Berkeley County School District offers multiple virtual learning pathways for its students. With applications for Berkeley County Virtual Learning Academy’s spring semester opening up on November 18, we sat down with Jenna Wells, Director of Virtual Learning, for a quick Q & A.
The following answers have been edited for conciseness and clarity.
What is Berkeley County Virtual Learning Academy?
“The Berkeley County Virtual Learning Academy is our full-time virtual learning option we offer to 11th and 12th grade students. They have to be enrolled in a BCSD high school and we have a capacity for 100 students. Our application periods are in April for the upcoming school year and then November for spring semester.”
What is Berkeley County Virtual Learning Program?
“BCVLP is our general supplemental program for 7th-12th grade students, so they’re not receiving full-time instruction. It’s our more flexible option because students can take classes to support their school based schedule. It might occur in a school computer lab or outside of the regular school day. I think right now we have around 360 enrollments in BCVLP and it is a rolling enrollment.”
Who is eligible for BCVLA?
“11th and 12th grade students who are on grade-level and also are not considered chronically truant. They would need to have a recommendation from their administration at school. Is there something that would prohibit them from being a good candidate? Are they trying to go virtual because they have an issue with one teacher at school that could be fixed with a schedule change? Students with special services or that receive accommodations, we want to make sure that we can still meet their needs in a different environment, so that’s something that has to be considered.”
How do students enroll in a virtual learning program?
“We have an application. When we receive a student’s application, we reach out to the school on their behalf. If they meet all of the rubric criteria, then we send those students to the administration and say: ‘These are all the students that applied. Are there any specific concerns?’ We also include the students that applied that don’t necessarily fit the rubric criteria, and generally those are the ones we meet about and discuss in more detail.”
How does Low Country Virtual and VirtualSC fit into our programs?
“We partner with Low Country Virtual, which is a virtual program that is hosted by the Low Country Education Consortium. It's full-time virtual instruction for grades 5th-8th, and it’s also application and administration-based. We purchase 30 seats each year, and the majority of those are seventh and eighth grade seats. We lease courses from VirtualSC. We’re considered a franchise of them, so we follow all of VirtualSC’s guidelines and policies regarding attendance, course activity, final exams and accommodations. VirtualSC’s general program has enrollment periods in the fall, spring and summer and those are first come, first serve.”
Who should students and families talk to about enrolling in virtual learning?
“Virtual learning is a great avenue and pathway, but you need to think about if your student would be a good candidate and a great place to start that conversation is with your school’s guidance office.The school counseling office at every high school is very familiar with our programs - BCVLP, BCVLA and VirtualSC. Guidance counselors can recommend courses, talk about what courses are available, what meets the graduation requirements and provide more information about what program might be the best for a student. ”
Who is teaching the classes for BCVLP or BCVLA?
“All courses are taught by BCSD teachers. BCVLA has teachers who are full-time virtual teachers; they have a full teaching load. They have several different course sections, several different classes. We have a full-time English teacher, a full-time math teacher, a part-time social studies teacher, and we’re looking to add science and CTE and possibly world languages and SPED. We have adjuncts that serve to support other classes.”
How do the classes students are taking through BCVLA and BCVLP translate over to their transcripts?
“If you go to Stratford High School, and you apply to be a part of a virtual learning program, you’re still a SHS student. The coursework they complete from us…it’s all state approved coursework and NCAA accepted coursework. It appears as Berkeley County Virtual Learning Programs on their transcript that they would receive from their home school. If they took VirtualSC, it’s the same thing. It’ll appear with VirtualSC on their transcript and any credits that they may have earned.”
For more information about BCSD's Virtual Learning Programs, visit the Virtual Learning Programs page.