How It Works

Elementary School

Who can attend?

The Louisiana Virtual Charter Academy (LAVCA) elementary program serves students in grades K–5 who reside in the state of Louisiana.

What are the costs?

LAVCA is a public school, so there is no tuition. We provide Louisiana-certified teachers and instructional materials. Students and families will be responsible for providing some common household materials (such as printer ink and paper). Each family will be required to have a computer that meets the minimum specifications necessary to access the K12 Online School (OLS). Families must also have internet access in order to participate in the school. In certain cases based on financial need, LAVCA may loan a computer to an enrolling family. This determination will take place during the enrollment process.

What’s my role as a parent?

As a parent, you (or another responsible adult you choose) serve as your child’s Learning Coach. You’ll work with your child’s teacher to help record student attendance, monitor mastery of online lessons and assessments, and review student work.

Parent/Learning Coach involvement is vital to your child’s success, especially at the elementary level. The typical Learning Coach time commitment in grades K–5 is 4–6 hours a day. The initial 4–8 weeks can be intensive, as your family settles into a routine.

Grades K–2

Parent/Learning Coach daily involvement is critical and approximately 10–15 percent of this time is online.

Grades 3–5

Students begin to have increased independence, but parent/Learning Coach involvement is essential for about 70–80 percent of school time and approximately 15–25 percent of this time is online.

What will my child study?

Coursework is a mix of online and hands-on work, which caters to a wide variety of learning styles. Unit and course assessments are built in to each subject, and easy-to-use online planning and progress tools keep you and your student on track.

K–5th graders take courses in the core subjects listed below. Beginning in grade 3, they also take a self-guided elective course in music or a world language.

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ENGLISH / LANGUAGE ARTS

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MATH

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SCIENCE

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HISTORY

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ART

Mastering Lessons

In the elementary grades, students are required to show mastery of each lesson by achieving 80 percent or better on all lesson assessments. If your child is having difficulty mastering a lesson, let their homeroom teacher know as soon as possible. Teachers offer many support sessions to help students gain mastery.

Working with Your Teacher

Teachers provide individual and small group assistance via online synchronous sessions called “Class Connects.” Students are expected to attend all required Class Connects and meet with their teacher to receive course assistance, tutoring, and instruction. Class Connects vary by grade level and are scheduled by your teacher.

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Time Commitment

Attendance is logged Monday through Friday; however, academic progress can be achieved during the weekends as well. K–5 students are expected to spend approximately 4–7 hours on schoolwork per school day.

  • Grades K–2: Estimate approximately 4–5 hours of productive schoolwork 5 days per week
  • Grades 3–5: Estimate approximately 5–7 hours of effective schoolwork 5 days per week

State Testing

Families enrolling at LAVCA must be willing to participate in all required areas of the program.