3.4 Elementary Kindergarten Attendance Policy
Attendance Policy (Florida Statute 1003.21)
Regular participation in online classes is critical to student success. Attendance in virtual school is determined by assignment completion. Since students have flexibility to choose the time to begin work each day, take their course work to remote locations, and determine the days of the week to complete assignments; Volusia Online Learning has a zero tolerance policy for truancy. Parents and guardians have the legal responsibility to ensure that their students are fully participating in online instruction by monitoring their progress and checking for assignment and assessment completion.
Parent(s)/Guardian(s) should:
- Monitor the time spent each day on course work.
- Ensure all assignments are completed, uploaded, and submitted for grading.
- Participate in monthly calls between the student and teacher.
- Provide transportation to all state and district testing.
- Submit doctor’s notes for extended absences.
- Monitor and ensure for academic integrity.
- Attend all workshops, orientations, Live Lessons, and grade-level meetings.
Virtual “attendance” is taken each school day by students signing into their online courses, working at least five hours per school day, and making successful academic progress. Students are expected to complete all required coursework for a given grade level during the school year. The schedule and rate at which a student completes work are referred to as “pace.” Each virtual course has a pacing guide that serves as a map to successful course completion. Students are expected to stay “on pace” by completing assignments according to the pacing guide. Students have access to the virtual courses 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. On average, students should complete approximately 7-8% of their coursework in each course every week.
- A student is considered in attendance or is present if they submit assignments in all courses according to the pacing guide for each course.
- A student is considered not in attendance or is absent if they do not submit assignments in all courses according to the pace guide for each course.
- Parent(s) and guardian(s) can monitor student progress by creating their own “Guardian Profile” account (strongly encouraged), or by viewing their student’s account. Just ask your student to show you their dashboard.
- Teachers are required to notify the student and parent or guardian when the student is falling behind pace or has not worked in any assigned course for more than 7 days.
- If a student falls more than two weeks behind pace, the parent and student will be required to attend a meeting in which the student will be placed on a Student Success Contract.
- Students have the same guidelines related to truancy as students in brick-and-mortar schools. Continued absences can result in intervention via the school social worker and/or the student being withdrawn from VOL to return to their zoned school.
VOL Full Time K-12 students are expected to attend school starting on day one. Any student who has not attended school by Day 10 of the school year will be administratively withdrawn as a no-show, using the code Did Not Enter (DNE). Parents/Guardians will need to enroll their child in their zoned school for the current school year.
Revocation
Volusia Online Learning is a school of choice and students are expected to meet certain requirements to remain in the full-time virtual program. Parent/guardians are responsible for ensuring their student is fully participating in school, even if they have designated another individual as their child’s learning coach. The information below is intended to help parent/guardians support their student’s progress. A student may be revoked or dropped from VOL for not making academic progress. This includes nonattendance and insufficient student progress.
In order to maintain progress, the parent/guardian must ensure that the following activities are taking place:
- The student completes assigned lessons and assessments on a weekly basis.
- The student participates in educational activities for an appropriate number of hours per day/week, as noted in the “Academic Instructional Time Requirements” section of this course.
- The student maintains at least monthly telephone contact with teachers.
- The student attends all required Live Lessons and small group instruction.
- The student is able to demonstrate that he/she is doing his/her own schoolwork.
- The student attends and completes all mandatory district and state testing.
Failure to meet these requirements can result in the student being revoked from VOL.