ABOUT HS (1) | student-orientation

STEP 1: ABOUT CALVERT HIGH SCHOOL

Mission Statement

The mission of Calvert Education Services, the leading, national provider of home-instruction services, is to empower students to be independent and inquisitive lifelong learners through an inspiring educational experience, rigorous and proven curriculum, personalized support, and a user-friendly learning tools for teachers and learning guides.

Core Values

We believe that our families come first and that when they are satisfied, we have the opportunity to meet the needs of all our stakeholders.
We believe providing a high quality product and extraordinary service at an affordable price for our families is essential to growing and sustaining the business.
We believe that by providing regular, quality support to our families, they will become successful and loyal clients.
We believe that business decisions focused on the clients’ best interests creates trust and value.
We believe that ethical practices will protect the safety, security, and well-being of the clients.
We believe that honesty is essential to long term business success.

Calvert’s Educational Philosophy

Seven core principles guide Calvert’s academic materials and instruction.

A balance of subject matter that includes cultural literacy: The Calvert experience is a complete experience that challenges the students while preparing them with 21st century skills. The curriculum builds on core subjects to give students a firm foundation. The students then learn how to use their knowledge and skills by thinking critically, reasoning logically, working cooperatively--skills that are needed in the 21st century workplace.
Integration and application across content areas— Calvert’s time-tested curriculum is built on the principle of subject integration. We reinforce study across subject areas as it develops higher order thinking skills and promotes content mastery
Content mastery with balance of new and review—Daily checkpoints and routine assessments allow students to demonstrate cumulative content mastery. Important ideas, skills, and concepts are interwoven across subjects and spiraled from grade to grade to expand student’s understanding and knowledge throughout the years.
Strong foundation of basic skills and application of high order thinking skills—A solid foundation in reading, writing, and mathematics is essential but the ability to apply those skills in a variety of situation with critical thinking and analysis make for a well-educated student.
Oral and written expression—The ability to communicate effectively cannot be underestimated. These skills are introduced at any early age and cultivated and developed continually so students are poised to make the most of language in any endeavor.
Clear expectations for highest quality of work possible—We emphasize attention to detail and accuracy with support from explicit instruction, Supervising Teachers, and Calvert professionals who challenge students to understand direction and seek their highest potential.
Development of character, curiosity and commitment—We strive to instill a strong sense of citizenship, responsibility, and independence in our students. Creating a lifelong passion for learning is underscored in everything we do and we consider it our highest mission to challenge and inspire the best in each child.

Calvert Academy High School Overview

Effective communication between students, Learning Guides, and their teachers is essential for success in the program. This cannot be stressed enough. In the online schooling world, teachers do not "see" their students. In a brick-and-mortar school, a teacher can physically observe whether a student has a question, see the confused look on a student's face as concepts are discussed, observe a student not feeling well, or other issues that might arise that would affect a student's performance in the class. Teachers do not have those cues in an online school. Your teachers rely on other less tangible forms of communication such as email and phone. In today's digital age, effective communication can easily occur in the online world.

Teachers can easily and quickly exchange emails and voicemails with our students. Teachers also have other technological communication tools at their disposal like Skype, Google Voice, FaceTime, and a wide variety of online collaboration tools. Your teachers are available to you Monday through Friday by phone and anytime by email. To assure effective communication with your teachers, email them when you have questions. If you do not get a response within 24 hours, re-email the teacher and Cc the High School Academic Program Coordinator

Roles in Independent Study

Learning Guide (or Parent):

Provides a quiet and effective work-space
Develops a daily/weekly schedule and system of accountability
Drives and encourages the student through the coursework
Ensures the student is completing work in a timely fashion
Reviews graded assessments and feedback from the instructor with the student
Maintains communication with the Calvert Instructor
Ensures the student is using all available resources as part of the learning experience

High School Academic Program Coordinator:

Communicates monthly with the parent on the overall academic progress
Supports pacing and scheduling
Maintains attendance records
Provides counseling and guidance support
Facilitates registration

Calvert Instructor:

Grades all assessments
Provides detailed feedback regarding performance on assessments
Communicates with the Learning Guide about student progress via email

Roles in Teacher Led Academy