Enrollment Webinars: Discovering Sage Oak’s Flexible Learning Programs for 2024-2025 School Year

Sage Studio Podcast: Enrollment and Program Details for the 2024-2025 School Year

Preview the upcoming open enrollment period for the 2024-2025 school year and get an overview of the enrollment process for Sage Oak. The episode features guests, Rebecca Childers (Senior Administrator overseeing parent support) and Mary Hizon-Barry (Coordinator for the Virtual Learning Academy), who discuss details of the Virtual Learning Academy (VLA) and the Personalized Learning Academy (PLA), including curriculum, teaching methods, role of the parents, and webinar details for both programs. The final part of the podcast guides prospective families through choosing the program that best suits their needs. The guests encourage families to apply as early as possible and attend the webinars for both programs to make an informed choice.

00:14 Introduction to the Episode
01:04 Meet the Guests: Rebecca and Mary
01:45 Understanding Enrollment Webinars
02:44 Exploring Sage Oak and Charter Schools
03:03 Deep Dive into Virtual Learning Academy (VLA)
08:46 Insights into Personalized Learning Academy (PLA)
13:32 Enrollment Process and Final Thoughts

For more information, visit the Sage Oak website at www.sageoak.education.

Thank you for listening to the Sage Studio podcast presented by Sage Oak Charter Schools and hosted by Tiffiny Webster, M.A.Ed. We invite you to follow the show and leave your review below. Sage Oak Charter Schools is an independent study nonclassroom based TK-12 personalized learning public charter school serving students in Southern California. Visit sageoak.education for more information.

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Transcript

0:14

Welcome to another episode of Sage Studio. I'm Tiffiny Webster, and believe it or not, it is time to start talking about enrollment the 2024 2025 school year. Seems so hard to believe, but here we are. So if you are a current Sage Oak family and you want to just have some enrollment details that you can share that information with a friend, this podcast is for you. Or if you're looking to maybe, transfer from one of our programs to another, and you want to learn about how to do that, this podcast is for you. And if you are brand new to Sage Oak and you just want a little information about. Who Sage Oak is and the programs that we offer, then you are going to gain a lot of value from this podcast as well. So stay tuned because we have a good one and I am so excited to introduce you to my guests. Rebecca, welcome to the podcast. So glad to have you here. Say hello and tell everyone what your role is here at Sage Oak. Thank you, Tiffiny. I'm excited to be here. I'm Rebecca Childers. I am the Senior Administrator over parents support. So we just support families. They call into the 888 number or they email us. They send in an inquiry and we're able to answer all of their questions. Love it. Thank you so much for what you do for us. And Mary, welcome back to Sage Studio. Remind everybody of your role here at Sage Oak. Yes. My name is Mary Hizon-Barry I am the Coordinator for the Virtual Learning Academy, which is one of the programs we offer for TK 8. I love it. So great. So enrollment time. It's such an exciting time of year. It's such a busy time of year. But today we're going to be breaking down all the information that's going to be covered in the enrollment webinars so that our families are feeling a little bit more prepared for those. Rebecca, start us off by just saying, what is our enrollment webinars? What are these things that we want people to sign up and attend? Yeah, so we try and take a deeper dive into what Sage Oak is. What is the Personalized Learning Academy? What is the Virtual Learning Academy? What are the differences? What is offered through each program? So you're getting a deeper dive than just a telephone conversation. I love that. So they can expect that they can log on for enrollment webinar and you're going to walk them through all of those details. And about how long do each of these webinars last? I would say no longer than 30 minutes. We do stay on as long as needed to answer any questions that happen after the meeting. So we do take our time to stay on and answer any questions that parents might have. Okay, perfect. All right, let's talk a little bit, , for some of our families that might be new to Sage Oak, give us a quick little rundown. And Mary, you can talk about this too, about Sage Oak and what a charter school is, what an independent study charter school is, How does Sage Oak really stand out from other schools? So we are a non classroom based charter school, and what that means is that we are a public school, similar to your down the street brick and mortar but we don't have a central location that our students are attending, so it's non classroom based. Some of our students would be on our independent study completely, day to day, and then we've added in this virtual program where they can have some live instruction. There's still an independent study student and there's still a public school student but they're kind of on the independent study track as opposed to going in person each day to a school. So we still have public funds that are driving our school and we are still following the state standards and everything that you're you know, a neighborhood brick and mortar would be doing as well. And tell me a little bit about the parent role in an independent study charter school. How does that look a little bit different? So we're really looking to partner with families, specifically in our virtual program. We like to say our families are eyes and ears of the classroom. So trying to get that partnership because what's happening at home is directly affecting what students are working on in terms of their academics. And so teachers and parents work hand in hand to figure out what's going to Drive the student interest, get them growing and progressing in terms of their academics and getting them ready for college and career and beyond. But it's more of a partnership and a conversation that the teacher and parent are constantly having, whether it's each month in the personalized program or you know, much more frequently in the virtual program. Okay, so speaking of the virtual program, since you are the coordinator of that program, give us a little bit more specifics. How does the Virtual Learning Academy program work? And then Rebecca, I'll come to you and you can talk to us about the Personalized Learning Academy. So we're talking about VLA. We're talking about Virtual Learning Academy. So tell us about that program. So I feel like the best way to think about it is kind of like a hybrid independent study. When families choose our virtual program they're looking for a little bit more of that day to day support. So students go to live class and get direct instruction from one of our VLA teachers three times a week. So they're in class Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from nine o'clock till 1215. Middle school goes a little bit later till 1250. And then they have afternoon times on those days as asynchronous work time of different things that are assigned by their teacher. And then also Mondays and Fridays are set up as more asynchronous, so it's kind of a mixture of the flexibility that independent study offers, but also A little bit more structure and some direct instruction worked in, and it really provides the students who are looking for more interaction, support and feedback from their teacher and then also having a community of classmates that they can bond with and talk to and share interests. We offer field trips in person each month that students can attend so they can see their teacher in person. They can see their classmates in person and build those relationships. They also have grade level field trips they get to go on throughout this school year. And then they also have Oakschool electives they can go choose a Lego class or a Spanish class that's kind of a more high interest elective. So they still have the option to do some other high interest classes, but also get the core direct instruction three days a week. I love that. There's just so much going on to, to make it that comprehensive program. Now, one thing I do want to address is when you're saying live classes, you're talking about live classes online, right? Not in person. So tell us a little bit about what does that look like a live class online? Sure. And I want you to kind of think of it, not a lot of times with what schools did during COVID. Okay. Families, it's not that the students just going to log in and listen. Our teachers really look to, to get students engaged, giving feedback in the chat, working in breakout rooms together. So they're very active in these sessions. So lots of our classes will start with a morning meeting, doing kind of different check in questions, getting to know. Community building type things for their class because they really are a class that meets each week and kind of build up those relationships. And then they go into each of the four course classes. English, math, social studies, and science. Our middle school has specific periods that they're rotating to, similar to what a traditional brick and mortar would have. But our TK through five have one teacher in a self contained class, very similar. They just stay on that same Zoom link, and they go through their different class periods with one class. Okay, got it. So it sounds like then that the the parent that would kind of best be suited for this type of program would be a parent who wants to play a role in their child's education, but they want to do that in more of like a supportive role to a classroom teacher, a virtual classroom teacher who's really kind of taking the lead. Does that seem right? Yes. So it would be a parent who maybe doesn't have the time to do the day to day instruction. or the day to day lesson planning and planning what's going to kind of come next in the sequence of lessons. But they still want to either overhear what's happening in class because they're in the home still hearing what's going on in the classroom and what discussions are happening. They still want to kind of play a part in terms of the the students learning and be able to check in with them, especially on those Mondays and Fridays when we don't have direct instruction. But the VLA teacher is really doing the direct instruction, assigning of assignments and grading on a very regular basis Okay So much impact there with VLA and that is such a great program And I know many of our families really love that for those reasons They love that kind of hybrid option where they can be involved as a parent But like you said, they're not actually doing all of the lesson planning all of the grading They're just doing more of that coaching supporting behind the scenes. But the kids too, they get that interaction with students and they get to get online and get that class experience, which is really so cool. Okay. And then in contrast, Rebecca, you're going to lead us down a little bit through the information regarding our Personalized Learning program, because this one is the one that's really more flexible for parents and students who are looking for that flexibility. So tell us a little bit about. The Personalized Learning program, or what we call PLA. Okay, so in the Personalized Learning Academy, families are partnered with a credentialed teacher who will help guide them through the school year. They're partnering on developing a curriculum that best fits the needs of our students. So when they're meeting with that teacher is still assigning work, but the parent is now more hands on. The parent is leading the student through the school week. They're making sure the work is getting done. So that's where if a parent wants to be more hands on and more involved, the Personalized Learning Academy is probably the better fit. So that program then is really good for those families who want to work with a teacher to really pick and choose their curriculum pick and choose the vendors that they're working with, pick and choose the extracurricular courses that they want to be a part of, and then their teacher can help them put them all together. How often then do they actually meet with a teacher to help them, pace out the school year? Oh, great question, Tiffiny. They meet with their teacher once every 20 school days. At these meetings, the teachers looking at the body of work that the student has done during that 20 day learning period. They're assigning work, creating goals and getting to know the student. They're really developing a relationship with their students to know where their strong suits are to know where they're struggling isn't just to make sure that they're on track, you know, meeting the standards for their grade level. It's been really neat for me, Tiffiny, to see the relationships build between the student and the teacher, just how comfortable that the student gets with their teacher and how excited they are to share with their learning. I hear a lot of parents say. With the Personalized Learning Academy, what they like is they're able to get their student when they're ready to learn at a time where they are most excited to learn. And if they need to take a 10 minute break, they're able to do that. So it's kind of neat to hear that back from families. I'm so glad you said that. I think that really is exactly the purpose of such a personalized program is that parents can really have that say if that's what they're looking for their kids and that flexibility. So good. Okay, now in VLA, Mary, how does it work as far as the curriculum choices if the students are in a VLA program? So we have designated curriculum already picked out for our Virtual Academy students that our teachers are using. So we send everything a student needs to be successful in our program, and we send that in the form of a box that gets shipped to the student's house. And it has all the textbooks and workbooks, lab kits, basic school supplies, everything the student will need. And that way all students have the same. Of a workbook or the same supply of Play Doh. Whatever the teacher is going to be using for that school year, we kind of curate these boxes that get sent to students, so that even though students are virtual in a live class with their teacher, everyone has the same thing. So when the teacher says, pull out your math workbook, we're going to work on page 29, all students have it, the teacher has it up on the document camera, everyone can follow along. So we do have a lot of physical materials And provide those to our families, but it is a set curriculum that the teachers are using. We do offer those field trips that I mentioned before and those are all covered and all Oakschool electives are covered So it's Already in the box for you so you don't have to make all those individual choices. You've already curated the curriculum and the necessary learning materials and the field trips that coordinate with the learning and all of that. So if a family is looking to have some of that already put together for them and they can just enroll in a really fabulous program, then it sounds like VLA is a really good way to go for those families and then families that are looking to kind of have a little bit more choice in the way that they structure their day, what curriculum they use, what classes they use, how they're going to go about putting together a very personalized plan, sounds like PLA is the way to go for those families. Exactly. Okay, great. So if our families wanted to sign up for an enrollment webinar, Rebecca, what's the best way for them to find out when these enrollment webinars are happening and to find the program webinar that they're most interested in? So all of our webinars will be posted on our website, sageoak.education, under our enrollment page. We are offering several VLA, PLA, and high school webinars in the upcoming months. it's just a button, they'll choose fill out their information and choose which programs they want to attend. They can attend all three, they can attend one and then we will send them the Zoom link. Love it. Okay, easy enough. And Mary, I know sometimes people wonder with a virtual learning program, is there limits to how many students can be enrolled in the program? How does that work? So we have standard class sizes set. We do kind of fill up in terms of how much room we might have in a particular grade level and have some currently a couple grades that are on waitlist because we do have kind of class sizes because the students are meeting and building that community and those relationships and the. teachers providing that direct feedback and constant kind of support. It is more of a traditional class size. So we have our middle school our cap is 26 to 28 students, where our lower grades are a little bit smaller at 24 to 26. Okay. So if parents are interested in the Vrtual Learning Academy program, probably best to get that enrollment going sooner than later, because spaces can be a little bit more limited with the Virtual Learning Academy. And Rebecca, with parents who might be like on the fence, there's things about VLA that they really like, there's things about PLA that they really like, they might even be interested in attending both webinars. What should they apply for? How do they start an application into Sage Oak if they're not quite sure? Great question. So Tiffiny, I would encourage every family to get in an application as soon as possible and attend our webinars. They can switch. So let's say they just want to get in their application and they choose the VLA program. But after attending a webinar for PLA, they think PLA is a better fit. They just give us a call and we can make that change for them. Okay. Awesome. I think you just gave people a lot of relief with that because they may not know right from the get go. And there's so many great things about both programs. That I think it's definitely worth checking out both webinars because, as you said, you might be leaning one way or another, but you go and you learn a little bit more about a program and you find that something about that program might speak to you and align with what you're looking for. That's a great thing. Great thing for sure. All right. Thank you both so much for being here today, sharing all of that exciting information about what to expect out of the enrollment webinars, sharing the information about the different programs. Again. All of the information for the webinars is going to be available on the Sage Oak website, so make sure that you check out www.sageoak.education You're gonna look for that big apply now button. Rebecca is reminding us get those applications in. Mary to was saying, if you know you want to join the VLA program, go ahead and submit that application as well. Space is a little bit more limited over there, but these ladies really are amazing. I will say they are so willing to help you out with your questions, with your applications. So if you have any concerns, questions at all, go ahead and submit the application. There's support information there as well. So if you want to, you know, email a question or attend one of these webinars, I think that you'll find it super helpful and valuable. So thank you both for being on the podcast today. Always great to talk to you. Happy enrollment season. Hope those webinars go great. Thanks, Tiffiny. Thanks, Tiffiny. All right. See you on the next one.