Welcome to a new school year! There is nothing more exciting than getting ready to start the 2nd year of the Atherton Alternative Virtual Academy (AVA) at Van Y. The Academy offers students a unique option for completing the state requirements to earn their high school diploma. One of the biggest benefits for students is that if a student enters a course with prior knowledge, such as Biology, they will be allowed to “test out” and demonstrate their proficiency and bypass having to re-do the assignments, quizzes or tests they already know. This helps to accelerate their progress in classes required for graduation, making earning a diploma a real possibility, even those who are coming to AVA far behind in credits.
The staff at the Academy is ready to meet our new students and welcome back our returning students. The first day of school will be Tuesday, September 16th!
Points of Pride from the 2013/14 Program:
- 5 Graduates
- Course’s Completed: 188
- Students made a choice to increase their lab hours to hours offered on Monday – Thursday an additional hour each morning!
- 2 Guest Speakers present at school highlighting post-secondary options & career opportunities in Michigan
- 41 students completed an Educational Development Plan
- 1 student earned a college scholarships from Baker
- Direct instruction & support to students increased during the 2nd semester. As students were more successful they made the choice to increase their time on-site beyond the required hours to address academic gaps.
- 95.2% of the 2013/14 students survey rated that they would recommend the program to another student
New Offerings & Support for the 2013/14 School Year:
- Food Service – Breakfast & Lunch
- Increased electives: Robotics and Physical Education/Health
- Increased lab hours – flexible scheduling
- Increased mentoring and academic support in Math & ACT Prep
Dream – Focus – Success!
The Power of face to face connections, one to one mentoring, and flexibility in scheduling, will continue to be our focus this year to help our students in the Academy to DREAM BIG! Connecting AVA students to “real world” examples of success will continue to be a major focus for the 2014/15 school year for the staff. The Atherton Alternative Virtual Academy had a successful 1st year and our priority must be laser sharp, success for every student. Our team will continue to improve on how we serve our students and keep their needs our first priority. If we do this, the Academy will continue to improve and grow to reach more students.
More information about the Academy can be found on the school website at www.athertonschools.org or by calling 591-0850 to make an appointment to discuss the program. In addition, email scarlson@athertonschools.org for information and to answer any questions you may have about the program and enrollment process.
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