Q: What can my student expect to experience in Clarkston Virtual?
A: Clarkston Virtual utilizes a rigorous curriculum to stay consistent with what is done in seated classrooms. Classes are supported by highly-skilled, thoughtful, and caring Clarkston Community Schools certified teacher mentors utilizing the same academic standards and assessment goals. Small group and individuals supports and lessons are available. Clarkston Virtual students do not have daily attendance or login times, but learning is flexible and self paced supported by certified teacher mentors. Clarkston Virtual teacher mentors monitor student progress and pace and are available daily to support students. Both in person and virtual meetings are conducted to support both students and family needs. Parent and student resources are shared at the start of the year with continued support throughout the school year to ensure students and families are successful. Students and families have access to class resources, progress, and grades.
Q: Does my child have access to Clarkston teachers?
A: Yes, Clarkston Virtual utilizes the amazing teaching staff at Clarkston Community Schools to support students as mentor teachers. Students have one teacher mentor to guide all classes (not a separate teacher mentor for each class).
Q: What is a teacher mentor?
A: In Clarkston Virtual, a mentor is a certified Clarkston Community Schools teacher who has the responsibility to connect with students regularly to ensure students are on track with their learning, support students with questions, support families in the transition to virtual, and support the social and emotional aspects of students.
Q: How are students grouped with their mentors?
A: Students are grouped with their teacher mentor taking many things into consideration including but limited to grade level, traditional school residence, classes enrolled in, family members, as well as groups of students working together. If you are forming a pod, please please notify Ken Janczarek at kpjanczarek@clarkston.k12.mi.us so all students would have the same Clarkston Community Schools teacher mentor.
Q: Does Clarkston Virtual follow the same calendar as traditional school?
A: Yes, Clarkston Virtual follows the same calendar as traditional Clarkston schools, but students have 24-hour access to their online platform. Students have the same holiday schedule and breaks as traditional Clarkston students.
Q: Which online platform does Clarkston Virtual use?
A: Y5-5th grade students use the Lincoln Learning online platform, and 6th-12 grade use the Pearson Connexus online platform.
Q. If I enroll my student in Clarkston Virtual can we transfer back to face-to-face instruction throughout the school year?
A. By enrolling in Clarkston Virtual, you are committing to one full semester in the program. If you wish to transfer out of Clarkston Virtual, you may do so at the semester break with advance notice.
Q: If students wanted to take a Friday off, could they?
A: Yes, students work on the online platform at their own pace. Attendance is not taken and there are no set log-in times (teacher mentors use mentor logs to meet attendance requirements.) If students are ahead of schedule they could continue to work ahead of schedule and complete their classes early, or take a day off.
Q. Does my teacher mentor also teach traditional face-to-face classes to students in school buildings?
A: No, Clarkston Virtual teacher mentors are designated educators who are committed to supporting the Clarkston Virtual program and are not concurrently teaching face-to-face classes in buildings.
Q: I have a group of friends with kids the same age and we'd all like to choose Clarkston Virtual. Can we collaborate and work together supporting our kids?
A: Absolutely, that is 100% up to the families. If families choose to do this it is up to them to work out the arrangements for gathering, etc. If families choose to do this, please notify Ken Janczarek at kpjanczarek@clarkston.k12.mi.us so all students can be placed with the same Clarkston Community Schools teacher mentor.
Q: If my child needs additional support is it available?
A: Yes, there are many layers of support for students who need it provided by your child’s Clarkston teacher mentor. In elementary, there is small group and individual instruction available both in-person and online. In secondary, there are additional supports to answer questions and teach small lessons when needed. Clarkston teacher mentors contact students and families weekly to discuss the progress and pace of students, and are also available daily to support student needs.
Q: My spouse and I both work from home, are there mandatory times to log into the computer or meetings during the day?
A: No, there are no mandatory times to log into the computer or weekly meetings. Clarkston Virtual is a self-paced virtual program.
Q: Can my student finish classes early or work on classes at their own pace?
A: Because Clarkston Virtual is a 100% virtual program, students have the ability to work on classes at their own pace. If students choose to work on all of their classes concurrently at an accelerated pace and complete them early to enjoy a few extra weeks off, they can do so. If students choose to work on one or two classes at a time and rotate through them they can do so, just as long as they finish all of them before the end of the semester.
Q:Can my child participate in athletics while enrolled in Clarkston Virtual?
A: Yes, students enrolled in Clarkston Virtual have the opportunity to participate in school sports.
Q: How am I contacted regarding my child’s progress in Clarkston Virtual?
A: Clarkston teacher mentors keep in close contact with families regarding the pace and progress of Clarkston Virtual students. In addition, just like a traditional school, Clarkston Virtual students receive progress reports, learning feedback documents or report cards, and hold parent-teacher conferences. Parents will also have 24-hour access to the progress and pace of their children within the online platform.
Q: Do parents have access to what students have to do for the entire semester to plan better as a family?
A: Yes, families have access to know everything that is required within the online platform for the semester from assignments to activities. Families are able to plan accordingly to support their family needs.
Q: What if I have a second-grade student but they are reading at a third-grade level?
A: All of the curriculum utilized by Clarkston Virtual allows us the flexibility to move students forward or backward based on their academic progress. In the elementary grades, Clarkston Virtual teacher mentors closely monitor student pace and progress while commuting with families to make these adjustments.
Q: Can my child still participate in specialized programs like OSTC, DEEP, CSMTech, Construction Tech etc.. and/or secondary electives like Band, Choir Orchestra, etc.. at the building but also take classes through Clarkston Virtual?
A: Yes, secondary students in specialized programs have the opportunity to take classes both online through Clarkston Virtual as well as seated classes in the building.
Q: Do Clarkston Virtual teacher mentors have the ability to manage what my student is working on based on progress and performance?
A: Yes, Clarkston Virtual teacher mentors manage the curriculum content that Clarkston Virtual students are using. If a student shows mastery in an area, the teacher mentor will eliminate that section in order for the student to continue progressing. This is also true for students who need additional support. Clarkston Virtual teacher mentors are able to upload support materials for students who are struggling in a particular area.
Q: What about state and local assessments?
A: Clarkston Virtual students take all state and local assessments. Students in grades K-3 take a reading assessment and students in higher grades participate in the M-STEP, PSAT, and SAT.
Q: Is there a cost for families to enroll in Clarkson Virtual?
A: No, Clarkston Virtual has zero cost to families
Q: Is there live instruction to support the students learning?
A: Yes, students in Clarkston Virtual work at their own pace, but at any point, if they struggle with an activity or assignment their Clarkston Virtual teacher mentor can support them through a Google Meet or set up a time to meet and support the student.
Q: Are Clarkston Virtual teacher mentors able to customize the curriculum to meet the individual needs of students.
A: Yes, the Clarkston Virtual curriculum is completely managed by Clarkston Virtual teacher mentors.
Q: Do elementary students have similar experiences in Clarkston Virtual that they do in a traditional school?
A: Clarkston Virtual works to incorporate as much as possible into the elementary school experience through Clarkston Virtual. These experiences will include daily meetings with mentors, small group instruction, small group social-emotional groups, as well as individual lessons. Because Clarkston teachers will be serving as mentors, they will be able to bring their best practice into the virtual environment including both academic and social-emotional.
