August 27, 2020 To the Parents of Navigator Academy:

We would like to welcome back all the returning Apollos and send out a warm greeting to the newest members of our Apollos family. We are all going into uncharted territory and will be facing adversity in the upcoming weeks and possibly months. We firmly believe that with the support and patience that you showed us last year, we can all come together and overcome whatever obstacles get put in our way. Whether you are a Brick and Mortar student or an eLearner, we have planned another fun filled year.

Our IT Department has spent the summer reviewing concerns and questions from parents and teachers from last year’s experience. They, and the Board of Directors, have come up with a solution that will benefit all students, not just eLearners. We will be utilizing Microsoft Teams for our communication portal. All students can get Office 365 for free, it is a stripped-down version that does not include outlook so we will be utilizing Microsoft Teams and GoogleSites (like last year) to help with uploading information and getting information to our students.

We are working with Microsoft and the District to get your children the free version of Office 365. This does not look like it will happen before the start of the year, so we have come up with an alternative. We can use a personal email address to invite your children in with limited capacity (basically video conferencing and chat) until we can resolve the email issues. Please email your child’s homeroom teacher with the email address that will be added to Teams. You will get an invite from the homeroom teacher.

Parents of “NAL eLearners,” please understand that your children will be taught in real time. We have set up our classrooms so that the teacher will be the only thing that is broadcast from the school. Students who are back in class will not be broadcasted or visible out over the internet. While we at NAL believe in collaboration, we will not put any images of the brick and mortar students out over the internet without expressed written consent from you the parent. In our experience, Teams is a very safe method of video conferencing. It is not like Zoom, where meeting ID’s and Passwords can be shared. You must be invited into a class to gain access to the video stream and we can verify attendance several ways. We want the eLearners to have the same experience as our Brick and Mortar students. We would love to see collaboration between all students, regardless of what platform they are utilizing this year.

Expectations:

eLearning students are expected to follow the Student Code of Conduct and Code of Collegiality as this is merely an extension of our school and they will be participating in real time education.

Online eLearning students will have their attendance taken as they participate in classes online during regular school hours and follow a standard school schedule. eLearning teachers meet daily with their students utilizing Microsoft TEAMS embedded within our Google Sites platform.

We will have a planner set up on Teams, so it is easy to access all the information they will need to be successful. All eLearners will be able to speak with the teacher during the live sessions so they will be able to ask questions and get answers just like they would if they were in the class.

Parents, if you have questions regarding these processes or implementation of Office 365 please reach out to us via email at rebecca.valdes@navigatoracademy.com and we will respond to you in a timely manner. We at NAL will go to great lengths to ensure that all our students, either online or in person, get the same opportunity to learn and grow while maintaining social distancing protocols. Again, this will be challenging to start but we are confident that you will see a much better platform and that your children will receive the same education regardless of what platform they choose. We are in this TOGETHER!!!

For details regarding our online eLearning expectations, please visit our website.

Thank you, Navigator Academy of Leadership

Online eLearning Expectations Navigator Academy of Middle School – Grades 6th & 7th

A Message to Apollos from Mission Control

Dear Parents and Students,

Welcome to Navigator Academy of Leadership. We are proud to be the first of-its-kind charter school with a vision of developing well-rounded leaders. In order to accomplish this, we understand that all aspects of a child’s development must be addressed. At Navigator Academy of Leadership, we continue to strive to make students the CEO of their own learning by educating, empowering, and believing in them. We hope their developing thirst for knowledge grows, as they learn and apply it to the real world.

Our students will achieve academic success through relevant and rigorous instruction grounded in our SMART curriculum which focuses on the integration of Science, Math, Art, Reading and Technology. Through an intentional focus on leadership, character, and academics while in a safe and nurturing environment, our students will reach their highest potential and develop skills necessary to succeed in all aspects of life.

These lofty goals are not achieved without a focused partnership between Navigator Academy of Leadership, the community, along with our students and parents. Navigator Academy of Leadership is committed to the education and development of each child. We need our parents and community to continue to support us in making this commitment. It is when we work together that the students will see that we believe in them, and they can truly begin to believe in themselves and awaken their inner genius. Every student has a gift to offer the world. Let us continue to work together! Every student learns and grows at their own pace and finding their inner gift and how to put it to use is our long-term goal. Even during these unprecedented times, we are working together to ensure that ALL students get a quality education even with the selection of Online eLearning.

We are sincerely honored that you have entrusted Navigator Academy of Leadership with your most precious gift, your child. Every decision we make, as a school, will always be in the best interest of our students. We are very excited to embark on this amazing journey with you! We will continue to create history and leave our mark on this community and in the lives of our students. I look forward to another fantastic school year.

Best Wishes,Mrs. Tiffany SmithPrincipalNavigator Academy of Leadership

2020-2021School Calendar

Also available on our website www.navigatoracademypolk.com

What is Online eLearning at Navigator Academy of Leadership?

Online eLearning is Navigator Academy of Leadership’s distance learning option for those students in grades K-7 who wish to continue their education full-time through an innovative learning environment but still maintain their enrollment status at Navigator Academy of Leadership in anticipation of an eventual return to the traditional setting.

Online eLearning students will have their attendance taken as they participate in classes online during regular school hours and follow a standard school schedule. eLearning teachers meet daily with their students utilizing Microsoft TEAMS embedded within our Google Sites platform.

Online eLearning also affords students the opportunity for whole-group and small-group instruction, personalized learning, and support services, such as guidance and mental health counseling, interventions, and therapies as needed. Your assistance in working with the teacher and the assigned schedule is appreciated. Also, we have been diligently working on making our Online eLearning system easy to use, and although we anticipate no issues, we thank you in advance for working with us through any hiccups that may take place. This is different for all of us and we are in this TOGETHER!

Attendance

▪ Students MUST log on daily and check in with their assigned Homeroom teacher in order to be marked “present”.

▪ To facilitate everyone’s schedule, Online eLearning students but log on between 8:15am – 8:40am in order to be marked “present” for the day. Otherwise they will be marked absent.

▪ All attendance policies apply for Online eLearning students as they do for Brick and Mortar students.– Under Florida Statute 1003.21, compulsory attendance is still required of our Online eLearning

students.

▪ Students must log into their teachers’ live session at the time determined by the school and the schedule provided. Students who do not log into the live session with their teachers at the predetermined time may be marked as tardy. A student is considered tardy to class if the student is not present at the moment attendance is taken.

Middle School Schedule for Online eLearning

Middle School Online eLearning students will be given a schedule and all required information for them to log on and participate in every period.

Student attendance in EVERY period is NOTrequired but STRONGLY recommended including Elective courses.

In some cases, students may log on and virtually attend the class for only the instructional portion.

Students needing help with lessons and assignments should log into their scheduled class to get assistance from the teacher.

Online eLearning Behavior Expectations

▪ Assignments will be posted by Monday on the teacher’s google site with deadlines.

▪ Deadlines will be reasonable but will also be ENFORCED. This is critical in order for teachers to evaluate the student’s progress towards concept mastery.

▪ Please note that there are Brick and Mortar students attending the class along with your child who is attending virtually. Behavior expectations are the same for ALL students. Regardless of Online eLearning or Brick and Mortar, ALL students will adhere to the Polk County Code of Student Conduct.

▪ Parents understand that ALL tests and quizzes will take place with the same expectations as in class. Online eLearning students will be expected to complete these independently and will not “cheat” in accordance with the Code of Student Conduct.

▪ Teachers will be equipped with a earpiece to be able to hear their Online eLearning students along with their Brick and Mortar Students.

Online eLearning Expectations

At the time that you selected Online eLearning, the following expectations were provided. Since many parents have changed their selection, we are providing these expectations again.

At the beginning of the year, all parents of Online eLearning students will be required to complete an online form acknowledging these expectations.

Online eLearning Expectations – Continued…

▪ E-Learning will be selected quarterly. By signing up for the Long Term E-Learning option, you are signing up for the entire quarter. Should you change your mind, your child can be moved into the "Brick and Mortar" option as long as space is available. Please note that this change may involve a change in teacher.

▪ A minimum of 1500 minutes of instructional time per week will be required. This equates to at least 5 hours of school work per day which includes live lessons and independent classwork.

▪ E-Learning teachers will work the entire school day and will be available to their E-Learning students during regular school hours, even when students are completing independent classwork.

▪ Students will be assigned to a certified and qualified teacher delivering instruction from their fully furnished classroom.

▪ E-Learning students will still be assigned to Navigator Academy of Leadership and will have access to the same curriculum as the students who will physically be attending Navigator Academy of Leadership.

▪ Assignments will have set due dates and deadlines for work to be submitted.

▪ Technology will not be provided. Technology will need to have Internet access. We will be using Google Sites and Microsoft Teams for virtual lessons (safer and more secure platform).

▪ In order to meet individual student needs, some students may be required to log on for extra instructional time for differentiation of instruction and remediation in a small group setting.

▪ Elective Lessons for Art, Music, PE, Spanish, and STEM will be required activities/assignments that will be more individual and project-based. educational requirements.

▪ Students that are ELL (English Language Learners) and ESE (Special Education) will have time built into their schedule to work with an ESE/ELL teacher to meet their educational needs. The same will be offered for Gifted students.

▪ Students receiving Speech and Language or Counseling Services will also have these needs met virtually and delivered by a certified teacher/professional.

Online eLearning Expectations – Continued…

▪ Agendas are required for all students. They have been customized for our educational classes as well as Leader in Me pages used in lessons and for setting student goals. It will be essential for E-Learning students to be organized and the teacher will use this as a tool to help teach time management and organization.

▪ We are still asking parents to complete their 10 hours of volunteer service per family. We will be flexible and we ask that you work with your child's assigned teacher and the PACC committee for ways that you can complete these from home, when necessary.

▪ E-Learning students are required to follow the Code of Student Conduct and our Code of Collegiality.

▪ E-Learning students are required to wear their uniform polo top while in class session.

▪ As with all teachers, E-Learning teachers can be reached via email and conferences can be set up with parents by phone or virtually via Microsoft Teams. Please note teachers will have live students in their class, so please adhere to their scheduled hours and provide at least a 24hour turnaround for a response.

▪ E-Learning students, as all other students, will have home learning assigned to them with expected deadlines

▪ E-Learning students will also have access to required iReady lessons and assessments.

▪ A schedule will be provided to Online eLearning students with times to log in and attend live lessons.

▪ Online eLearning students can participate in all assemblies, guest speakers, award ceremonies, etc. as we will provide virtual access to these for our E-Learning students.

Apollo Parental Guidance

➢ Make sure your student understands the work expectations for eLearning.

➢ Maintain a daily routine around school and schoolwork.

➢ Keep in touch with your teachers on a regular basis. let them know if your child is experiencing any challenges.

➢ Talk to your child regarding how they are feeling during this stressful time.

➢ Perform check-ins with your child regarding academics; this includes checking grades on FOCUS.

➢ Seek assistance from school staff for emotional or mental health if needed.

➢ Reach out to your child’s teacher or student services staff with any changes that may affect your child’s success. This way we can develop supports for your child prior to the first day of school.

➢ Parents may be required to pick up instructional materials (textbooks, etc.) for Online eLearning.

We are all ONE Apollo Family!

We know that these are very different times. We are committed to work in collaboration with our families to make this a successful experience for all.

We thank you for your continued patience and understanding through this process.

Please know our teachers are dedicated teachers care for ALL our Navigator Apollos and appreciate your support and cooperation