It's summer time again! This is typically the time of the year that changes are made to policies and procedures at Ignite Christian Academy. I want to take a few moments to discuss some of this year's changes.
One change for the upcoming year is that the academy will be moving to a ten-point grading scale. While we feel that the current grade scale does more to push students to higher levels of achievement, we also want our graduates to be on the same playing field as other students when they are in competition for scholarships or college admittance. All 2012 courses will be graded based on the new ten-point scale.
Another change that we are really excited about is the change in our Live Chat. For the past few years, students in our online curricula (Switched On Online and Ignitia) had access to Live Chat with academy teachers. For over a year now, we have been presenting online classrooms. We are merging the two ideas into an "Online Office Hours" session for our teachers at the academy. Beginning in July, students will be able to attend the online office hours of their teacher regardless of whether their teacher is an on-site academy teacher or works from home.
Online Office Hours are when the teacher is available during certain hours via a WebEx session. Students needing assistance may simply log in to the session and may use the chat feature or the audio within the WebEx to share their questions with their teachers. They will then be able to listen as the teacher verbally explains (sometimes utilizing a virtual whiteboard) the concepts or ideas where the students are struggling. Our students will be able to talk to their own teachers but will also still have access to academy teachers as needed. We are excited about this opportunity.
A third change is the addition of participation projects to all core subjects in the 9th through 12th grades. Participation projects will be placed in all units of these courses and will require the student to engage in meaningful academic discussions with their teachers and attend a required number of online classroom sessions in order to receive teacher-directed instruction.
We are excited about these changes and believe that you, as parents, will also see the benefit of these changes to the academy.
Have a great summer!
Dr. Secord
Director, Ignite Christian Academy