The Sioux City Community School District is proud to offer parents/guardians the option to choose Virtual Learning for their child or children. Virtual Learning is provided for students in kindergarten through 12th grade. This document provides parents/guardians guidance and information to enroll a child in the Virtual Learning model.
The Sioux City Community School District developed an enriched Virtual Learning model for students. The Sioux City Community School District requires students to attend face-to-face virtual learning sessions with their teacher of record, who is a highly qualified Sioux City Community School District teacher. Students also complete additional remote coursework assigned by their teacher. With the enriched Virtual Learning model, the school partnership and parent support is critical for student success.
The following expectations provide guidance for families to partner successfully with the school to provide students with the highest quality education.
Enrollment
Any new child enrolling in the Sioux City Community School District enriched Virtual Learning program is required to attend an in-person orientation workshop with their parent(s)/guardian(s) to learn how to access programs used by teachers for instruction, how to upload assignments, how to troubleshoot technology issues while learning remotely, and how to use the device issued by the school to the student for Virtual Learning. The school of enrollment will arrange the orientation workshop for the student, parent(s)/guardian(s), and teacher for a successful launch of the Virtual Learning experience.
Parents/guardians enroll their child(ren) in the enriched Virtual Learning program by completing an application available on the Sioux City Community School District website. Parents/guardians who voluntarily select Virtual Learning must commit for at least an entire quarter.
Schedule
A daily schedule for the student’s education will be established. Parents/guardians of K-5 students are expected to support the child at home during the learning time. Parents/guardians should create a calm, quiet, distraction-free space for their child(ren) to work every day, preferably not the child’s bedroom.
Attendance
Students are expected to attend and/or complete coursework for the virtual courses daily. Teachers record attendance and the attendance records are included in the student’s permanent record. If a student is absent, the parents/guardians must inform the school and report the reason for the student’s absence. Students without regular attendance will move back to in-person learning.
Assignments
Students are expected to complete coursework for the virtual courses daily. Due dates for assignments need to be met. Grades will be issued and credits awarded in secondary coursework. Grade level advancement will be determined at the end of the school year.
Parent Support
In the traditional classroom, teachers actively support, redirect, guide and enrich student learning. In a Virtual Learning model, parents/guardians need to be present to provide the support, redirection, guidance, and enrichment for their child(ren). This level of engagement is especially important for students in grades K-5. If parents/guardians are unable to provide daily support for their child(ren), the Virtual Learning model is not be the best learning design for the child.
Equipment and Materials
Each student enrolled in Virtual Learning will be given a laptop or learning device. This device is property of the District but will remain in the student’s possession throughout the school year. Students will be required to use the device for various instructional activities. Households, where virtual students will learn, must have a high-speed Internet connection (i.e. Fibercomm, Long lines, Sparklight).
Proper maintenance of the device requires the device be updated occasionally. There are help documents with instructions on how to update the device. Some updates require that the device be on the District network, which requires connecting to one of our parking lot Wi-Fi locations (East, North and West High Schools, Irving, Liberty and Bryant Elementary Schools).
While learning virtually, there may be physical materials (textbooks, handouts, worksheets) the teacher may need to provide. Families will pick up those materials at their respective schools of enrollment at the instruction of the teacher.
Parents/guardians can support their child(ren) by ensuring the device is fully charged at the beginning of each day.
All appropriate use policies for technology use apply. Students will be required to follow policies and procedures defined in the acceptable use agreement.
Tech Support
The Sioux City Community School District developed a library of videos, tutorials, and guides to assist in navigating Virtual Learning. The videos, tutorials, and guides can be accessed through https://sccsd.freshdesk.com.
The Help Desk phone service provides personalized support to families experiencing technical difficulties. Parents/guardians and students needing assistance with a device or software can access a technology Help Desk technician by calling (712) 279-6803. Phone support is available on weekdays from 7am-7pm.
Suggested links for parents to utilize when supporting their child:
Visit the SCCSD FreshDesk for remote learning support
Working from a laptop? START HERE
Working from an iPad? START HERE
OR Scan the QR code below for additional support
Thank you for choosing the Sioux City Community School District for your child’s education.