The LISD Virtual Learning Academy (VLA) is the district's virtual campus for high school classes which has been in existence since 2007. VLA is authorized by the Texas Virtual School Network to provide fully online courses taught by LISD teachers who have completed a 30-hour course in the teaching of virtual classes. VLA currently has over 40 course offerings. Students can take these classes as part of their campus or virtual learning schedule, creating flexibility in their schedule by taking a combination of classes on campus and classes online through VLA. Students may take up to three VLA courses in a year.

The LISD Virtual Learning Academy (VLA) is the district's virtual campus for high school classes which has been in existence since 2007. VLA is authorized by the Texas Virtual School Network to provide fully online courses taught by LISD teachers who have completed a 30 hour course in the teaching of virtual classes. VLA currently has more than 40 courses in their catalog. Students can take these classes as part of their campus or virtual learning schedule, creating flexibility in their schedule by taking a combination of classes on campus and classes online through VLA. Students may take up to three VLA courses in a year. While these are not self-paced classes, students do have a lot of flexibility in time of day and days of the week that they must work on their courses. VLA courses are factored into GPA calculations according to school and district policy.

The District’s 2020-21 virtual and virtual plus options differ from VLA in that they provided a full-time online option available to all students grades K-12 who did not wish to return to campus in the 2020-21 school year because of COVID-19. This option allowed students to take a full schedule online using a curriculum specifically designed for online learning and selected by LISD. LISD teachers will be teaching these courses. The Virtual Learning Academy program is NOT the same as the At-Home learning offered in Spring 2020. 

Students in the program learn a lot about themselves as well as the subject of each course. In addition, the flexibility of the VLA program allows students to follow their individual dreams. For some students, VLA provides the opportunity to take more AP classes to add to their “resume”. For others, VLA opens their schedule so that there is more time to pursue a dream in athletics, arts, or getting an early start on their career. Still others find the flexibility of VLA classes and scheduling allows them to take other classes of interest on their home campuses. In addition, VLA allows students to take classes that might not be available on their home campuses. The reasons are many. What will be your reason?

In the words of some of our students...

 

Lewisville ISD instructors teach all courses authored and provided by the Virtual Learning Academy. Lewisville online teachers are highly qualified, and are certified by TEA in the subjects that they are teaching. In addition to holding subject-area certifications, Lewisville online teachers have earned their online teacher certification through an approved TXVSN professional learning provider and remain current through continued professional development.

While these are not self-paced classes, students do have a lot of flexibility in time of day and days of the week they must work on their courses. All courses have pacing guides and assignments with due dates. Courses are included in the GPA calculation by the home campus according to school and district policy. 

If your student is taking an LISD VLA class as one of their four scheduled classes, there are no fees. If your student takes a VLA class as an overload (a 5thclass), there is a fee assessed for that class. All classes taken during the VLA summer session are assessed fees. Fees for LISD Virtual Academy classes for Lewisville ISD students is $250 per half credit. Fees are reduced for students who are on a federal meal program to $125. 

 

Yes, there is a fee of $250 per 0.5 credit.  

For example, if your student plans on taking English 4 A and B, then the cost would be $250 for English 4A plus $250 for English 4B for a total of $500.

Students who qualify for the Free/Reduced Lunch program pay a reduced cost of $125 per 0.5 credit. 

*Reminder to please ensure your paperwork is submitted prior to requesting a summer school course. (Free and Reduced Lunch Application)

During summer registration, you will receive alerts in your student's LISD Gmail account and/or Skyward Messenger for a custom Skyward form.  Complete that form to alert the VLA staff of your interest.  Scheduling and fee payment will be sent out at a later date. 

Generally, registration opens after Spring Break.  Look for the VLA alerts in your student's LISD Gmail account and the Skyward Messenger system.

Generally, we recommend a limit of 2 courses in the summer session.  Due to the accelerated timeline, the student will be expected to work approximately 3 hours a day per course.  

Yes, you may choose to recover the course credit and retake the failed course with the VLA.  When you do so, the course appears on the transcript and the grade factors into your student's GPA. 

Canvas What-If Grades process

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What-If Grades allow students to calculate their total grade by entering hypothetical grades for assignments. 

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Key detail: Only students can enter and view What-If scores. 

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The "What-If" tool allows students to calculate their total grade by entering hypothetical grades for all assignments. To test a different score for an assignment, students can click on an assignment grade and enter a score in the score column.

 

 

Then the score is hypothetically calculated.  Once the experiment is over, the student then clicks the “Revert to Actual Score” button.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here is the link to the official LISD's instructions to create your Parent Observer profile. 

Welcome to the parent role of a VLA student.  

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Step 1 is creating your Parent Observer role. 

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Step 2: how do I view my student’s grades in Canvas?

Log into your Parent Canvas account.

Select the course you wish to review. 

On the left-hand side of the window, click on grades.

Grade view window

 

Points of interest

1. 1. Course name

   2. Arrange by menu

   3. To see the changed view in Arrange by, click Apply

   4. Assignment name

   5. Assignment due date

   6. Score earned

   7. Total value of the assignment

   8. You can view whether the assignment includes scoring details, comments, or rubrics.

   9. The dash in this view represents an assignment not yet graded by the instructor. 

   10. It allows you to print your student’s grades.

   11. Not labeled is the “Late” icon and the total grade in the upper right corner. 

 

All VLA classes are high school level classes. However, middle school students may take some of these classes for high school credit. This is usually done when students want to accelerate their learning. The following classes are open to middle school students who meet the prerequisites.

• Any of the following math classes: Algebra 1, Geometry, Algebra 2
• Any of the languages other than English: American Sign Language, Latin, Spanish
• The following elective: Art 1

Middle school students may take these classes during the summer or outside their school day as an additional class. Fees will be assessed for these classes. Middle school students may NOT take these classes as part of their regular school day.

The LISD Virtual Learning Academy offers a wide range of high-quality courses across most core subject areas and some electives. These courses are all taught by qualified LISD teachers who have also completed the TEA required 30 hours of qualified training for teaching online courses through the Texas Virtual School Network. The VLA catalog consists of over 40 courses, including several AP classes. Follow this link to see details:

 VLA Course Catalog and Course Descriptions

Yes. VLA also has access to all the courses offered through the Texas Virtual School Network. Classes offered through TXVSN will vary from year to year depending on what other districts are offering. You may view current TXVSN offerings at https://catalog.mytxvsn.org/. Any LISD high school student may also select classes from the TXVSN catalog. Contact the VLA office at 972-350-1870 or virtuallearning@lisd.net for more information.

VLA classes give your student greater freedom in how and when they will work on their course assignments. All VLA classes have a pacing guide with due dates so they are NOT self-paced. However, students have a lot of latitude as to when they work on VLA courses. You will NOT be successful if you only work on a VLA class once a week. The amount of work you need to complete is comparable to that which would be completed if you were on campus. However, many students find they can complete some of the work faster as they are not waiting around for others to complete their work. 

No, the app does not have the same functionality as the browser, and it moves buttons to non-normal locations.  

Yes, you can use teams.webex.com to gain entry into your WebEx profile. 

Online learning is all about flexibility. You can work wherever you have an Internet connection, and you can work whenever it fits into your day. However, a Pacing Guide and hard deadlines are in place to set you up for success and allow you to collaborate with your classmates and teacher. The LISD Virtual Learning Academy follows the district calendar and grading guidelines. Grades are submitted every 3 weeks and impact UIL eligibility. 

No. VLA classes are designed to be asynchronous, which means that you can work on them at just about any time. Teachers will schedule class and individual meetings as needed. Teachers are also available for one-on-one assistance depending on your needs and schedule. This approach gives you greater flexibility in your schedule. This approach also requires that you be dedicated to getting your work done and holding yourself accountable. These classes are not self-paced, but they do provide the most flexibility in when and where you will do your work. Planning your day and week will set you up for success.

No. All VLA courses have been designed for an asynchronous approach, which means that you do not need to sit in front of your computer at a specific time each day. However, it is important that you deliberately schedule your time each day to work on your coursework so that you will be set up for success.

You can expect to spend about the same number of hours as you would in a traditional classroom, but you get to decide when and where you work. There is a Pacing Guide and hard deadlines that must be met. You will quickly learn the importance of time management as you balance your online learning with school, work, and extracurricular activities.

You are never alone in your online course. You will have a variety of learning experiences, just like in a traditional classroom setting. Some of these experiences occur in real time through WebEx. We call these synchronous sessions. You will be able to collaborate and work with your classmates during these sessions. You will also collaborate and work with your classmates asynchronously through course discussions in Canvas, Google Docs, and other Internet-based tools.

No, VLA courses are authorized through the Texas Virtual School Network and attendance is set at 100% present upon successful completion of the course. However, the courses are NOT self-paced. Students are provided with a pacing guide with assignment due dates. Successful completion of the course is defined as a final course grade of 70 or higher. Failing the course counts as 0 minutes of seat time and can adversely affect your status as a full-time student and UIL requirements. 

Yes. Grades from a VLA course work the same way as grades from any campus-based course. All VLA courses will generate grades on your transcript. The course credits earned will count towards graduation and all grades earned will be factored into your overall GPA following the same rules applied across the district on all high school campuses.

 

*Middle School Students:

• 7th graders will receive the grade and credit, but no GPA or rank.  
• 8th graders, who take VLA during the academic year, will receive the grade and credit, but no GPA or rank.  
• 8th graders taking VLA during the summer before entering 9th grade, will receive the grade and credit, but no GPA or rank. 

LISD high schools operate on an accelerated block schedule. This means that students take four 90-minute classes each day as a full schedule with a full credit class being completed in two 9-week terms. You may schedule VLA classes as one or more of your four classes during periods 1, 3, or 4. We do not normally schedule VLA classes during the daily attendance period, which is currently period 2. Taking a class outside the school day would mean the student is taking a 5th class scheduled for period 00 or 8.

VLA is aligned to the school district calendar and offers most of our classes in the Fall, Spring and Summer semesters.

No. Current state law does not allow full funding for students taking a full-time course load in a virtual environment outside the seven TEA authorized full-time virtual schools in the state. This is a law that we hope will change and are actively working to inform the public and Texas lawmakers about these limitations and the negative impact they have on some students and public-school districts.

State law limits the total number of online courses a student may take in a single year as part of their regular school schedule. In most cases, you may take up to three credits in a full year without any difficulties. In addition, it is possible to take additional classes outside the school day or inside the school day, depending on the specifics of the student schedule. Please see your counselor for help determining the number of courses you may take this year.

Sign-ups for Fall and Spring classes for the next year are done during the course selection process. When you receive instructions to request classes for the next school year, you will find that the VLA classes are listed with the rest of your classes. This means that if you need a math class (i.e. Algebra 2) and if you want to take that class online, you would simply select Algebra 2A- Virtual Learning AND Algebra 2B- Virtual Learning. In VLA, each 1.0 credit class is broken into two 0.5 credit classes.