Curriculum
Virtual Learning Academy Consortium (VLAC) features the two curriculums that are both high-quality, research-based, standards-aligned programs of study designed to prepare your child for success in school and in life. Our curriculums support distance learning
To provide your child a challenging and integrated educational experience with emphasis on communication, critical thinking and problem-solving. Instruction is sequenced in manageable steps, reinforced by multimedia experiences to engage children with different learning styles. Both the curriculum and its presentation is refined and updated every year, to take advantage of new search, new technology and new ways to help your child succeed.
Calvert
Calvert
Calvert’s curriculum builds creative problem solving and other lifelong skills needed to thrive in today’s fast-changing world. Trusted for over a century, Calvert is known for its academic rigor and engaging approach that improves student performance.
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A cohesive, intuitive framework for active, project-based learning guides instruction and allows students to absorb subject matter and apply it in vibrant, expressive ways.
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Curation from trusted experts ensures content is best of breed and current. It also saves educators valuable time. That said, Calvert also gives you an option to add or change content with ease.
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An engaging digital experience filled with features that support instruction every step of the way. Calvert also has an option for printed materials that reinforce K-5 learning.
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Research-based, accredited and trusted by hundreds of schools and students in 90 countries
Learn more at Calvert from the following links:
A Day in the Life of a K-5 Student
Performance and Progress Monitoring
Lincoln
Lincoln Empowered
Lincoln Empowered offers standards-based courses that make it possible for schools to meet the needs of students who want to learn in subject areas that otherwise would not be available to them. Lincoln Empowered courses give students multiple ways to engage with, understand, and demonstrate mastery of the course content.
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Dynamic & Engaging Online Activities -Students establish their own learning paths with the Lincoln Empowered’s instructional videos that inspire, motivate, and prepare students to learn, and online manipulatives like simulations and games that gauge students understanding.
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Intuitive Design- Students feel comfortable and confident as they engage with the Lincoln Empowered course content. Every course is created from the same research-based instructional principles and learning design with the goal to make the technology disappear, and enable students to focus solely on course content.
Learn more at Lincoln from the following links:
Lincoln Empowered Student Home Page
Inside Lincoln courses: Learning objects in Lincoln?
Inside Lincoln courses: What is a teach it?
Inside Lincoln courses: Getting started with Lincoln?
Notice: course content is subject to change. Core academic courses ( ELA, Math, Science, and Social Studies) include kits with print books for most grades. All books are also available online.
Comparison Chart
Question | Calvert | Lincoln |
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What grade levels are available? | K-5 | K-12 |
Does the program offer textbooks and print materials? | Yes. Calvert offers both textbooks and print materials for all grade levels. | K-5: textbooks and print materials 6-12: 100% digital curriculum |
How many lessons will my child complete throughout the school year? | 160 - 180 lessons in each subject. | Full-year courses contain 180 lessons Semester courses contain 90 lessons and quarter courses contain 45 lessons. Grades K-2 have 90 lessons in social studies and science (allowing students to alternate between each course on school days) |
What can I expect a lesson to be like? |
Calvert is project-based, to give students opportunities to apply what they have learned to real-world situations and develop creative problem-solving skills. |
Each lesson will contain a variety of learning objects. Some of the objects are considered essential, while others are enhancements. The Read It and/or Teach It is the main instructional text of the lesson and is an essential part of learning. To demonstrate mastery of the content taught in the Read It and/or Teach It, students must submit all Assess Its within a course. Completing a Show It, Apply It, and/or Practice It is also important. These learning objects allow students to demonstrate their understanding of the content in a low-stakes manner as these objects are not graded. The other learning objects found within a lesson (Watch It, Play It, Reinforce It, and Extend It) are meant for supplemental learning. Learn more about our different types of learning objects. |
How often will my child submit work? | Weekly graded assignments in each class. | This may vary per course; however, students can expect to submit multiple graded assessments. |
Are the lessons available in other languages? | Languages available (when selected, text is updated to language of choice as well as the read-aloud function). Languages available are English, Spanish, Chinese, and Arabic. | Texthelp enables students to better understand the information presented in their courses. Texthelp can read to students and help them pronounce and define unfamiliar words, translate content into a set language, take notes, and highlight important terms, all of which students can review later. |
How will my student submit work? | Work will be scanned and uploaded to the student account on the Calvert platform. | Work will be either scanned and/or saved in your Google Drive and shared with your mentor teacher. |
Are there educational games? | Yes. When students click on a game, the link will direct the child to a 3rd party site. | Watch Its within our courses contain engaging videos to support the lesson content and enhance the student learning experience. Lincoln Learning courses contain videos from Khan Academy, Boclips, and in-house created by our media team. The videos are embedded within the lessons. Some courses also include Play Its, which contain interactive standards-aligned games to reinforce the skills students learn throughout the course. |
Will I be provided a parent account? |
Yes. You will receive a parent account in addition to the student account. Learning Guide, Parent portal features video. Parents, guardians, tutors, or caregivers have their own Learning Guide portal to the Calvert platform. They have access to teaching notes, answer keys, reports, and communication tools to stay in contact with the teacher. |
K-8 families will utilize a shared account between the student and the learning guide. Grades 9-12 will be provided their own unique set of credentials to monitor their students' progress and activity within their Lincoln Learning courses. |