Ken McLemore

HOPE – A digital instruction plan for students in the Hope Public Schools who enroll in the Hope from Home Virtual Academy was adopted by the HPS Board of Education in a called meeting Monday.

The plan is the result of the district’s implementation of the HVA as the off-site alternative for students who have chosen to attend classes online during the COVID-19 health crisis. The HVA was used as the pandemic grew as a means to offer students an alternative to on-site instruction when schools in Arkansas were closed by Governor Asa Hutchinson.

Continuing with virtual instruction post-pandemic was the basis for the plan adopted Monday.

The plan calls for an applications process for grades K-4 and grades 5-12 and limits the number of times a student may opt out of on-site instruction. A parental monitoring agreement is also included in the plan as is a specific requirement that all students be on-site for state mandated standardized testing.

“It includes the understanding that being in the virtual academy is a privilege, not a right,” HPS School Improvement Specialist Carla Narlesky said.

The board also approved year-end personnel recommendations and approved a request for a student transfer from the Prescott School District to the HPS.