How It Works
How Online Elementary School Works
Who can attend?
The Tennessee Virtual Academy (TNVA) elementary program serves students in grades K–6 who reside in the state of Tennessee.
What are the costs?
Because TNVA is a public school, it’s tuition-free. Enrolled families receive the K12 curriculum and support from a Tennessee-licensed teacher.
What’s my role as a parent?
As a parent, you (or another responsible adult you choose) serve as your child’s Learning Coach. You’ll work with your child’s teacher to help record student attendance, monitor mastery of online lessons and assessments, and review student work.
Parent/Learning Coach involvement is vital to your child’s success, especially at the elementary level. The typical Learning Coach time commitment in grades K–5 is 4–6 hours a day. In 6th grade, students begin to become more independent, but Learning Coach support is still crucial. The initial 4–8 weeks can be intensive, as your family settles into a routine.
Grades K–2
Parent/Learning Coach daily involvement is critical and approximately 10–15 percent of this time is online.
Grades 3–5
Students begin to have increased independence, but parent/Learning Coach involvement is essential for about 70–80 percent of school time and approximately 15–25 percent of this time is online.
Grade 6
Students transition to more of a Junior High School learning model and begin to become more independent in managing their schoolwork, but Learning Coaches are still necessary for at least 20 hours per week and 50-60 percent of this time is online.
What will my child study?
Coursework is a mix of online and hands-on work, which caters to a wide variety of learning styles. Unit and course assessments are built in to each subject, and easy-to-use online planning and progress tools keep you and your student on track.
K–6th graders take courses in the core subjects listed below. Beginning in grade 3, they also take a self-guided elective course in music or a world language.
ENGLISH / LANGUAGE ARTS
MATH
SCIENCE
HISTORY
ART
Mastering Lessons
In grades K-5, students are required to show mastery of each lesson by achieving 80 percent or better on all lesson assessments. In grade 6, learning changes to a semester-based approach where students are required to earn passing grades on their assignments and online lessons. If your child is having difficulty mastering a lesson, let their homeroom teacher know as soon as possible. Teachers offer many support sessions to help students gain mastery.
Coursework is a mix of online and hands-on work, which caters to a wide variety of learning styles. Unit and course assessments are built in to each subject, and easy-to-use online planning and progress tools keep you and your student on track.
Working with Your Teacher
Teachers provide individual and small group assistance via online synchronous sessions called “Class Connects.” Students are expected to attend all required Class Connects and meet with their teacher to receive course assistance, tutoring, and instruction. Class Connects vary by grade level and are scheduled by your teacher(s).
Attendance
Attendance is logged Monday through Friday according to a traditional school calendar; however, academic progress can be achieved during the weekends as well. Elementary students are expected to spend approximately 5–6 hours on schoolwork per school day.
Email is the primary form of communication between the school and families. Learning Coaches and students are required to check and respond to emails on a daily basis.
State Testing
TNVA students must comply with all Tennessee-mandated testing requirements.