Overview

The CPS Virtual Learning Program provides online courses tuition free to Chicago Public School students. Online courses give students an opportunity to expand course offerings, meet graduation requirements or to prepare for high school. CPS students entering 8th-12th grade in the Fall are invited to take online courses over the Summer. Applications for "Be Prepared" and "Do Something Different" will be accepted May 21-June 6, 2012. Courses begin June 18, 2012 and will officially conclude by August 10, 2012.

The following goals will describe online learning options for students. Please note, you may only enroll a student in online credit recovery through a virtual mentor at a school that is participating in the program.

Goals

CPS' online summer school programs will provide students with engaging acceleration and remediation opportunities. CPS students going into 8th through 12th grade are encouraged to apply in one or more of the following ways:

Advance & Accelerate (Incoming 9-12th Grade Students)

Students can take core courses online to create opportunities to "get ahead" in their coursework or graduation requirements. High school students must register to take courses for advancement in person, with a virtual mentor. Visit our intranet site for a list of schools who have virtual mentors here. High school students can only take online courses with the permission of their home school counselor, virtual mentor or administrator. Please reach out to your school for help. Courses include: English, Mathematics, World Language, Sciences & Fine Arts

Be Prepared (Incoming 8th-9th Grade Students)

Students going into 8th grade or 9th grade can enroll in composition and pre-algebra courses to "get prepared" for high school level concepts and writing in advance of the school year. Students may take courses anytime/anywhere but must apply or be nominated to take these courses by school staff, or a parent using our online application. Course acceptance will be sent via email. Please have an accurate email address. Courses include:

• English Foundations I
• Pre-Algebra

Conquer Credit Recovery (Incoming 9-12th grade students)

"Get on track" by taking online courses to recover courses that were failed to get on track for graduation. This program requires that students attend a credit recovery lab for additional support. Visit our intranet site for lab locations [link to https://sites.google.com/site/cpsvirtualintranet/vlp-summer-2012] and apply with a virtual mentor at the school. High school students can only take online courses with the permission of their home school counselor, virtual mentor or administrator. Please reach out to your school for help. Courses include:

• English
• Algebra
• Geometry
• Biology
• Earth Science
• Physical Science
• American Government
• American History
• World History
• Health
• P.E.
• Spanish

Do Something Different, Dig Deeper (Incoming 9-12th grade students)

Students are invited to "get inspired" by taking online elective courses that present a field experience over the summer. Courses are taken online anytime anywhere and students are invited to visit cultural institutions to partner exhibits, workshops and real world experiences. Courses include:

• Oceanography (elective) in partnership with the Shedd Aquarium
• Media Literacy (elective) with a tour of NBC5 studios
• U.S. History since the Civil War (Social Science) with a workshop and Facing Freedom exhibit at the Chicago History Museum

Students may take courses anytime/anywhere but must apply or be nominated to take these courses by school staff, or a parent using our online application. Course acceptance will be sent via email. Please have an accurate email address.

Resources

Please contact a CPS school counselor or Virtual Learning Mentor for assistance with registration. Remember: This program is for actively enrolled CPS students. High school students can only take online courses with the permission of their home school counselor, virtual mentor or administrator. Please reach out to your school for help. If you cannot find assistance at a school, please contact the Virtual Learning Program Manager, Keisha Kidan at kakidan@cps.k12.il.us.