Attendance

In accordance with New York State Education Law, Article 65-Section 3205, all children in New York State between the ages of 6 and 16 years who are in proper physical and mental health must receive full time instruction in a public, private, or parochial school. For accountability purposes, chronic absenteeism is defined as missing at least 10% of enrolled school days in a year for any reason, excused or unexcused. The District will implement intervention strategies for students who are at risk of becoming chronically absent. 

Per the New York State Education Department (NYSED), schools must develop a mechanism to collect and report daily teacher student engagement / attendance.  While this requirement is straightforward in an in-person setting, a procedure should be developed to make daily contact with students in remote or hybrid settings.  It is critical for schools to use a variety of creative methods to reach out to students and families who have not engaged in distance learning.  

In the Reopening Guidance Document released by the NYSED, it clearly stated that schools must develop a mechanism for collecting and reporting daily student attendance regardless of the instructional setting.  

For all students in the Frontier Central School District Elementary Virtual Academy, student attendance will be monitored and tracked daily by teachers.  We encourage our families to communicate with their child’s teacher to report an illness or anticipated absence from instruction.

Assessment and Grading

In the Reopening Guidance document from NYSED entitled Recovering, Rebuilding, and Renewing:  The Spirit of New York’s Schools, the importance of using locally determined formative or diagnostic assessment in order to recognize and support individual student needs is addressed.  

For all instructional models used by school districts during this unprecedented academic year, a plan must be developed with regard to methods of assessment, including student assignments, feedback and tracking academic progress related to grade level standards.  The importance of interactive feedback between teacher and student is essential.  

In the Elementary Virtual Academy, methods of diagnostic benchmarking, informal and formal assessment will be used by our teachers in order to recognize the performance and growth of each student.  Essential feedback will be provided, both to students and parents.  Communication between student, parent and teacher is essential to each child’s success.  

Assessments

Our teachers strive to support students in recognizing that assessments are learning tools that have an integral role in the learning process.  In addition, we believe that the primary purpose of assessments is to verify what students have learned and to identify any gaps in understanding that must be addressed.  

Grading

When it comes to grading, encouraging and supporting student learning means ensuring grades accurately reflect what students have learned and are able to do, not when or how they learned it.  Teachers will complete student report cards which assess student performance related to grade level standards and skills at three points during the academic year.  In addition to reporting student proficiency with grade level standards, personalized comments are essential in describing how our students are performing.  

The schedule below summarizes the trimester marking periods for the 2020-2021 academic year.  Report cards are typically available approximately one to two weeks following the end of each marking period.  Specific dates when report cards will be accessible on the Parent Portal will be announced in the Important Updates section of the EVA Webpage.  

End of Marking Period I (Pre-K-Gr. 5): December 4, 2020

End of Marking Period II (Pre-K-Gr. 5): March 12, 2021

End of Marking Period III (Pre-K-Gr. 5): June 24, 2021