ILA Info
This program is specifically designed according to the education/attendance auditor of the California Department of Education and the agreement of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges accreditation. All students and parents are required to sign the Master Agreement before enrollment in the program.
Independent learning parameters
Students have 22 school days (4 hours a day x 22 days = 88 academic hours) to complete 1 semester class. Students must complete 6 classes a semester to remain at ILA and stay on track to graduate. Students may take up to 2 classes per semester (10 credits) through dual enrollment at their school of residence (JMS, LMS, MMS, JBHS, BHS) or CTE, with prior approval.
This is an independent study program, not a traditional (distance learning) teacher-led instruction program. All curriculum is through APEX (A-G, college approved). Students will have access to ask a BUSD subject teacher clarification on topics or assignments, but there is no daily teacher-led instruction. Subject teachers may have additional sources to suggest for assistance as well.
Students receive attendance (22 days) upon successful completion of each class. At the end of 22 school days, any/all outstanding assignments/tests will receive zero credit. This may cause the student to fail the class and receive 22 days of unexcused attendance. Student placement at ILA may be reevaluated at such time and the student may be transferred back to their school of residence. Therefore, students should be working a minimum of 4 hours a day/5 days a week per class in order to successfully complete the class by their due date. APEX is accessible 7 days a week/24 hours a day. Some students may find they need to work more hours each day, and/or up to 6/7 days a week to complete their class.
Weekly meetings
The student and at least one parent/guardian are required to meet with their supervising teacher weekly. Day and time for each meeting will be established during your orientation meeting. The purpose of each meeting is to make sure the student is progressing at a reasonable pace, discuss any issues with the class(es), discuss 4-year plans, make sure the student is on track for graduation, etc. The meetings assure students and parents are aware of student progress and allow us to address any concerns or issues early. Weekly meetings are the cornerstone of ILA and are what sets our program apart from other independent study programs.
While the district is in 100% distance learning, weekly meetings will be via email, phone call, or as a video meeting. When the district returns to on-campus accessibility, weekly meetings will transition back to the ILA campus.
Communicating with your supervising teacher
You will receive a separate communication sheet. Texting via Remind is allowed 7 days a week from 8am to 9pm. Texting after 4pm (and all day Saturday/Sunday) should be limited to requests for quizzes resets or issues with APEX only. Other issues or academic questions can be emailed. For all issues after 9pm - email only. If students/parents repeatedly violate the texting window (8am-9pm), the texting privilege may be revoked and communication may switch to email only. Please remember teachers are also assisting other students, running weekly meetings, participating in other school functions/ responsibilities, etc., so they may not always get back to your text/email quickly. Please be patient with all communication.
Written Assignments
Heading: (students may be asked to revise if not done correctly)
Name (first and last)
Subject Name and grade/letter (ex. English 10A, Biology B, Algebra 2B)
Assignment type and number (ex. Practice 1.2.3, Journal, 2.4.7, Discuss 3.5.4)
Date (month, date, and year)
Google Docs - students should use Google Docs for written assignments. If the assignment is not applicable for Google Doc (math assignments, science diagrams, social studies maps), students may hand write and email assignments via a scanning program (we use the free CamScanner app - any preferred app/program is fine). FYI, the BUSD email address given to you does not accept responses. When emailing questions and assignments, please use a non-BUSD email address.
Discuss assignments - some classes have assignments titled ‘Discuss’. If you are assigned one, DO NOT submit your response into APEX. Type your responses (the directions tell you how to answer the questions while working alone) and submit it via Google Doc like every other assignment.
All assignments should be shared (with editing access) or scanned/emailed to both your supervising teacher and the grading subject teacher. Additionally, if a student emails an academic teacher with a question regarding a topic or assignment, they need to include their supervising teacher as well. Supervising teachers need to be part of all communication to help us monitor progress.
Class progression
- Website: www.apexvs.com. Students will be given their username and password at orientation.
- Supervising teachers will choose the first class. After that, students may decide the order of remaining classes.
- Students must complete the class in order - they may not skip over written assignments to take quizzes.
- If a student skips any written assignment(s), the class will be locked until they go back and submit the skipped work. Additionally, any quizzes completed past the skipped assignment(s) will be reset and need to be retaken.
- To view all the assignments for the entire semester class, click on the current grade/progress % when you log in to APEX. The Course Activity Scores Report will pop up (make sure you always allow pop ups for APEX). This report shows every assignment, quiz and test for the class.
- Students may not take a unit test until all assignments and quizzes for the unit have been completed.
- Unit test - while the district is on 100% distance learning, all tests will be done at home. No testing will be allowed on weekends. When the district returns to on-campus accessibility, testing will transition back to the ILA campus.
- Science labs - we are waiting for verification from the colleges regarding labs. If/when you start a science class, we will give you proper instruction regarding labs.
- Classes are due and closed at 5pm on the due date assigned (22 schools days). Any work/tests not completed will receive a score of 0.