sites or other networking options that are beyond the control of the District. Horry County Schools is not responsible for the content found on these external web sites or for ongoing review of other sites. The inclusion of any link to such sites does not imply endorsement by Horry County Schools. Should you or your child decide to access linked third-party web sites through HCS curriculum, from home or from school, it is at one’s own risk.

COMPLETED COURSE REQUEST AGREEMENT DOES NOT GUARANTEE PLACEMENT IN A COURSE.

CONTACT YOUR SCHOOL COUNSELOR WITH ANY QUESTIONS.

Page 2 of 2—HCVS Course Request Agreement

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Enrollment in APEX Learning Course Enrollment Form

Requested by (Counselor): Date:

Required Information

Student Name:

Student Assigned Counselor:

Student PowerSchool ID:

Student Grade Level:

APEX Course 1 Name:

APEX Course 2 Name:

Check appropr ia t e course type :

� Credit Recovery

� Initial Credit [ � Literacy Advantage OR � Core]

Check appropr ia t e course type :

� Credit Recovery

� Initial Credit [ � Literacy Advantage OR � Core]

APEX Classroom Facilitator Name:

APEX Classroom Facilitator Name:

Teacher of Record’s Name: (if different from classroom facilitator)

Teacher of Record’s Name: (if different from classroom facilitator)

In i t ia l to con f i rm comple t ion o f the fo l lowing :

_______ The course(s) above has been entered onto the student’s schedule in PowerSchool on the following date:__________________.

_______The student and parent/guardian have signed and turned in the Course Agreement form required for enrollment in HCVS.

Check i f s tudent has e i ther o f the fo l lowing p lans :

� IEP OR � 504

In i t ia l to con f i rm comple t ion o f the fo l lowing :

______Student’s IEP/504 case manager has been informed of placement in course.

APEX Site Coordinator Use Only

By completing the information below, you are confirming that the above named student has been placed by you in the APEX Learning course requested and his/her APEX Classroom Facilitator and Teacher of Record have been informed of this placement.

Name Title

Email Contact Number

Approval Signature Date

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APEX Classroom Settings Course settings are set by default and must remain as indicated by the chart below.

Description Configuration Mastery-Based Learning Level (MBL) is the assessment score a student must achieve to unlock subsequent blocks of course content.

70%

Mastery-Based Learning Attempts (MA) is the number of times a student may attempt to master an assessment before being blocked from retaking the assessment and from accessing subsequent course content.

1

Use Closed Book (CB) to allow or prevent students from accessing course content while an assessment is active

þ Open Book ý Closed Book

Question Order Randomization (QOR) increases the likelihood that a student will see an assessment that is different from other students and is different each time the student attempts the same assessment.

þ Random ý Not Random

Question Feedback (QF) is displayed after students submit each assessment question. Question Feedback informs students if a submitted answer is correct or incorrect. When an answer is incorrect, QF provides the correct answer.

ý Show Feedback þ Don’t Show Feedback

Answer Review (AR) enables a student to review an assessment after it has been graded. Answer Review displays the assessment questions, the student responses, and indicates if the responses are correct or incorrect. In the case of an incorrect response, Answer Review DOES NOT provide the correct answer.

ý Allow Review þ Don’t Allow Answer Review

Course Review allows a student to access courses (in review mode only) after the teacher has entered a final grade in the Grade Book.

ý Allow Course Review þ Don’t Allow Course Review

Proctoring has been established at the district level for these activity types. Teachers should closely observe students as they complete these activities. Teachers must unlock these activities in the Gradebook before students will be able to access them. It is recommended that these activities be locked back when the student has completed the activity. Any other activities can be locked/unlocked per teacher discretion.

þ Computer-Scored Unit Test (CST) þ Teacher-Scored Unit Test (TST)

þ Exams ý Practice

ýQuiz

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Working with Research – Standard 6 Required for Initial Credit English II, III and IV

In order for students to complete requirements for earning initial credit in

English II, English III, and English IV courses using APEX Learning, students will need to demonstrate proficiency in standard 6 in English Language Arts. This is a requirement of the 2008 South Carolina Academic Standards for English Language Arts and a requirement of the HCS HS ELA Writing Curriculum.

Direct instruction is offered through APEX Learning course work, but the application of the process is not a feature. Since the APEX curriculum does not provide the means to address the indicators at the intended levels listed by the SC SDE for standard 6, assigning a research paper/project that addresses the criteria listed below will be necessary in order for the student to demonstrate mastery of learning for all standards. The research paper/project for these English courses taken via APEX should: Ø be comparable to the expectations for face-to-face English course enrollment. Ø be assigned by the English teacher of record. Ø be evaluated by the English teacher of record. Ø address the requirements of objective one in the HCS HS ELA Writing

Curriculum. Ø be averaged with the online APEX curriculum activities and account for a

major assessment grade. English 1 - 4 – RESEARCHING -- Applying the Skills of Inquiry and Oral Communication Standard 6: The student will access and use information from a variety of sources. Indicators include: 6.1 Clarify and refine a research topic. 6.2 Use direct quotations, paraphrasing, or summaries to incorporate into written, oral, auditory, or visual works from the information gathered from a variety of research sources. 6.3 Use a standardized system of documentation (including a list of sources with full publication information and the use of in-text citations) to properly credit the work of others. 6.4 Use vocabulary (including Standard American English) that is appropriate for the particular audience or purpose. 6.5 Create written works, oral and auditory presentations, and visual presentations that are designed for a specific audience and purpose. 6.6 Select appropriate graphics, in print or electronic form, to support written works, oral presentations, and visual presentations. 6.7 Use a variety of print and electronic reference materials. 6.8 Design and carry out research projects by selecting a topic, constructing inquiry questions, accessing resources, evaluating credibility, and organizing information. When addressing standard six, the following will be emphasized for products demonstrating mastery of learning for this standard.

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Focus on the value of researching and its process Emphasize the purpose of the technical formatting and standardized system of documentation used to credit the work of others (including the tools available online and in Microsoft Word to assist with this process) Focus on evaluating credibility of sources on the criteria indicated on the SDE support document

o Currency o Accuracy o Objectivity o Authority o Relevancy o Purpose of publication

Maintain journals/blogs for the research process for the purposes of

o reflecting on a list of topics and the types of questions and the search strategies needed to gather the most relevant information.

o creating and evaluating their rationales for choosing a particular source o reflecting on their use of sources to note their successes and

frustrations o reflecting on their use of sources to distinguish between their benefits

and disadvantages

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Horry County Virtual School 335 Four Mile Rd. PO Box 260005

Conway, SC 29528 Phone 843-488-6700

HORRY COUNTY VIRTUAL SCHOOLS APEX LEARNINGhorrycountyschools.sharpschool.com/UserFiles... · Log...

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