Posted August 19, 2022
Denver Online Families:
On behalf of the Denver Online team, I would like to welcome our new and returning students and families to Denver Online for the 2022-23 school year! We will launch the 2022-23 school year as ONE Denver Online – not a middle and a high school, but one school with common structures, common goals and a common approach to ensuring every child is supported in building the school experience of their dreams. There are a few important shifts that our students/families will experience this year.
Schedule Our schedule includes a balance of Live Learning and Work Time to ensure that students are provided time and support to demonstrate their learning. During Live Learning period 1 (9:00-9:25 a.m.), all students attend Advisement. This is a 25-minute daily meeting time where students will connect with their advisor and Advisement group in Zoom to engage in social emotional learning and college/career planning. This includes assignments for students to complete the Individual Career and Academic Plan (ICAP) as part of the DPS graduation requirements for all students grades 6-12.
Attendance In an effort to ensure that students are engaging with the content in their courses and growing academically, student attendance will be taken based on students submitting assignments in Schoology that are due on that day. These assignments will coincide with the Live Learning that occurs on that day. Students will have until midnight to complete their assignments for that day as their demonstration of attendance. Parents/guardians will receive notification the following day if their student did not submit their required assignments. If a student, due to illness or family emergency, is unable to complete their assignments, a parent/guardian must call our Attendance Line at (720) 424-8286 to excuse the absence. All absences will be coded as “unexcused” unless we have documentation from a parent/guardian.
Grading This year, student grades will fall into two categories: Learning and Competency. Learning activities will be weighted at 20% of a student’s grade and Competency will be weighted at 80%. Please know that “Learning” activities are not to be skipped, even though they are worth significantly less. Learning activities are what help our students learn, grow and perform their best on the Competency assessments.
Live Classes Guidelines All Live Sessions will take place using the Zoom platform. Students SHOULD NOT create a Zoom account, nor do they need to download the Zoom software. Students will find all links for their Zoom classes on the front page of their Schoology courses and will follow the link to join from their browser. Each teacher’s Zoom link is posted in their course in Schoology. Look for the blue Zoom icon. Students MUST use their FIRST AND LAST NAME in order to be admitted into the Zoom classroom.
Student Schedules Students will access their schedule by logging into the DPS Student Portal, posted on the home page by the start of school.
Username: DPS Student ID #
Password: Date of Birth MMDDYYYY (eg: 01012001) *students may have changed their password. Students are encouraged to connect with their School Counselor regarding any concerns with their schedule. Please keep in mind that School Counselors are quite busy this time of year and will be as responsive as possible to student requests. Please allow more than 24 hours for their response during this busy time of the year.
Here is the list of School Counselors for the 2022-23 school year:
First Day of School School starts for all students, new and returning, Monday, August 22. Students will begin attending Live Learning sessions and submitting work in Schoology. Orientation will be incorporated into the first week of courses to help students master the skills that will make them successful online students! Live Learning will begin in the student’s Advisement teacher’s Zoom room at 9am on August 22. Families will receive an email from their student’s Advisement teacher with the Zoom link by Friday, August 19. Students can access all of their courses in Schoology beginning Monday, August 22. Students can locate their teachers’ Zoom Links for Live Learning in their Schoology courses.
Have a wonderful last weekend of the summer!
Sincerely,
Ian Jones, Principal
