CANTON

LEARNING ENVIRONMENT

The Canton Area School District recognizes that each student learns differently and has unique learning needs. Flexibility and commitment to engaging students in the learning process are true crucial components of any online program.   The CAVE is designed to provide students with the flexibility they need while maintaining checkpoints to ensure they are accountable for their daily activity. Students receive a “Cyber School in a Box” bundle, which includes a laptop computer, printer/scanner, all of the necessary peripherals and access to both live teacher support and technical support.

CURRICULUM

The curriculum used in the CAVE equips students in grades kindergarten through 12 with a fundamental knowledge-base. Though the classroom is virtual, the course framework utilizes curriculum aligned to the PA Core Standards and textbooks. The courses have a consistent structure and are designed to provide students with engaging content, assignments and assessments. Weekly lesson modules include reading assignments supported by short answer assessments, essay questions, quizzes and traditional homework assignments. Courses are also supplemented with a wealth of web-based resources, including: videos, interactive animations, supplemental materials from textbook publishers and a wide range of other engaging educational media.

CAVE ENROLLMENT

1. If you are interested in the CAVE and are not currently enrolled in the district, please first enroll your child in the District.
2. Review the CAVE Student Guide
3. Once the enrollment request has been received, the CHS Guidance office will determine the courses to be scheduled
4. Our CAVE Facilitator  will then complete the CAVE course registration and you will receive directions on how to proceed with your classes
5.  Click here for the CAVE enrollment form

MASTERING THE CONTENT

A variety of activities and assessments are vital to a student's success. While multiple-choice assessments are an important part of any assessment structure, we ask students to further demonstrate mastery with the following exercises. Content complexity can be differentiated to meet all earners needs. Differentiates assignments and activities allow students to progress through the curriculum at a pace that requires rigor and allows students to attain a deeper understanding of knowledge. For those students with disabilities, differentiated assignments can be developed to meet the diverse learning needs of the child. Below is a list of assignments/activities that can be found in the CAVE.

• E-Assignments: Questions/problems designed to provide students with practice of key concepts.
• E-Short Answer: A worksheet that requires students to handwrite their responses to strengthen the learning process.
• E-Essay: A topical essay question intended to assess students' understanding of the overall concept outlined in the reading assignment and to gauge students' writing skills.
• E-Project: Long-term assignments interspersed throughout a course to give students the opportunity to build on multiple units.

PLATFORM

Students are provided with a unique username and password, which grants them access to the portal. This portal includes a calendar to keep students on track to finish their coursework, content libraries and all of the tools they will need to be successful. Help Desk Specialists are available from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. seven days a week in order to provide any necessary assistance. Students may grant the Help Desk Specialists permission to resolve software issues remotely; hardware issues entail a “Cyber School in Box” bundle swap at the Canton Elementary or Canton High School, which minimizes downtime.

PARENT INFORMATION

Accounts

Parents/Guardians are provided with a login to the online gradebook in which student progress can be monitored in real-time. We also offer the option for a variety of reports to be emailed on the desired frequency.

Computer Basics

Internet Safety

At Canton Area School District, student safety is our No. 1 priority. In compliance with the Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA), all laptops are equipped with web-filtering software, which ensures that students are not accessing inappropriate content. In addition, all virtual classrooms are monitored by CAVE teachers. Finally, we offer a Digital Citizenship course that teaches students safe practices. 

POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

Attendance

Students in the CAVE will follow the district attendance policy. Attendance is taken every day by the online homeroom teacher. Special exemptions are provided for students with attendance challenges, such as illness, work, sports practices and other considerations.

 Communication

There are a variety of communication tools and techniques that are utilized in the virtual academy. First, students are required to meet with their homeroom teacher in the virtual classroom each day. This helps to keep students on track to complete their coursework on time. Homeroom is also an opportunity for district announcements to be conveyed to keep virtual academy students abreast of the happenings within the district. Finally, homeroom teachers also meet with students individually to review their progress, address any areas of improvement, and identify artifacts that students may consider including in a portfolio.

In addition to homeroom, students have the opportunity to meet with their core content-area teachers in the virtual classroom. Students may either stop by the virtual classroom during the open Office Hours sessions that are held Monday through Friday or schedule an appointment with their teacher ahead of time. These sessions enable students to ask specific questions about their coursework and receive one-on-one assistance. Our teachers use the webcam, microphone, and whiteboard to make the classroom "come alive" and deliver the same type of experience as if the teacher and student were face-to-face.  

 Grading

Grading and feedback is provided by the CAVE’s highly-qualified, Pennsylvania-certified teachers. While some grading is done automatically within the learning management system, there are a variety of assignments and assessments that students are required to complete each week on which our teachers provide constructive feedback within 72 hours of submission. Students and their parents/guardians have access to the online gradebook to view the student's overall grade in a course as well as his/her scores on individual assignments. In addition, students and their parents/guardians may download their graded artifacts to review their teachers' feedback.

REPORTING

* Parents/guardians may adjust this frequency based on their preference.

 Students and their parents/guardians are provided with logins to the online gradebook so information can be viewed at their convenience.

How to Contact Teachers with Questions

CAVE teachers can be contacted in several ways:

Homeroom — Speak to teacher during daily synchronous homeroom sessions

Phone — Call toll-free 1-877-856-3311

Email — Your teachers' email addresses can be found in the online gradebook by right-clicking a teacher's name and selecting "copy email address" from the menu

Tutor Request Form — Students may request a synchronous tutoring session with their teachers by submitting a "Get Help from a Teacher Request Form," which is easily accessible on the portal.