Support for Families

Frequently Asked Questions by Families

What if it is our first week at RVA?

Welcome! RVA staff are here to support your student’s academic success!

Families receive welcome emails. The emails contain onboarding and support for getting started.

For technology support, email Janice_Rideout@rdale.org.

You are welcome to watch our Orientation Video; it provides information you will want to know, too!

Here are five tips for supporting your student at RVA. You should work on building an in-home schedule together.

Check your contact information on file with the school, this is our primary way of reaching you!

How does attendance work?

How does the RVA Schedule work for the day?

Most of RVA 7-12 classes are asynchronous. Teachers have daily office hours to provide support. Some RVA classes are synchronous with ‘live’ lessons in our Special Education or EL department. Students should follow the in-home schedule that they created to fit what works best for them. RVA students make daily progress in their classes by staying on schedule, completing and submitting course work, and making progress every school day.

What does the Advisor do/what is Advisory?

RVA Advisors are support staff that students can always reach out to for help. Periodically RVA Advisors check-in with students to see how they are doing and offer support. Each week you will receive school announcements from RVA Advisor with school updates. The advisors teach a grade level Advisory class each week where students get support. Advisory Lessons are posted weekly in Schoology: RVA Resources. Most Advisory Lessons are tips for success and strategies for online learning or community building.

How are classes paced for semester-long work?

How do I know how my student is doing?

Connect with the content teachers, here is the first semester teacher Contact List.
Regularly check your student’s grades in Schoology and IC. These are the directions to get set up with your family portals to check grades and information.
For a student with low grades, we suggest that the student attend all of a teacher’s office hours.

It is also part of our school that parents reach out to staff with questions - in fact, we welcome it!!! This is your main way of knowing your student is being honest and the best way to support them.

If you are concerned that your student needs in-person support, they can come for Walk In Wednesday.

What if my student receives support services?

What if my student wants social connections?

They can come for RVA’s Walk In Wednesday. Weekly they can participate in Advisory groups (7th and 8th grade). CRMS is our partner and they provide Social Hours and community building weekly. Special Education students have a Case Manager. Some Special Education classes are synchronous with ‘live’ lessons. EL and other services are supported virtually, check in with your teacher for details.

How does district and state testing work?

RVA Orientation

Additional Support and Enrichment

Walk-In Wednesdays

Mental Health Services
In Partnership with Veemah and People Inc. students have access to School Based Therapy services.

For additional information about this service please reach out to Katie Kaminski, school social worker at Katie_Kaminski@rdale.org.

RVA Social Hour
Socialization and community building are an integral part of any school. RVA in conjunction with CMRS (Community Mediation and Restorative Services) collaborate weekly in providing a virtual Social Hour for RVA students. RVA Social Hour is a school enrichment activity for students to hang out, play games, chat about life, and build community.

Students receive a weekly calendar invite to attend.

Middle School Social Hour:
24-25 - TBD

High School Social Hour:
24-25 - TBD

5 Family Tips for Virtual Learning
In-Home Schedule Ideas

5 Family Tips for Virtual Learning

1. Make space for learning
Many adults have a specific area of the home in which they do work, and it’s important that you create a similar space for your student. Your student will achieve their best work in a quiet, comfortable, and dedicated space that is strictly devoted to learning. This space should be a different set-up than where they normally play games or watch television.

2. Communicate Regularly
RVA Teachers and Advisors communicate regularly through email. These emails contain important information about progress, support, and grade information. Please do not hesitate to contact your student’s RVA Teachers if you have any questions, concerns, or need support in classes. Because your student is working from home, teachers are not able to observe how they are doing like they would in a classroom. If you see that your student is confused or frustrated, contact the teacher about a meeting or a plan. We are here to support your student’s success and your role in their education. Additionally, RVA provides regular progress reports so you can stay up to date on your student’s progress. We also recommend you set up your own Schoology portal and Infinite Campus portal.

3. Stick to a Schedule
A schedule is extremely important. To start, we recommend keeping your student on a similar sleeping schedule as if they were going to in-person school. This will help you and your child know what is expected daily. Do check in with your child’s teacher if you are concerned about progress and follow through on the agreed schedule.

4. Take Breaks
Routines and schedules are extremely important for children at school, and this is no different in RVA. Children will function best if they maintain their routine as close to normal as possible. Setting alarms similar to those they would encounter at school can be helpful for keeping them on a schedule. Around lunch time, encourage them to get up, get some fresh air, go for a walk or bike ride, or have a snack so that they are not sedentary for the entire day. Breaks can also be a great motivator towards work completion (i.e. once you complete this assignment you can have a 15 minute cell phone break). You can also find online timers if you Google online timer. For example: You can set a goal of working on something for 45 minutes, when the online timer goes off, your child can take a 15 minute break.

5. Limit Distractions
Cell phones, TV, Music, etc. can be very distracting to learning at home. You should limit your child’s use of devices, other than what is needed to complete their work, until their schoolwork is done. If you choose, you can allow your child to play on a device during a designated break, but make them aware that they only have a limited amount of time until they need to get back to work. Your child may find frequent disruptions distracting, too. Try and maintain consistent time and place schoolwork should be completed. Going on frequent errands is great for non-school times, like evenings and weekends.

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