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August 2011
Welcome, partners!
Help desk hours extended
VCS awarded with SIG grant
Summer school success
Student spotlight-Samantha Beal
Teacher spotlight-Mrs. Prichard
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To read the latest edition of the VCS Voice newsletter for students and families, click here.

Calendar of Events

Opening Day Celebration

August 22


First day of school

August 24

 

VCS Board Meeting

August 25

 

 

 
Greetings!

Rick

I cannot believe how fast the summer flies by!  I hope you got to enjoy the summer sun and spend some time relaxing with family and friends.

 

I was busy traveling this summer, making stops to see many of you. Thank you for taking the time to meet with me. I look forward to working with you all this next school year and discussing exciting new ways we can work together such as computer storage and testing sites.

 

We are already in full swing for this school year and will welcome our students back on Wednesday, August 24. I wish the best of luck to you on your new school year!

 

 

Sincerely,

Mr. Rick Teeters

Director of Special Programs

Welcome, partners!
VCS is proud to welcome our newest partners:

Mid-Ohio ESC, in Mansfield
Firelands Digital Academy, in South Amherst

 

We are very excited to work with all of you! If you have any questions, please do hesitate to contact us or any of the other partners. Should you need any marketing materials, please contact Lori Berkheimer or Jill Workman.
Help desk hours extended
help deskStarting this school year, the VCS Help Desk hours will be extended.  On Tuesday and Thursday, the Help Desk will be open from 9 am to 7 pm. Monday, Wednesday and Friday the Help Desk will remain open during their normal hours from 9 am to 5 pm. This is a trial run, so the hours are subject to change to meet the needs of our students. To contact the VCS Help Desk, call 866-501-9473 ext. 5124 or email vcshelpdesk@vcslearn.org.
  

VCS awarded with SIG grant

VCS was recently awarded with a three-year School Improvement Grant. This grant will go hand-in-hand with Race to the Top and will significantly improve the quality of VCS and our programs.  With this grant, we are going to employ eight new Parent Engagement Specialists that will work regionally around the state. As a partner, these Parent Engagement Specialists will be available for you to utilize. We have also hired a SIG administrator as well as Math and Literacy Specialists.

We have been working hard this summer to implement the improvement strategies laid out in both RTTT and the SIG grant. The newly formed "Transformation Team" had their first meeting on Tuesday, August 9 and started organizing for the 2011-2012 school year, reviewing both the RTTT and SIG grants, and putting the action plan for the grants in place. If you have any questions about the School Improvement Grant or Race to the Top, please contact Rick Teeters.  
  

Summer school success! 

Summer 2011 has been a busy time for VCS. We broke our summer school enrollment records, with more than 330 students in 400+ classes! Thank you to all who contributed to our summer school success! We are in the process of sending surveys to summer school participants and collect feedback to improve our summer school program for next year. If you have any feedback of your own, please let us know. You can email any comments or suggestions to jill.workman@vcslearn.org. 

 

 

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Student Spotlight: Samantha Beal

 
What has been your favorite thing about VCS?

My favorite thing is that VCS allows each student to work at their own pace. If you want to go further ahead, you can go further ahead. If you have to work on something a little more, you can work a little slower. 

 

How is VCS different than a traditional school?

Some people work faster than other people and they tend to be disruptive in a regular classroom and some work slower and tend to need the teacher's attention. At VCS, you can work at the pace that is right for you, not necessarily the pace that is right for an entire classroom.  

 

What are your plans for after graduation?

 

Teacher Spotlight: Jacque Prichard

Jacque PrichardMrs. Prichard teaches Earn and Learn for high school students

 

What is your favorite thing about VCS?  Getting to know students and teachers from around the state.

 

What do you want students to accomplish while they attend VCS?  I want students to be prepared for life outside of high school.

 

What advice do you want to pass on to students? The decisions that students make today, define their future.

 

 

 

Favorites:

Food: Fresh vegetables and fruit AND chocolate! 

Book: The Holy Bible 

Movie: Ever After (so my boys say!)

Hobby/Interests: I am active with my 3 boys. We are always on the move with 4 -H, traditional sports, skateboarding and BMX biking. I am also active in church activities.

Season: Cool, crisp fall evenings AND Smores!

Vacation Destination: Whether it is a mountain, a lake, the beach, or my backyard, as long as my family is together, I am happy.

Childhood Memory: Growing up on a farm and feeling the dew on the grass in the early morning.

Quote: I do not have a favorite quote (there are so many.) But I do have a favorite passage of Scripture (Proverbs 31:10-31.)

Anything else interesting that you want people to know? I really want to take a Canopy tour (zip line tour) of Hocking Hills!

 

 

 

 
Watch for the VCS Partner Post to arrive in your e-mail the second Thursday of each month. If you have any content ideas, send them to Lori Berkheimer or Jill Workman.