A virtual school question for those who've BTDT...

[DeeFL]

If your child has any particular special needs, how do they work with that (seeing as how the work has to be submitted via email, I imagine.) I have two children who definitely have special needs that I, as their parent, can accomodate and work with, however it makes it difficult for them to "show what they know."
Thanks,
DeeFL

[Mamasteff]

I (cough) work for a virtual school in California that has a lot of restrictions on curriculum - you have to use their materials. The special needs students might be placed at a lower grade level but are still expected to make adequate progress (in this school, that means showing a 2-3% improvement each week in each subject area).

Special needs students with IEPs are assigned to both a "regular" teacher and a certificated special education teacher. The IEP would determine any specific changes expected, ie., extra tutoring, extended school year, monthly support phone calls, etc.

Because it is a virtual school it is assumed that the "classroom set up" is best of both worlds for a special needs student - full inclusion, meaning they are in the same classroom environment as all of my other students, but they also obviously can have extended school day, one on one tutoring (parent or, if they ask, me), and other helps to learning.

We try to adapt a few areas as we can - for example, in spelling, a student just cannot get it written down correctly, so we might create online spelling tests that mimic the standardized tests they take at the end of the year. Or skipping certain math units for a few months and working on other areas. And standardized tests are given following IEP guidelines (extra breaks, individual testing, small group, or whatever).

[DeeFL]

That is helpful. Our oldest son is the only one with any diagnosed sn's, but even those aren't "on record" as it was done by a private pyschologist and never reported to any schools. It was done mainly to reaffirm what I already knew (and allow my dh to know I wasn't making excuses for my sons poor academic performance...written, at least.)
Thanks, again,
DeeFL (soon to be Colorado)