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River Valley Academy parents and students tell board of technical issues, staffing turnover and classroom time lost to online integration
Summary
River Valley Academy parents and students urged the board to address online-platform challenges at RVA after the district combined virtual programming with the alternative high school; concerns included reduced teacher contact time, Wi-Fi reliability, turnover, and limited foreign-language instruction.
Multiple River Valley Academy (RVA) stakeholders used the public-comment period to urge board action on issues that parents and students say emerged after the district combined the virtual program with RVA this year.
Parent Jill Adams said RVA staff are "great" but described barriers for students with ADHD when core classes are delivered via Schoology rather than more interactive Genuity courses, and asked the district to explore allowing core classes to be taken through alternative platforms when it better serves learners. Olivia Adams, a super senior and student-lead president, said integration of Rockford Online into RVA reduced teacher instructional time and that teachers often used ramp time to complete online coursework, limiting student access to supports. She also cited frequent Wi-Fi problems and high teacher turnover.
Superintendent Dr. Matthews acknowledged the concerns, said administrators are meeting regularly to make the combined program work, and pledged to include students and families in follow-up conversations. He said the district will evaluate effectiveness of the combined model and work with the RVA team to address issues raised.
Why it matters: RVA serves students who need an alternative pathway; concerns about instructional time, platform accessibility, and staffing turnover relate directly to students ability to learn and to the districts goal of making RVA a place where "students feel valued." The board signaled it will follow up through administrative action and outreach.
Quote: "We did combine our virtual program with RVA this year. There have been some bumps along the road... We will continue to evaluate the effectiveness of our program," Superintendent Dr. Matthews said.
Next steps: the superintendent said district staff will meet with the RVA administrative and teacher teams and include students and families in conversations to address the issues raised. The district also plans to send a survey to preschool and early-elementary families about language-immersion expansion.
