February 10, 2022
Dear Parents and Community Members:
We are pleased to present you with the Annual Education Report (AER) which provides key information on the 2020-21 educational progress for West Michigan Virtual Academy High school, Battle Creek MI. The AER addresses the complex reporting information required by federal and state laws. The school’s report contains information about student assessment, accountability, and teacher quality. If you have any questions about the AER, please contact Bob Kubiak, Director, for assistance.
The AER is available for you to review electronically by visiting the following web site https://bit.ly/3pbIn0o or you may review a copy in the main office at your child’s school.
For the 2020-21 school year, schools were identified using definitions and labels as required in the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). A Targeted Support and Improvement (TSI) school is one that has at least one underperforming student subgroup. An Additional Targeted Support (ATS) school is one that has a student subgroup performing at the same level as the lowest 5% of all schools in the state. A Comprehensive Support and Improvement (CSI) school is one whose performance is in the lowest 5% of all schools in the state or has a graduation rate at or below 67%. Some schools are not identified with any of these labels. In these cases, no label is given. Our school has been labeled TSI.
Our key challenges in data are the following: We have an entire population of at-risk and underserved youth. This has caused the following:
Achievement is not where we would like it to be in math and ELA. We are below the state average. Our ELA is much closer to like schools but we do have a significant gap with math. We have hired math interventionists, updated our course offering and courses themselves to include courses that contain intervention practice for both math and ELA. We had simulated testing situations to help prepare our students in test taking skills. We offer office hours, go guardian, zoom, and google hangout sessions to improve face to face support for classes.
Due to the at-risk nature of our population, we have another challenge with student engagement and motivation to “do school”. We are currently providing many support services for our students including SSW, Special Education Support, ELL Services, MTSS Intervention Support and creating strong relationships with students. Our average caseload ratio is 1:40 mentor to student. This seems to be a nice number to keep our staff challenged and our students engaged. Leadership positions have been given professional development to increase leadership capacity to help guide our staff to improvement in both behavior and instructional support. Another focus of our Professional Development has been doing work around the 5 Psychological needs for at-risk youth. Our School improvement strategies include providing staff support through Professional Learning Communities, Mentor/Mentee groups, and Building Bridges for new staff.
Our students can turn off engagement in a moment so we need to be prepared. We have done that by creating a communication rubric for staff to be trained on and live by. We need to reach kids before we teach them. This training has given our staff the confidence in how to talk to students without the benefit of having a “captive audience” due to our virtual nature. Our dashboards drive what we do and how we focus on teaching and learning. We continue to be data driven and data informed.
Our demographics are fairly similar to other schools but our population is extremely transient. We service students up to the age of 22 and in some cases later than 22. Many of these older students work, so it can be difficult to reach them during school hours. We work around this by providing staff support after hours and on weekends.
State law requires that we also report additional information.
Process for Assigning Pupils to the school
Our school is an alternative education program that is delivered virtually. We do have drop in centers for students to come into at any time for additional support by certified staff. Any Michigan resident in grade 9-12 may attend our program. Each student who enrolls is provided with a comprehensive EDP so their educational goals can be achieved.
Status of the 3-5 Year School Improvement Plan
The two main focuses of our plan are mathematics and student engagement. We continue to be focused on the needs of our students and are actively monitoring our plan. We have created opportunities for students to receive tutoring in person and also virtually. Our social worker provides leadership in addressing the whole child. Our courses were updated and improved. We continued with our summer school offerings to keep students engaged and motivated to gain additional credits toward graduation.
Our ELL students continue to be serviced by a certified ELL teacher. We use interpretalk, and imagine learning programs to help our ESL students and their families overcome the language barrier. Several paraprofessionals and teachers on staff have the ability to speak Spanish which is the majority of our ELL population.
Students may qualify, and also have a need for special education programs and/or services. The West Michigan Virtual Academy of Berrien Springs Public Schools is continuing to develop their Multi-Tier Systems of Supports (MTSS) model, providing general education options for struggling students and monitoring their progress over time. For interventions, students being referred for special education programming/services may begin this process through a request for an evaluation or Child Study Team (CST) meeting. Should a student qualify for special education programs and/or services, a team of individuals will develop an Individualized Education Plan to help assist the child progress within the general education setting.
Current special education programs include secondary resource room support. Students follow a general education curriculum with the common core state standards. In all cases, classroom instruction is provided by a general education teacher along with interactive co-teaching from a special education teacher. Students determined to need more support are given additional services to meet their needs. All students in West Michigan Virtual Academy Programs are given instruction primarily through an online platform. Part of the IEP process includes the determination of appropriate aids, supplementary services, accommodations, and modifications for success in general education. Ancillary services are available for students who qualify. These services may include speech-language therapy, occupational therapy and physical therapy.
As we continue in the 21-22 school year, we will continue on the path originally stated in our SIP, but will add more supporting systems for our staff to be successful in their teaching/mentor role. The PLC, groups as well as the PD for how to communicate and set goals, monitoring, and supporting again will be an added benefit for the 22-23 school year. Support for students and staff on how to get better and reach set goals is key. The culture is shifting quickly with our new mindset. We are moving from compliance to teaching and learning. The big picture goals listed here are definitely our points of pride: 1. School Improvement process and plan. 2. Communication rubric creation, training and implementation. 3. Data Dashboard analysis, training and guidance on how to improve using the dashboard.
Accessibility of Core Curriculum, Implementation, and Variances from State Model
Our school utilizes Edgenuity’s core curriculum, aligned with the standards required under the State of Michigan’s school law, and which is available on Edgenuity’s website at:
https://www.edgenuity.com/course-lists/Edgenuity-Michigan-Course-List.pdf
Our course guide is available on:
www.linklearning.org/courses
Aggregate Student Achievement Results for Local Assessments
All students are required to complete the NWEA both at the time of enrollment and at the end of the school year. The following are the growth metrics for the last two years:
Math:
9th Grade
Fall 2020: 225
Fall 2021: 222
10th Grade
Fall 2020: 228
Fall 2021: 226
11th Grade
Fall 2020: 226
Fall 2021: 225
12th Grade
Fall 2020: 226
Fall 2021: 219
Reading
9th Grade
Fall 2020: 213
Fall 2021: 211
10th Grade
Fall 2020: 220
Fall 2021: 224
11th Grade
Fall 2020: 217
Fall 2021: 219
12th Grade
Fall 2020: 220
Fall 2021: 204
Parent-Teacher Conference Participation
Parents are continuously engaged throughout the enrollment cycle of the student. Parent’s are a key component in the support network of virtual learners, so they are an integral part of helping educate our students.
Post-Secondary Enrollment
WMVA Battle Creek offers several dual-enrollment options with local colleges throughout the State. At WMVA, students have chosen to engage in dual enrollment over the last two years.
College Equivalent Courses Offered
WMVA Battle Creek students have access to a full course catalog aligned with their Educational Development Plans at local community colleges.
College Equivalent Course Enrollment
WMVA Battle Creek had no students during the covid interrupted year, 2020-2021. WMVA Battle Creek has 3 students participate in college equivalent coursework during the 2021-22 school year. This represents 1% of the students enrolled at WMVA in 2021-22.
Score Leading to College Credit
WMVA Battle Creek had no students during the covid interrupted year, 2020-2021. WMVA Battle Creek has 3 students participate in college equivalent coursework during the 2021-22 school year. This represents 1% of the students enrolled at WMVA in 2021-22.
WMVA Battle Creek is a great option for students who want flexibility with schedules, want to re-engage with their education, or simply want a different option. We offer a complete array of services for all students that are with us. Our goal is to see all of our students succeed, not only to graduation, but into adulthood doing what they want for their future. We offer the best services so no child is left behind.
Sincerely,
Bob Kubiak
Director
