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Hello, Brave Virtual Academy Families:
We hope you had a great start to the school year! We are excited to continue with relationship and culture building this week and begin content and skill-based instruction as we ascertain students’ current levels of performance and establish routines and expectations in our virtual classrooms.
I am proud of our district in the way we have allocated staff and resources to make the Brave Virtual Academy a connected place for every learner. We have worked hard to provide multiple options and opportunities for every family this year and while we do have some areas that look different from a typical school year, I believe strongly that the opportunities a virtual environment can provide will mean a more personalized experience for each student.
Virtual Community Meetings:
I’ll be hosting several open online meetings beginning in mid-September to discuss topics such as how to best support your learners at home, finding joy and connection in learning, stoking curiosity and motivation, and building executive functioning skill sets. It is my hope that through open communication and discussion, we can learn from one another in supporting our youngest generation.
BVA Community Book Club:
In October, we will start a book club for parents and teachers around what I am calling the “Reimagining Education Trifecta”. Ted Dintersmith and Tony Wagner have created a host of books that help us to think about what’s really important for our young scholars. What Schools Could Be, Creating Innovators, and Most Likely to Succeed explore ways schools can better support learning for every child. I would love for us to talk about how the home and school partnership can begin to address some of these ideas.
Dintersmith, T. (2018). What school could be: Insights and inspiration from teachers across America. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Wagner, T., & Dintersmith, T. (2016). Most likely to succeed: Preparing our kids for the innovation era. New York, NY: Scribner.
Wagner, T., & Compton, R. A. (2015). Creating innovators: The making of young people who will change the world. New York, NY: Scribner.
Overall, your child’s teachers and I want to encourage you to take this journey with us. We have a unique opportunity in the face of a health crisis to build something better. How can we use the need to change to catapult our teaching and learning practices to a whole new level? How can we overcome the barrier of distance to move us beyond the status quo? We look forward to finding the possibilities and the answers with you and your children.
Communication is Key:
We appreciate everyone’s patience as we begin our year. A key component to ensure everything runs smoothly in a virtual environment is clear and consistent communication.
Our learning management systems, Google Classroom (K-5) and Canvas (6-12) will be the best place to go for daily and weekly expectations for learners. If you haven’t already, sign up for an observer account so you can see what your children’s teachers are posting. For questions regarding specific class assignments or procedures, contact your child’s teacher(s).
Our newly launched website will also be a place to go for updates and information about Brave Virtual Academy. We’ve recently established a way for students and families to get tech help more directly. You can leave a voicemail at 272.9696 or email ih-technicians@ihsd.us.
If you have questions or feedback for us at this point, feel free to share your and your child’s experience through this online form. You’ll likely have the opportunity to fill out a lot of surveys. Our entire BVA team wants to ensure that we create the best possible experience for you and your child this year. Feel free to weigh in on the surveys that matter to you. Surveys are one of the ways we plan to make sure every family is heard and to identify and prioritize program change and growth.
If you have additional questions or concerns at any point, I welcome you to call (513-272-4674), email (kim.given@ihsd.us), make a Google Meet appointment, or fill out a survey to share your thoughts.
A few general updates:
Primary Specials classes are beginning Monday. You can read more about how these will be offered here.
Elementary Unified Arts classes will also be beginning this week. More information on these offerings will be coming soon.
Middle School Electives offerings are continuing to develop. You can read more about current offerings and plans here.
High School courses in Apex will be ready to go Monday and teachers of electives will be reaching out to BVA learners to clarify expectations and explain routines. Students will be connecting with BVA liaisons individually each day next week to work through Apex access, setting work pacing routines, and answer questions as we get started in our courses.
Coming soon:
School-Based Virtual Parent Information and Meet the Teacher Nights: BVA teachers will be sharing details about their curriculum along with our face to face teachers at each school. Stay tuned for more information on times and delivery format. All curriculum events will be held online.
Primary School - September 10th
Elementary School - September 3rd
Middle School - September 8th
High School - September 10th
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