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VIBE’s Focus

The main focus of Virtual Instruction By Excellence (VIBE) is to provide you with a highly effective online learning experience through consistent interaction and a rigorous curriculum. Our online program makes it easy to become an active participant in your child’s public school education. It is designed to create working partnerships among motivated parents and experienced Minnesota licensed teachers using outstanding curriculum to provide a learning environment truly focused on the individual needs of your child.

VIBE curriculum has been developed by some of the best minds in education. VIBE makes sure the curriculum is effective, engaging, and meets or exceeds Minnesota standards. Virtual Instruction By Excellence students demonstrate their knowledge and skills through participation in state standardized tests.

When your child enrolls, you receive a complete curriculum, lesson planning tools, books and instructional materials, and the use of the necessary technology. Teachers monitor your child’s progress, attendance, and work samples, and provide instruction, suggestions, and support.

VIBE is designed to accommodate a variety of learning styles and allows students to work at their own pace. Recognizing that online learning is not necessarily the right choice for every learner, our staff will work with you to determine how it might work for your family.

Throughout the year we have outings that help establish a community of learners. The outings are focused on supporting the academic curriculum, providing opportunities for socializing with teachers and peers, and promoting a team approach.

The Virtual Instruction By Excellence gives the students in your family the opportunity to help promote “Excellence in Action”.

VIBE Policies

Overview / Expectations

Characteristic Requirements for Online Students:

To ensure student success, VIBE has the following expectations of our students:

  • Submit assignments that show effort, of your own doing, and making progress to course completion. Students should complete 10-11% of the course work each week for a quarter length class and 5-6% if it is a semester long class to show adequate progress. (Work that is submitted, but violates VIBE’s academic policy will not earn points and will not count towards attendance.)
  • An intervention plan will be created for students who have more than five days of unexcused absences.
  • VIBE tracks attendance through system logins, system activity, and work submission.
  • Revise work as recommended by the instructor.
  • Report medical absences or other absences to vibe@isd518.net. If you are under 18, a parent or guardian must contact VIBE office staff if you are unable to log-in for more than 24 hours (illness, vacation, etc..)
  • Refrain from emailing or posting inappropriate comments.
  • Communicate with teacher(s) frequently with questions or concerns.
  • Respond to email and phone calls from faculty and staff within 24 hours.
  • Update VIBE office staff when address and phone numbers change.
  • All other rules and code of conduct as outlined in the LC Student Handbook.

Consequences for not following the above expectations include:

  • Students not meeting attendance and course requirements will be reported for truancy.
  • Failure to comply with these policies can result in courses being put on hold.
  • Failure to comply with these policies can result in being dropped from VIBE.

How do I stay on pace to successfully complete this course?

  • Communicate with my online teachers
  • Set a daily schedule
  • If a student(s) grade drops below a C they will be required to report to the LC until the grade is improved.  If a student is online learning from a distance in the state of MN and they cannot travel to the LC on a daily basis the principal will work with each family to come up with a plan to make sure daily progress is being made in order for the student to be successful.  As a public school, students who do not meet attendance requirements will be considered truant, per state statute.
  • Students are welcome and encouraged to stop by the LC or may schedule an appointment to meet.
  • Students will refrain from any inappropriate comments, postings, etc. Any incident will require a meeting with the VIBE principal, the student’s parents and the student.

** ATTENTION:  Failure to comply with this policy will result in failure of this course.

Attendance Guidelines:

School attendance is one of the most significant factors related to school achievement. The school, parents, and students share the responsibility of promoting regular attendance. The Minnesota Compulsory Attendance Law requires students to attend all their classes every day.

Notice: If you are under the age of 18, a parent/guardian must communicate with VIBE if a student is unable to log in due to illness or other personal emergencies. A signed doctor’s note will be required to verify the absence. If you are over the age of 18, the student must communicate with VIBE if a student is unable to log in due to illness or other personal emergencies. A signed doctor’s note will be required to verify the absence.

Excused Absences:

Students who show the most success in virtual learning are those who dedicate time each day to work through their course. If you know that you will need to be offline for a day or more, please contact attendance office and give an explanation of your upcoming absences. Excused absences include: Appointment, College Fair / Visit, Court Appearance (must be made three days in advance), Family Emergency, Family Vacation, Funerals, Illness, Religious Holidays, or School Caused (Field Trips, Athletic Trips, Music Trips, etc.) Communication must be made to: VIBE Principal

Unexcused Absences:

Some examples of unexcused absences are: Babysitting, Driving Lessons, Driving Permit / License Tests, Oversleeping / Running Late, Personal (no reason given)

Truancy:

Truancy is any unexcused absence from school or class. A student is truant if he/she leaves school without prior approval, has an unexcused absence, obtains a pass to go to a certain place and does not report there, or logs on to classes but does not attend class. When truancy occurs, a school representative will notify parents via referral, phone call, or letter. When a child accumulates three truancies in one school year, school administration will notify the county truancy officer.

Excessive Absences:

The average student in the state of Minnesota misses a total of seven (7) days, excused and/or unexcused in a school year. Students who miss more than seven days, whether they are excused or unexcused, are considered excessively absent. When absences become excessive for any reason, parents will be contacted. The school is the arbiter of whether the absence is excused or unexcused. Medical, legal, or other professional verification for future absences may be required to excuse the student from school.

After 3 unexcused absences, the county truancy office is notified. Typically, formal written notice will be sent home from a member of the county district attorney. Students accumulating 7, or more, absences at any point during the school year will be referred to the appropriate county services for formal truancy intervention.

Extended Absences:

If a student has suffered an extended, long-term illness and required work has not been completed, the class record will show an incomplete. A grade will be assigned after the work is completed according to the make-up policy guidelines.

A student absent for an extended period (typically 15 days or more) due to illness is eligible for an extension and adaptations will be arranged with the teachers. Parent/Student should contact VIBE Principal at: (507)372-1605 to make these arrangements.

Academic Dishonesty:

At Virtual Instruction By Excellence, students are expected to adhere to the highest codes of academic conduct. Not only at VIBE, but also in college and work environments, will students be expected to respect and obey guidelines of honesty and integrity. Therefore, we require that all students understand and obey the following rules.

Academic Integrity is being honest when conducting business or completing assignments at school or online. A student has violated the code of academic integrity when he/she plagiarizes, forges a document or parent note, falsely records data from a science experiment, cheats or helps a classmate to cheat, submits work that he/she did not do, or submits work that has already been turned in for a grade in another class.

Plagiarism is using another person’s words or ideas without properly citing your source. It can be either intentional or unintentional.

How to be a Successful Online Student:
 

  • Be Organized!
  • Be Responsible!
  • Be an Independent Learner!
  • Be an Effective Communicator!
  • Be Computer Literate!
  • Take the program and yourself seriously.
  • Set your priorities straight.
  • Make sure you have a private space where you can study.
  • Manage your time well.
  • Be able to commit certain hours per week, per course and log onto your course every single day.
  • Be able to communicate in writing.
  • Be able to think your ideas through before responding and use critical thinking and problem solving skills.
  • Speak up if you don’t understand.
  • Develop support systems.  Not only should you get support from your family, you should also get support from other students and teachers.
  • Complete and submit assignments regularly.

Records

According to the Minnesota State Law Relating to Pupil Records, the parent/legal guardian, or a pupil 18 years of age or older, may examine or obtain copies of the student’s file. She/he may do this by making an appointment in the Guidance Office. Records will be reviewed in the presence of a counselor or administrator. His/her school may release directory information upon request. For further information refer to Board Policies.

Important parts of high school courses:

Virtual Instruction By Excellence Homepage Course announcements

  • Course announcements will be communicated to students on a daily/weekly basis.

Blogs/Discussion Forums

  • Blogs/Discussion Forums are places in your course page where you will communicate with your classmates.
  • Discussion forums are planned discussions posted by your teacher within their course, this is where you will post answers to questions given by your teacher and respond to classmates posting within the same forum.

Chats

  • Chat sessions are posted within your course page by your teacher. Your teacher will show you how to use these if they are required in their course.

Email

  • Email is one of the main forms of communication between students and teachers at VIBE. When registering for a course please type your email address on your registration material.

Conferencing

  • Audio/ Video conferencing is another one of the ways that teachers communicate with students at VIBE. Some teachers may use this form of communication more than others. During your course orientation, your teacher will instruct you on the audio / video conferencing platform and how they plan to use it in their course.

VIBE Resources