Insight PA Cyber Charter School

Can you believe that we are just one week away from the start of a new school year? We are so excited to welcome all of our students back from summer break on our first day of school Monday, August 28th. Please read through this entire newsletter for all of the information you need to get this year off to a great start!

Welcome to the 2023 - 2024 School Year! I hope you had a relaxing summer. The staff, administration, and Board of Trustees at Insight PA are looking forward to working with you and your children this year.

At Insight PA, we are committed to providing your children with rich learning experiences. We believe in and take pride in always doing what's best for the students. We will continue to use this guiding principle when making decisions about our school. We will keep in mind our school vision - to ignite a desire for learning in every student, nurture them to understand their goals, and help create a clear path to achieve them.

We welcome our Insight PA families back to school and hope our students have a great year or learning more about themselves, their communities, and their world, along with gaining skills necessary to meet academic and career-based standards. We aim to honor and nurture our students' excitement and their dreams.

I wish you and your family a restful last week of summer and we look forward to seeing the students online on the first day of school, Monday, August 28th! Thanks so much and let's go, Bulldogs!

If you have not already done so, visit the link below to view our calendar for the 2023 - 2024 school year. Please note the following important dates happening during Quarter 1:

• Monday, August 28th - First Day of School
• Friday, September 1st - Half Day for Students & Staff
• Monday, September 4th - No School (Labor Day)
• Monday, September 25th - Asynchronous Day (No Live Instruction)
• Friday, September 29th - Half Day for Students/PM Teacher In-Service
• Friday, October 6th - Monday, October 10th - No School (Fall Break)
• Friday, October 27th - Half Day for Students/PM Teacher In-Service
• Friday, November 3rd - End of Quarter 1

Our Operations Department has put together two digital packets for our students and families:

• Insight PA Welcome Packet (for NEW students and families)
  
  
• Insight PA Back to School Packet (for RETURNING students and families)

These packets are full of helpful school information and several back to school "to do" items that need to be completed at the start of the year. Please take special note of the items highlighted below that need to be completed by Friday, September 8th. (All the links and forms that you need are included in the Operations packets!)

• FAMILY INCOME FORM - Completing this form helps us secure federal funding and take advantage of programs that benefit ALL of our students!
  
  
• FAMILY INFORMATION SURVEY - The information you provide through this form also helps us receive federal funding and and allows for greater learning experiences for ALL of our students!
  
  
• FAMILY & STUDENT HANDBOOK - Please take the time to review our 2023-2024 Family & Student Handbook and complete the Handbook Receipt and Acknowledgement Form.

During the first week of school, students will follow a special Orientation schedule and attend live sessions covering a variety of important school topics led by our Strong Start Advisors, principals, teachers, counselors, Community Engagement Coordinators, and Student Services Teams. Families will receive communications from our Strong Start Team with more information and schedules for Orientation this week, so please keep an eye on your email inbox!

*Please note that Orientation sessions are required, both for attendance and in order for our students to have a successful start to the school year. Learning coaches are strongly encouraged to join these sessions with their children.

We want to see your first day of school photos and share them with our Insight PA Community!

Complete this Google Form and upload your photos by 4:00pm on Thursday, August 31st to be included in our drawing for an item of your choice (up to $35) from our Insight PA School Store!

Have you noticed some additional colors popping up in our logos, social media graphics, and newsletters lately? We have been hard at work on a new school website that we can't wait to share with you all later this year. Throughout this process, we had the opportunity to refresh our overall school look a bit. We were even able to give our Insight PA Bulldog a makeover!

Now, we need your help to pick a new name for our Bulldog! Make sure you attend your grade level's PBIS Assembly next week during Orientation to learn more - if we pick your suggestion, you'll receive an item of your choice (up to $35) from our Insight PA School Store!

Speaking of our school store - it is now fully stocked with tons of options featuring our updated logos. Visit the link below to purchase your Insight PA gear!

*Purchase two or more items between Wednesday, August 30th and Monday, September 4th and receive 20% off your order. No code needed!

Insight PA is excited to implement a new Learner Engagement and Attendance Program (LEAP) to support our students and families this year! We look forward to all of the positive connections this program will allow us to make with you and your children. Below, you will find information about the team members who will be supporting your child throughout this school year.

LEAP Specialists

Formerly known as your Student Support Advisors, our LEAP Specialists will be working hard this year to help bridge the Home-School-Community connection for you and your child(ren). Your LEAP Specialist will be your first point of contact for most things and will be assigned to families based on region, which means that you will only need to remember one contact, no matter how many children you have enrolled at Insight PA! They will be coordinating and attending community events throughout the state and visiting homes to highlight students that have earned attendance or academic related achievements.

Student Attendance Specialists

Our newly-named Student Attendance Specialists (formerly knows as Student Attendance Officers) will be working regionally with your LEAP Specialists to issue attendance highlights, incentives, and student recognition. In addition, they will oversee the truancy process and address attendance barriers.

Student Resource Specialists & the Student Assistance Program

We will also continue to offer family, school, and community supports via our Student Assistance Program (SAP), a comprehensive support system aimed at addressing the academic, social, and emotional needs of our students. Our team of Student Resource Specialists play a crucial role this program by providing personalized assistance and guidance to students and their families, offering crisis intervention, and connecting them with resources.

*You will learn more about LEAP during Orientation!

Regular school attendance is an essential part of your child’s education and vital to graduating ready to take on the demands of adult life. Students who are frequently absent may be putting their futures in jeopardy by falling behind in school. Chronic absenteeism is a behavior that is strongly associated with dropping out of school.

By establishing a daily routine for logging in to the Online School, attending live class connect sessions, and completing course assignments in a timely manner, students will be able to successfully complete course and graduation requirements. Remember - communicating with teachers is the best way to stay on pace and ensure a successful online educational experience at Insight PA!

A student is counted as present for the day when they are attending all required courses and/or completing work in asynchronous courses. Students should be logging in daily, from Monday - Friday, even on the days when they do not have live classes.

Use our Insight PA Attendance Form to report all absences, including out of state travel. We suggest you bookmark this form so that you have it whenever needed. If you have the old attendance email address and/or phone number saved from previous years, please note that both have been turned off and cannot be used to report absences.

All absences will be treated as Unlawful (Unexcused) until a parent or guardian submits a written explanation or medical excuse through this form. If parents or guardians fail to submit a written explanation or medical excuse within three (3) days of the absence, the absence may be permanently counted as unlawful (unexcused).

• Student Illness
• Medical Appointment
• Death in the Immediate Family
• Religious Holiday
• Educational Trip

A maximum of 10 days of lawful (excused) absences verified by parental notification may be permitted during a school year. All absences beyond ten (10) cumulative days may require an excuse from a physician.

Speak with your child's teacher about the issue. The teacher or LEAP Specialist can provide suggestions.

Our Insight PA Attendance Policy can be found on pages 34-39 of our Family and Student Handbook.

There are many ways you can connect with Insight PA online and get involved with our school! First, be sure to follow us on social media by visiting the links below:

• Insight PA Facebook Page
• Insight PA on Instagram
• Insight PA YouTube Channel

Please also bookmark the link for our Insight PA Community Website, where you will find our family calendar and information (to come!) about all of our events throughout the school year.

• Insight PA Community Website
  
  

The Insight PA Community Advisory Council (CAC) is a group of Insight PA parents, guardians, and learning coaches that meets with our Manager of Communications to provide input and feedback on school programs, policies, and initiatives.

Members of this group serve as liaisons between other Insight PA families and School Leadership. They may also be asked to pilot new programs throughout the school year.

*Learn more about our CAC here and apply here!

Join our online Learning Coach Communities to connect with other Insight PA Learning Coaches, as well as Learning Coaches from online schools across the country! In these online forums, Learning Coaches can post questions, learn from each other, and access school resources. Learning Coaches can log into these communities in the K12 App or through the Online School (OLS).

Visit our School Nurse Padlet for information about Pennsylvania school immunization and health requirements. You can also refer to this guide for specific grade level requirements, as well as links to the dental and physical exam forms.

Completed health forms can be returned by mail, fax, or email. If emailing, please scan or take photos of the forms and send them as attachments.

Email - Healthrecords@insightpa.org

Fax - 717.260.5258

The Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) provides quality, comprehensive health insurance for routine doctor's visits, prescriptions, dental and vision care, eyeglasses, mental health, and much more. CHIP covers uninsured children who are not eligible for medical assistance. For many families, CHIP is free - for others, it is available at a low cost.

Please view the flyers linked below or visit the CHIP website for more information.

What is Title I?

Title I, Part A of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), is a federal program that provides financial assistance to schools. This funding is used to provide additional academic support and learning opportunities for students at schools with high percentages of economically disadvantaged children. The program is intended to help ensure that all students meet or exceed challenging state academic standards.

The goals of Title I are to:

• Increase academic achievement
• Provide direct instructional support to students
• Provide professional development for teachers
• Promote parent and family education and engagement

Insight PA Cyber Charter School is dedicated to providing academic support and enrichment to all students. Insight PA operates a school-wide Title program, which allows all students to take part in any Title I initiative, regardless of the family’s economic status.

Parent and Family Engagement

Insight PA believes that Parent and Family Engagement is of paramount importance to student success. Every Title I school, in collaboration with parents, must prepare a school level Parent and Family Engagement policy. The Parent and Family Engagement Policy describes how the school will involve families in an organized, ongoing, and timely way, in the planning, review, and improvement of the Title I program at their school.

Right to Know

This letter lets you know about your right to request information about the qualifications of classroom staff working with your child and information about student assessments given during the school year.

*Click the links below to view our updated Title I documents for the 2023 - 2024 school year, available in English, Spanish, Russian, and Arabic.

Insight PA families may be able to receive assistance with the costs of their home internet service through one of these two programs:

1. PA Affordable Connectivity Program
2. Rogue Mobile

These resources and opportunities are being shared for informational purposes only. Insight PA is not directly affiliated with any of these organizations.

As a reminder, Insight PA offers $50 a month in internet reimbursement to our families. For more information, visit our Internet Reimbursement Newsletter.

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania requires all Pennsylvania public schools to administer the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA) in English Language Arts, Mathematics, and Science. Individual student scores can be used to assist teachers in identifying students who may be in need of additional educational opportunities, and school scores provide information to schools and districts for curriculum and instruction improvement discussions and planning. It’s important for every student in our school to participate so that we can provide them with the best educational experience possible.

PSSA TESTING WINDOW = April 22 - May 10, 2024

(Students will be assigned one week during this window.)

• Grades 3-8 - Math and English Language Arts
  
• Grades 4 & 8 - Science

Act 158 outlines pathways to graduation, starting with the Class of 2023. If a student attains proficiency on the three end-of-course Keystone Exams, they will have achieved the statewide graduation requirement. More information regarding Act 158 and graduation requirements will be shared with our HS students and families.

WINTER KEYSTONES = December 4 - 15, 2023

• HS students in Keystone remediation courses
  

SPRING KEYSTONES = May 13 - 24, 2024

• HS students who are currently enrolled in Algebra, Biology, English 10, or who need to retake any of these exams

Student computers, printers, and course materials are distributed by K12. If you have questions about your supplies or need technological support, please contact K12 directly by calling them at 866-512-2273 or using the contact form on their website (linked below).