Online Homeschooling in California

Riverside Virtual School, California:
The Riverside Virtual School provides a full-range of rigorous, high-quality online courses for Grade 3-12 students in California. An increasing number of families are considering alternatives to traditional classroom-based instruction for meeting the learning needs of their students. The unique blended learning environment experienced by RVS students also provides access to experiential school activities such as fine and performing arts programs, school-based athletics, links to institutions of higher learning, and community mentor programs.

Homeschool Online High School Programs for Grades 3-12:
In order to ensure the quality of curriculum and instruction and address the needs of all students, each online course is rigorous in nature, aligned to state and district content standards, and designed to meet specific student needs and instructional objectives.

In order to leverage program resources/costs and ensure the needs of all the constituencies are met, each online course will be offered and coordinated through a centralized Learning Management System (LMS) and designed to support general education, Advanced Placement, credit recovery, and course acceleration initiatives.

The following online courses are currently being offered to RUSD students through concurrent enrollment with the Riverside Virtual School (RVS):

- Math
- Science
- Language Arts
- Social Science
- Computer Science

Three models are available for learning:

Hosted Model:
Schools provide staffing and up to 36 students for the class. A locally funded, NCLB compliant teacher assumes the course and oversees student work as a part of their contracted workday. A minimum of three face-to face meetings are scheduled and supervised by the host school site; although the actual number of face-to-face meetings is determined locally. The site maintains responsibility for tracking and reporting attendance and grades for students.

Distributed Model:
A course is “sponsored” by a district that provides an NCLB compliant teacher who oversees student work as a part of their contracted work day. The teacher tracks attendance for all students and reports weekly to RVS. RVS communicates attendance and grade information with the home school for official recording. Each school must identify a local mentor to oversee face-to-face meetings and proctor exams.

Centralized Model:
Courses are offered via RVS and staffed by NCLB compliant RVS teachers. Students from any RUSD school may enroll in RVS through the counselor at their home campus, once a partnership agreement has been entered into between RUSD and the participating school district. An RVS teacher will track and report attendance and grades for all students. RVS will report attendance and grading to the home school for recording. Schools must provide a local mentor to oversee face-to-face meetings and proctor exams.

Online Summer School Program:
Any high school student who lives in Riverside Unified School District may apply to enroll in the Riverside Virtual Summer School program. Enrollment is encouraged for students who have the potential and commitment to succeed in rigorous, college preparatory courses.