1. How do I register?
Students can register by clicking on register now. The first information is designated for the guardians/parents to create their own account that is attached to their student(s) so they can also monitor the progress. Once completed, you will then fill out the student application form. All yellow fields are required. If you’re registering for full time, please make sure to select “Achieve” in the “Affiliation” drop down menu. If you’re only taking 1 or 2 classes with us, look for your school under “Affiliation”, if your current school is not listed, select “NW”. Once registered, we will contact you to verify some information and outline the remaining instructions in order to get you started. Also, please know that if you’re enrolling full time, we will need transcripts from your last school attended.
2. What do we need to participate?
If you can get to a computer that has internet access then you can do school through Achieve, though having strong reading skills is highly recommended as accessing websites and reading the posted information along with other student and teacher postings (blogs, discussion boards, etc…) are important pieces to our classes. We also recommend that you have Adobe Reader, Adobe Flash Player, and Microsoft Word and/or the apple equivalent. There are work arounds for those students who do not have these programs, however having them will make access easer for you. Please also know that there are many pop-ups (not advertisements) within our links; please make sure to have your pop-up blocker off. Students also need to be aware that during ECA (End of Course Assessment periods – the state test) testing, students may need to travel to a testing location in order to have these tests proctored (Ben Davis High School is our biggest site).
3. What if my student is special needs and has an IEP?
We work with special needs students and will schedule case conferences to determine the best placement for students with extra needs. Again, this school may not be the best fit for a student who struggles to read on their own. Because students can take our classes from anywhere in the state, our services are primarily consult based with our teacher of record and individualized instructional support from each individual teacher depending on the class.
4. How is AVE different from other online schools in the state?
Our school is a public, non-charter high school provided through the MSD. Wayne Township School Corporation and we are sister high school to Ben Davis High School and Ben Davis University High School and the third high school in our district. Unlike some online programs, we offer a true diploma track for our full time students and are held to the same rules and standards as other traditional “brick and mortar” high schools within Indiana. Therefore our ECA data, attendance data, and graduation rate all help determine our school grade as designated by the State. We have also partnered with Vincennes University to begin offering dual credit courses (high school credit and college credit) for the fall of 2012 similar to Ben Davis University High School. Our goal is being able to offer students a traditional high school diploma track along with an associate’s degree track through Vincennes in the future as we add more classes. Our content is also created right here in Indiana by our own high qualified teachers. Our content is not purchased and can be modified/evolved accordingly to best meet the needs of our Indiana students.
5. As a parent, how do I help my child to be a strong online learner?
The key to online learning is pacing and being involved. After 1 year of being open, we have seen that our most productive students are those who are paced appropriately through the content (due dates and know exactly how many tasks to complete in order to finish classes within a semester’s time) and who have a high level of parental involvement. Usually this means the parents are monitoring their progress online and scheduling set school time for the student at home.
6. How and when does a student take final exams?
Final exams are password protected and students must have completed all other tasks first and be passing the class in order to be allowed to take the final exam for a specific class. When ready, students can take their final exams at local public libraries (those willing to proctor for free), Ben Davis High School during scheduled times, and we have rented time each month at the Hammond Public Library near Gary. As we grow, we’ll look to have other sites based on our student enrollment clusters around the state similar to the Hammond Public Library. Students can work with their individual teachers on scheduling the exams.
7. What is the cost to enroll?
Students who are enrolled full time can take our classes free of charge. These students must be in at least 5 classes per semester, however we recommend 6 as a traditional school full load. Our full time students cannot be enrolled in any other school during their time enrolled with us to be considered full time as only one school in Indiana can claim a student for full time funding. Students from schools outside of Wayne Township can take our classes for $250 per semester (so a full year of English 10 would be $500 as it is a 2 semester class -English 10-2 and 10-2). During summer school (June and July), we offer some of our core courses free to students. Wayne Township students who attend Ben Davis or the Ben Davis Ninth Grade Center can take courses through Achieve free of tuition.
8. Is there a time when students need to be at a site or somewhere in order to do these classes?
Right now our classes are all online, the only time students need to be present is when they are getting a final exam proctored or one of our State tests (ECA exams in Algebra and English 10).
9. What kind of interaction is there in your courses?
We are developing our student to teacher and student to student interactions as we evolve our curriculum. We are looking to expand our use of My Big Campus which is a controlled social network site for schools that is similar in appearance to Facebook (for student recognition), however classes will have discussions on student work, literature pieces, etc…where they can discuss these with their peers and teacher feedback. Some class teachers also schedule regular webinars where students can conference call in and work with each other and the teacher to complete course work and get extra support when they are struggling. Achieve will also host an Open House on Saturday, September 22nd where families can meet our staff and other families going through Achieve. Most contact will be done teacher to student via email and phone calls as needed.
