NORCROSS - Ivy Preparatory Academy Schools Network will soon ...

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programs in August, is expanding its model to serve scholars at Ivy Prep ... Scholars take core math and language arts classes with an Ivy Prep teacher in a.
NORCROSS - Ivy Preparatory Academy Schools Network will soon quadruple the number of high school scholars served by its innovative blended curriculum of half virtual and traditional classes. The charter schools network, which opened one of metro Atlanta's first blended high school programs in August, is expanding its model to serve scholars at Ivy Prep Kirkwood in DeKalb County next fall. On Wednesday, parents, community leaders and Georgia education officials are invited to see the success of the Gwinnett County high school. A tour will be held at Ivy Prep Gwinnett, 3705 Engineering Drive, from 8:30 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. and from 1:30 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. Visitors can talk to scholars, teachers and observe classes. High school scholars who enroll in Ivy Prep's blended program receive a laptop to use during the school year. Scholars take core math and language arts classes with an Ivy Prep teacher in a classroom. All other courses are taken virtually at high schools and colleges from across the country. The connection to online courses is being offered through a partnership with Connections Academy, a cyber school. The partnership has tripled the selection of electives, foreign language and Advanced Placement courses available to scholars. "The blended learning opportunity presented us with a way to not only sustain our program, but to give our girls a broader range of course work," said Joy Treadwell, principal of IPA Gwinnett. A monitor reviews the progress of each high school scholar as they take online courses. "They are given support just like in a traditional setting," said Victoria Hudson, executive director of Ivy Preparatory Network Schools. The experience, said Hudson, is helping scholars to take ownership for their education and making them become more responsible and engaged learners. "We are in an era that is all about technology," said Hudson. "By our scholars having the opportunity to have this placed in a high school setting, we are preparing them for college and beyond." For more about our program, view the reprint from our recent newsletter.

iSchool: Ivy Prep Academy High School Blends Traditional and Virtual Classrooms Thanks to a partnership with Connections Learning, Ivy Prep has tripled its selection of electives, foreign language classes, and Advance Placement Courses for high school scholars. The partnership saved high school for the Gwinnett campus, the first to offer classes

Taiye Mims doesn't have to travel to New York to take a high school music composition class at Julliard.

for freshman, sophomores and juniors.

With a few strokes of her computer, she is a drop-in student at the nation's most prestigious conservatory for the performing arts.

school again because we were able to find

Ivy Prep's new high school offers Ivy scholars both a traditional and virtual blended classroom experience that is one of the first of its kind in the state. For Mims, an oboe player, the opportunity means that she can study music even though Ivy Prep does not have a traditional music program. "I want to be a musician," Mims said. "I plan to attend Princeton University." Thanks to a partnership with Connections Learning, Ivy Prep has tripled its selection of electives, foreign language and Advance Placement Courses for high school scholars. The partnership saved high school for the Gwinnett campus, the first to offer classes for freshman, sophomores and juniors.

"It went from not doing it to initiating high other financial options," said Joy Treadwell, IPA Gwinnett principal. "The blended learning opportunity presented us with a way to not only sustain our program, but to give our girls a broader range of course work. Our challenge in the past has been being able to reach out and find teachers or provide the materials for some of the more intensive classes like the AP classes. If IPA didn't have enough students interested in a certain elective or AP course, we couldn't offer the class in high school.

Now, that is not a problem. "You might have one scholar that wants to take Latin or German as opposed to 30 scholars that want to take it," Treadwell said. "We are not limited to our class size minimum. We are not bound by the salary of a teacher." Teens in the program can follow their interests and choose classes that teach them a skill or potentially earn them college credits. Most scholars spend as much as half of their day online in classes that allow them to go as slow or as fast as they can handle. The other half of the day is spent with an IPA teacher in a traditional classroom where they learn math and language arts. Freshman have 16 electives to choose from including computer game and design and Chinese. "They are taking classes with students from across the nation," said Treadwell. Success Coach Jennifer Baynes monitors the high school students as they logon to cyber classes from Ivy Cafe. She stops to look over the shoulders of scholars as they take AP Chemistry, AP History and Latin. She gets a progress report of their time spent online and assignments handed in. "Being a digital learner is the way of the world," said Baynes. "By getting them indoctrinated in it now, we set them up for success." Junior Sana Dangra said blended learning offers more independence. She can collaborate with classmates and work ahead. She is taking three AP courses online. "Your note taking strategies must improve when you are taking a course online," she said. "It is something that will help you in college."