Board adopts digital plan
By Ken McLemore/Hope Public Schools, 04/26/21 10:25 PMHOPE – 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.
