Student Life & Expectations in an Online Elementary School
Orientation Sessions
Students, and their parents, are strongly encouraged to attend a virtual orientation session once they enroll at PA Distance. We provide a variety of virtual orientation sessions throughout the school year.
Students are also expected to attend a grade-level specific Homeroom Orientation Session hosted by their homeroom teacher the first week of school. In these sessions, students will learn what is expected of them and how to be successful throughout the school year.
Technology & Equipment
When a child is enrolled at PA Distance they receive shipments with all of the necessary materials required for the entire school year including general equipment, school supplies, class-specific items like music equipment, art, and science supplies.
NOTE: PA Distance parents/guardians must also have an understanding of technology to provide appropriate supervision of the student while the student is in attendance. Basic knowledge includes, but is not limited to: email, basic use of Google applications, and the Internet. If you need assistance or have any questions about navigating the PA Distance online environment, please reach out to our Technology Department.
Productive Workspaces
Setting up productive workspaces for your child is one of the most important parts of a successful school year. PA Distance provides all of the important tools and materials that each student needs to succeed but it’s up to each family to provide a productive, supportive and positive learning environment for their child’s learning to flourish.
Parents can learn how to build a productive workspace, specific to elementary school students, in our Workshop Wednesdays.
Parent Facilitation & Support
Our teachers lead our students throughout the day, but we encourage having a parent nearby. Technology can be tricky for people of all ages, but it’s especially tricky for our youngest learners, some of whom are using a computer for the first time. As a parent, your job won’t be to teach but to make sure your student is prepared for school each day, attends scheduled classes, and has everything they need to succeed in our virtual classroom setting.
Parents are also responsible for checking their assigned padistance.org email account where they will receive important information about their child, school announcements, news, correspondence from their child’s teachers, PA Distance administrators, and staff members.
The bottom line, a successful school year cannot be navigated alone. Parent participation is just as important as student participation.
Academic Responsibility & Attendance
Per PA School Code, scholars in grades K-6 should be engaging in school 5 hours per day. At PA Distance, students engage in blended learning which we refer to as “synchronous” and “asynchronous”.
Parents are required to supervise daily school attendance to avoid truancy issues in adherence to our Attendance Policy. Students are expected to log into the Student Portal/Learning Management System to complete and submit assignments as outlined in the student’s course calendar by their teachers.
Live Learning
Our Live Learning Sessions (LLS) allow students to participate with their teachers and classmates, in real-time, in a way that they are comfortable. Students are given the chance to socialize with their peers and teachers to develop relationships and build trust. All lessons are recorded, so students can go back and rewatch if they may have missed something.
Class Frequency & Duration
Our elementary students will be enrolled in all of their core classes (Math, English Language Arts, and Social Studies) along with Health & Wellness, Visual Art, and Music. Students in grades K-2 are also given the opportunity to take Spanish and students in 5th and 6th grade can take Computer Science if they show an interest.
View the Class Frequency & Duration chart and the current school year's (2021-2022) Elementary Course Catalog.
Instructional Programs
To supplement what each student learned during their live classes, PA Distance utilizes online instructional resources that support and supplement our curriculum. All courses at PA Distance are aligned to the PA Core and Academic Standards. The table below specifies specific instructional resources that support curriculum implementation in grades K-6:
|
Subject |
Primary Resource |
|
Math |
|
|
English/Language Arts (ELA) |
|
|
English/Language Arts (ELA) |
|
|
Science |
Acellus |
|
Social Studies |
Acellus |
|
Health & Wellness |
Teacher Created |
|
Music |
Teacher Created |
|
Visual Art |
Teacher Created |
Communication & Support
The Community Engagement Team provides families with a variety of resources and works as a liaison between each household and their local community. For example, our Community Engagement Team can provide guidance and local resources for:
- Crisis & Emergencies
- Disaster Assistance
- Food Resources
- Unemployment
- Mental Health & Well-Being
Our administrators, teachers, staff, and school counselors are also available to talk at any time to support our students and our parents.
Required Assessments
As a public cyber charter school, each year we conduct internal, knowledge-based, student testing to gauge progress. We also require our students to take assessments in accordance with the State of Pennsylvania Department of Education. The dates for these assessments will be communicated throughout the school year.
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About PA Distance Learning Charter School
Since 2004, PA Distance has been providing a welcoming virtual learning environment for students in grades K-12 across Pennsylvania. Students at PA Distance engage in a blended environment that combines “synchronous” and “asynchronous” learning. PA Distance’s mission is to blend proven classroom teaching techniques with educational technologies to promote academic growth for all students.