We are excited to soon begin the 2023-2024 school year.

Mark your calendars for our DCA Back to School Night on THIS Wednesday, August 23rd. Grades 6-8 from 6 pm - 7 pm and Grades 9-12 from 7 pm - 8pm. See Zoom link below.

This update includes previous information as well as some new information. Please review as you prepare to start the school year on Monday, August 28th.

Enjoy the last week of summer! See you soon!

Fondly,

Dr. Kecia Nesmith, Principal and Curriculum Supervisor

Dr. Kristie Burk, Coordinator for Online & Blended Learning

Devices should be picked up on Tuesday, August 15 from home schools between 7 am - 3 pm, if your child is new or in grade 9. Please contact the home school to arrange a time to pick it up if this window is not feasible for you.

• 8/14 - Student and Parent Access to Infinite Campus & Schoology - Schedules, etc. provided

• 8/23 - Back to School Night - Gr. 6-8 @ 6pm & Gr. 9-12 @7 pm

• 8/28 - First Day of School. Please check the Zoom schedule for class times.

• 8/29 - DWHS Picture Day

• 9/4 - No School - Labor Day

• 9/25 - No School - Rosh Hashanah

Links to School Calendars - Be sure to check the calendars for the home school and DCA!

K-12

• Downingtown Cyber Academy (DCA)

Middle Schools

• Marsh Creek Sixth Grade Center

• Downingtown Middle School

• Lionville Middle School

High Schools

• Downingtown High School East

• Downingtown High School West

• Downingtown STEM Academy

We would like to welcome you to the Downingtown Cyber Academy (DCA) for the 2023-2024 school year on behalf of our entire staff!

Our program is designed to engage students in authentic and meaningful learning online - synchronously and/or asynchronously! Our teachers will soon be returning to prepare their courses to ensure students have a dynamic and enjoyable learning experience.

The DCA Weekly Update will be sent out every week. It is important that you read these updates and are able to select hyperlinks to forms, letters, and other documents.

***Please be advised that parents/guardians/caretakers will receive this communication if your child is enrolled in the DCA full-time or part-time.

***Our elementary program is now being provided by the Chester County Intermediate Unit's Brandywine Virtual Academy (BVA). We will post any updates for K-5 DCA/BVA students at the bottom of our DCA Weekly Updates.

You will also receive communication from the home school administration. It is pertinent that you also read these communications, as events for these schools are accessible to students in the DCA.

The first day of classes is MONDAY, AUGUST 28th. Please check your Schoology Courses and Infinite Campus to view your schedule.

We look forward to working together to ensure all students achieve personal and academic success! Looking forward to a wonderful school year!

DCA secondary students must log their own attendance in Infinite Campus. Students should visit our webpage: School Day-DCA Attendance Procedures for a tutorial on how to log daily attendance.

Forgetting to log attendance is not considered an acceptable excuse according to School Board Policy, so students must remember to log their attendance each school day.

Please make a plan as a family to support the logging of attendance.

***Attendance in the cyber environment is critical. Students attend either live Zoom sessions, Office Hours, or Drop-In Help times. They also ATTEND to and ENGAGE in their daily and weekly asynchronous learning activities, assignments, and assessments.

Students who demonstrate a significant lack of engagement in their online learning courses may benefit best from in-person learning.

DCA students follow the same calendar and letter days as the brick-and-mortar schools, including inclement weather early dismissals, or delays. In the event of an early dismissal or a two-hour delay, students should check Schoology for any adjusted Zoom times.

Teachers will post all the material for classes on Monday. For maximum flexibility, all work is due by the end of the day on Sunday.

The Downingtown Cyber Academy is considered a program and not a school. Therefore, all full-time and part-time students are still considered students in their home buildings. They will retain the same counselors and are allowed to use the facilities during the school day, such as the library or counseling office. They are also encouraged to participate in any clubs, activities, sports, and events at their home high school.

All DCA parents will continue to receive newsletters from their home principals for this reason!

Whether your child is enrolled in the Downingtown Cyber Academy Full-Time or Part-Time, they are dual-enrolled in their home school. To access schedules and information for each school/program, you will need to TOGGLE between the Enrollment Drop Down. See the image below.

Please note: If your child is a DCA Part-Time student, DCA courses will only show up under the 23-24 Downingtown Cyber 6-12 tab and courses in the home school will show up under that school's tab.

Click here to access directions and tutorials to log on to our student information and course platforms.

If any materials are needed, your child's teacher will let you know when and where to pick them up. Most materials are in an online format for grades 6-12.

We are excited to announce that the new DASD Service Desk has been deployed!

• As of now, all new service requests for Technology, Transportation, and the Print Shop should be submitted via https://servicedesk.dasd.org.

• Any open service requests from the deprecated service desk will remain active until they are resolved by a DASD agent.

• If needed, here are specific printable directions for students, parents, and employees. Video directions for parents and community members can be found here.

At the Downingtown Cyber Academy, we believe in a personalized approach to learning versus a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach. We offer personalized learning plans for students in grades 6-8 regarding synchronous learning (Zooms).

Zooms are required for all middle school students unless the parents have signed a Personalized Learning Plan Agreement.

6th to 8th-grade families can decide between the following:

• No PLPA (default option): Zoom meetings are required, and students must attend. Students complete daily check-ins via Infinite Campus.

• PLPA (requires approval): Zoom meetings are optional. Students are not required to attend as long as they maintain good standing in all classes and complete their work each week.

Families must have a valid reason for requesting a PLPA. These reasons could include, but are not limited to:

• Part-time students who have a brick-and-mortar class scheduled at the same time as their DCA Zoom.

• Part-time or full-time students who have internships or who are in work/study programs.

• Athletes who have intensive training during school hours.

• Full-time students in different time zones.

All Zoom meetings will be recorded and must be watched if they are not attended. Families who wish to apply for a PLPA should email cyberacademy@dasd.org.

Note: Families should assume that their application has been APPROVED unless you hear from us!

Whether your student is in the DCA part-time or full-time, the role of the parents/guardians/caretakers is very important.You can help their child be successful by:

• encouraging your student to create a calendar of Zoom/Office Hours/Drop-In Help times.

• help your student create a weekly to-do list.

• verify that lessons and assignments are completed in Schoology by Sunday.

• communicate with the teachers if the student is struggling.

• monitor grades and attendance in Campus and Schoology.

Suggested school supplies can be found on our website!

If your child has an IEP, GIEP, or 504 Plan, the case manager/counselor should be reaching out to you, if they haven't already, to discuss supports for the student's cyber education.

New to the DCA? We've put together some student and parent tutorials to help you get acclimated. Please visit our website for our Student and Family Onboarding slideshow with tutorials on Google, Schoology, Infinite Campus and Zoom.

Teachers will post all the material for your child's classes on Monday, August 28. For maximum flexibility, all work is due by the end of the day on Sunday, September 3rd.

Students and families will receive weekly updates from the DCA Admin Team. You can read past updates on our website.

Part-time students in grades 6-12 may have some scheduling conflicts concerning Zoom/Office Hour times due to classes in the brick-and-mortar buildings.

If this is the case, there are a few ways to address this problem:

Grades 6-8

1. Request a Personalized Learning Plan Agreement to Opt-Out of Zooms.

2. Watch the recordings of the class.

3. Attend Office Hours to get support from DCA teachers.

4. Let your teachers know about this conflict so that they can arrange another mutually agreeable time to meet with you if needed.

Grades 9-12

1. Attend the virtual Drop-In center on C and E days to get support from DCA teachers.

2. If neither the drop-in center times nor the office hour times works for your schedule, contact the teacher to set up an agreeable time to meet if needed.

Students' Zoom schedules can be found on our website. Click on the tab at the bottom of the page to find your child's grade!

Zooms are required for 6th-8th graders. 9th-12th grade students will have office hours and Drop In Help Center times. Middle schoolers who cannot attend Zooms should visit our website to learn about a Personalized Learning Plan.

Device pick-up for K-5 DCA/VA students will begin on Wednesday, August 23rd at home school buildings.

• Students who currently have a DASD-issued Chromebook will not receive a new device.
• Students who have a DASD-issued iPad should return the iPad and charger in exchange for a Chromebook.
• New students will receive a Chromebook.

Please visit our DCA website at dc.dasd.org for more information.

Backpack Resources

K-5 Brandywine Virtual Academy website - https://www.cciu.org/bva

Email: cyberacademy@dasd.org
Website: dc.dasd.org
Location: 540 Trestle Place, Downingtown, PA, USA
Phone: 610-269-8460
Facebook: http://facebook.com/dca
Twitter: @dasd_dca