PLA Virtual News
Phalen Virtual Leadership Academy
"Bytes" From Your School Leader
May 28, 2021
Greetings Phalen Virtual Leadership Academy Families,
Thank you for a extraordinary school year filled with lots of love, learning, care and fun! We celebrated many victories, encouraged one another when things seemed tough, pushed each other to never give up and supported one another as a community so that we all could to grow and develop into the best version of ourselves (scholars, learning coaches, teachers, principal).
We will truly miss you this summer, but I know we will see some of you in Summer Advantage hosted by one of our sister schools and one of our very own teachers, Ms. Hershey will be the campus leader at PLA #48. So, if your scholar is assigned to this site, please be sure to give her a special "hello" and let her know who you are, she will be happy to put a face to a name. In addition, please stay connected with your email, as we hope to host a few summer gatherings and we want to see you there. We cannot let the summer go and not stay connected, that would not be family like.
I wanted to share with you a great partnership that occurred last night (Thursday, May 27, 2021) for Phalen Virtual Leadership Academy. We were voted into a partnership with Indianapolis Public Schools (IPS) as one of their Innovation Schools to serve their scholars who do not desire to return to a traditional brick and mortar building for the 2021-2022 school year. IPS will not offer a virtual option and sought out partners to support their current students. I want to personally assure you that this will not impact the level of excellence, high quality teaching, love, and community that WE (families, teachers, scholars, principal) have worked so very hard to create and build. We are growing, with a solid plan to effectively support the growth while always keeping scholars first. If you have any questions, please reach out to me directly.
A special thank you to everyone who came out to the picnic at Holliday Park. Once we receive all the pictures we will share them in the newsletter so that you will have them in your archives as well. Thank you again for your flexibility, as we could not change Mother Nature, but it was so wonderful to have everyone safely together outdoors with masks enjoying the park and games and fellowship and sack lunches.
Let's give another very special congratulations to our first inaugural graduating High Class of 2021Graduates, Zion Morrow, Isabelle Shambaugh and Laci Snell. WE are proud of ALL of their hard work and wish them the very best as they moved forward to college! Please check out our Facebook page to view, comment and like the ceremony.
Are you talking about us? We surely hope so! We would love for you to share your positive experience with others on Google and Facebook. We will be reaching out to you to see if you might be interested in sharing your experience with others as we continue to build our school community and help scholars learn and grow.
I am still in awe and amazement that an entire school year has passed and we are fortunate to have shared our very first year in operation with you and your family. They say time flies when you are having fun, and this year has proven that learning is fun, engaging and yields positive results when we all partner together. Let's continue moving onward and upward together for many years to come!
With Gratitude,
Dr. Townsend
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Mark Your Calendars
End of Year PLA Virtual Family Gathering
Monday, May 17, 2021
12:0pm-3:00pm
High School Commencement Ceremony
Friday, May 21, 2021
6:00pm
Last Day of Grading Period
Friday, May 21, 2021
Last Day of School for Scholars
Tuesday May 25, 2021
Teacher Professional Development--NO SCHOOL for SCHOLARS
Wednesday, May 26, 2021
Scholar Attendance
Scholar attendance is critical for academic success and we must partner together to ensure it is completed daily.
You should have received an email from Dr. Townsend with your Infinite Campus Student Portal Log-in Information, a video tutorial, a written guide to logging daily attendance and our school attendance policy. If you have not received the email or are experiencing difficulties logging in, please contact us and we will support you.
Learning Coaches/Parents, please remember that you must log in to count your scholar as present by 9:00am daily. In addition, teachers will take attendance during all live sessions, and scholars are expected to remain in class the entire time to ensure they receive the full lesson.
If you need to report an absence, please call our school at 317-829-6065 . All excused absence documentation should be e-mailed directly to Dr. Townsend, email: ttownsend@phalenacademies.org.
Please review the PLA-Virtual attendance policy for more specific details.
Infinite Campus Parent Portal Access
As we partner together for our scholars success, we want to ensure you have real-time access to your scholar's academic success journey at PLA Virtual. ). If you did not receive a personalized access link within one week of enrollment, please e-mail Dr. Townsend (ttownsend@phalencacademies.org) to ensure you have full access.
Here is a short Getting Started video to check out:
https://kb.infinitecampus.com/help/getting-started-with-campus-parent-and-campus-student-video
Infinite Campus is a district-wide student information system designed to manage attendance, grades, schedules, assessments, and other information about our scholars.
Parents/Learning Coaches have access to Campus Portal, a confidential and secure website that allows you to log in and view your scholars' progress. There is also an app available for both iOS and Android devices on our website.
Logging into the Campus Portal will allow you to view the following
real-time information about your child: demographics, attendance, grades, and report cards.
If you have additional questions regarding Infinite Campus - Campus Portal, please email operations@phalenacademies.org.
Download our APP!
The latest news and information from schools in the Phalen Leadership Academies Network are now available on smartphones and mobile devices with a new mobile app launching today. PLA is working to expand its communications outreach with a mobile app that is now available in the online iTunes® and Google Play® app stores for free.
The mobile app will offer a constantly updated feed of school and network news and events with photos and links to PLA school websites. The app can also be customized by the user by selecting the schools they are most interested in for news and updates. Users can also choose to receive push notifications to get breaking news, updates about school closures, calendar changes, or even sports updates.
Have Questions? Contact Us Today!
Phalen Virtual Leadership Academy (PLA Virtual) is a tuition-free online learning academy for Indiana families in grades K-12. We are backed by an accredited university to help empower our scholars and families to accelerate academic success with high-quality curriculum taught in their own environment. We use technology to provide interactive and rigorous online classes that allow our scholars to learn and thrive. Our scholars excel not just in academics, but also socially and emotionally with a blend of online coursework and options to engage in sports and enrichment at a local PLA campus.
Email: ttownsend@phalenacademies.org
Website: PLAVirtual.org
Location: Indiana, USA
Phone: 317.939.3787
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PhalenLeadershipAcademies
Twitter: @AcademiesPhalen