Academics

For every learner to reach his or her potential and achieve postsecondary success, CCA is committed to providing rigorous academic content and opportunities for the learner and Learning Coach.

Accreditation
CCA is accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Elementary and Secondary Schools.

Academic Honesty
A high standard of academic integrity is expected of learners in all aspects of their academic work at CCA. Learners are expected to produce their best work and their own work. All learners are required to read, understand, and sign the CCA Honor Code (See Appendix B). In the first instance of a violation of the CCA Honor Code, the learner will receive a warning from their teacher. In subsequent instances, the learner may receive a zero for the assignment with no option to resubmit.

Instructional Pacing and Scheduling
Families can personalize their learning programs in several ways. Within the confines of the state’s required hours of attendance, CCA allows learners and their Learning Coaches to structure the school day to best meet the learner’s needs. Any learner who may need a more flexible schedule should speak with their homeroom teacher or School Counselor to investigate options that will meet Pennsylvania’s compulsory school attendance requirements.

Relationship Management System
edio (Education for Individualized Outcomes) is CCA’s proprietary relationship management system (RMS). CCA built edio to deliver the learning experience. More than just a  learning management system, edio provides a tool in which families and teachers can interact.

edio allows CCA to enhance the learning experience by using outside learning tools such as BrainPop, Discovery Education, Gizmos, etc. CCA will also be using a variety of courses created by other companies to supplement the CCA course offerings for learners. Courses not directly created or taught by CCA staff will be accessed through edio; however, learners will access the platform on which the course was developed. Examples of additional platforms include: Edgenuity and IU 8.

Communications Systems
Within edio, there are several mechanisms for families and school staff members to communicate with one another, including:

More information about these options can be found in the Help section of edio.

Caretakers may indicate at the time of enrollment if they wish to be excluded from the school directory. If at any time after the learner is enrolled the family wishes to change these selections, please contact the learner’s homeroom teacher to make this change.

Caretakers and/or Learning Coaches who require special communication support to communicate with teachers and staff outside of edio should contact the school to discuss their situation so that the school can provide additional support.

Learning Coaches, teachers and learners are advised that all messaging communication is archived and available for review by administrators at any time.

edioGO
The edioGO app for caretakers and Learning Coaches is now available for download to smartphones and tablets from the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store.

The new edioGO app includes exciting features that allow you to:

Guided Instruction and Live Classrooms
While cyber education offers flexibility, few learners can be successful in school without live instruction and learner/teacher interaction.

Guided Instruction takes place using the Zoom platform. These sessions are designed for the teacher to guide learners, live, through a posted edio lesson. Learners get credit for attending live OR for completing the asynchronous lesson. To receive participation credit for posted lessons, learners must attend the Guided Instruction or complete the posted lesson. (Note: Students will only get participation credit for Guided Instruction if they attend synchronously.)

Live Classrooms take place using the Zoom platform, a highly interactive, real-time learning environment. Live Classroom sessions are designed to build upon the course content and engage learners in discussions, problem solving, community building and content, procedural, and conceptual knowledge building. Learners receive participation credit for attending the live sessions (in real-time or viewing the recording of the Live Classroom).

Guided Instruction and Live Classroom sessions are a core part of the learner’s educational experience. Learners have fewer posted lessons per week in our relationship management system, edio, in order to incorporate the live classroom sessions without any overlap in the learner’s schedule. This combination of coursework and live classroom sessions meets PDE’s requirement of instructional hours per week for learners.

Elementary
Elementary learners will have the opportunity to experience Guided Instruction and Live Classroom sessions daily in core content. Specials (Art, Music, and Health and PE), and Electives offer a combination of asynchronous coursework, Guided Instruction, and Live Classroom sessions based on each course.

These sessions will be differentiated allowing teachers to personalize the session for the needs of the learners. After-hours grade-level support is offered in a Live Classroom through edio, Monday – Thursday from 4 – 7 p.m.

Middle School and High School
All core courses will have Guided Instruction for each day of posted edio lesson plans plus one Live Classroom instruction session with a teacher each week. These sessions will occur in small groups, and will be differentiated to allow teachers to personalize the session for the needs of the learners.

Elementary Educational Programming
Elementary learners in grades K-5 will experience a small team of teachers who capitalize on meeting instructional needs and building relationships. Teams are organized such that one teacher instructs English Language Arts and Social Studies, and another teacher instructs Math and Science. Learners will have the opportunity to engage synchronously and asynchronously in whole group, small group, and individual time with CCA teachers.

Middle School Educational Programming
Teachers in grades 6 through 8 are organized into teams to support the education and development of learners. This format provides opportunities for team teaching and ensures that teachers are collectively monitoring learners and their needs.

Teachers will offer Guided Instruction throughout the week to support posted work days. These sessions will be live and recorded and are in addition to the Live Classroom sessions offered.

After-hours subject-level support is offered in a Live Classroom in edio, Monday-Thursday from 4 -7 p.m.

High School Educational Programming
At the high school level, learners are developing and practicing the skills needed to be independent learners and workers. Learners are expected to work closely with their teachers and to be responsible for their learning and success. Learners and teachers jointly share the responsibility for mastering concepts and content.

Teachers will be offering Guided Instruction throughout the week to support posted workdays. These sessions will be live and recorded and are in addition to the Live Classroom sessions offered.

Teachers have regular office hours and are also available Monday-Thursday from 4 -6 p.m. to support learners who need additional assistance. Simply call this toll-free number, 800-481-6227 (ext. 11930, Math) (ext. 11932, Language Arts), and leave a voicemail including your name, phone number, the course you need support in, and the name of your teacher. The Evening Support teacher will call you back the same evening.

Honors and Advanced Placement Program
CCA’s Honors program offers the opportunity for learners in grades 3-12 to participate in a rigorous and challenging online classroom designed to meet the needs of gifted and advanced learners. The Honors and Advanced Placement program strives to meet or exceed the standards set forth by the National Association for Gifted Learners. More information about these standards can be found at https://www.nagc.org/.

At CCA, we are committed to identifying learners who exhibit the characteristics of gifted and advanced learners and designing learning experiences to meet their needs. Learners in the Honors program can expect courses that both accelerate and personalize their learning around areas of interest, deep exploration of topics, and challenging discourse with their Honors program teacher and classmates.

The Honors and Advanced Placement program at CCA seeks to support all advanced learners and encourages learners who believe they can meet the expectations and rigor of an Honors or Advanced Placement course to apply for program placement. Learners may be considered for one or more of the Honors courses at their grade level. In High School, learners may also apply for Advanced Placement courses.

Honors and Advanced Placement learners may be identified during initial placement or after enrollment. Identification for Honors placement is based on academic performance and additional screenings by the CCA Honors program staff. CCA has requirements for participation in honors coursework, and learners must meet or exceed these requirements to be considered for the Honors and Advanced Placement program. Learning Coach input is an important part of identifying and serving learners who are determined to be eligible for this program.

Learner Support Team
The Learner Support Team is a school-based, problem-solving team at CCA charged with helping learners achieve success in the general education curriculum. Recognizing that each learner is unique, CCA implements a multitiered system of supports (MTSS) to establish tiered layers of intervention and support for all learners.

Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS) In a tiered instruction model:

Based on continual review of learner performance data, classroom observations, documentation of interventions and/or parent feedback, teachers and Learning Coaches can refer a struggling learner to SST. The primary role of the Student Support Team is to empower teachers, parents and learners with the ability to address academic, behavioral, medical and/or other concerns that interfere with the learner’s ability to obtain an appropriate education. The team is composed of teachers, school counselors, school psychologists, administrators, the parent, and the learner (if appropriate). The team works together to set goals, suggest interventions and collect feedback to determine if the desired change was achieved. The team will continue to meet every four to six weeks to review learner responsiveness and progress. If the members of the team determine that after multiple strategies were implemented there were no positive results, it may be in the learner’s best interest to consider a special education evaluation.

English Language Learners
Families are asked to complete a home language survey during the enrollment process. Responses to the survey are reviewed, and learners whose primary or home language is not English are identified and assessed for eligibility in the English Learner (EL) program. Once identified as an EL, learners are provided with targeted instruction in English language acquisition and additional instructional support across all subject areas depending on their need and level of English proficiency. The English proficiency of English Learners is assessed annually with the ACCESS assessment. English Learners are required to take the PSSA/Keystone exams to assess content knowledge. English Learners who meet state-mandated exit criteria are exited from the EL program and are then monitored for a period of two years.

Career Pathways: Career Exploration and Readiness
CCA’s educational focus is on academics and the essential core skills needed to prepare learners for success after schooling. Learners in grades K-12 participate in career guiding and exploratory lessons and courses designed to support the learner’s awareness and growth to careers and education after high school graduation that would be related to each learner’s interests, skills, and values. CCA will be hosting Live Classroom Lessons, college visits, and career seminar speakers to expose learners to a large variety of career options and support our learners through that process of matching with attuned career options and goals. CCA’s Career Pathways model helps learners gain a clear line of sight to and through the school years by bridging school to work with multiple access points, whether through customized consultations sessions, in-class or workshop opportunities, project-based independent study, job shadowing, internships or cooperative education.  All educational pathways are explored (certificate programs, trade or technical school, 2- or 4-year college, military
enlistment, and more). Significant resources exist for undecided learners or those investigating multiple Career Pathways. Each year, Career Artifacts are gathered into a comprehensive Portfolio for each learner, demonstrating each student’s progress toward attaining future goals. For more information, contact the CCA Career Readiness Department at [email protected].

College in the High School/Dual Enrollment Program
CCA’s College in the High School/Dual Enrollment Program enables high school learners to take online and in-person courses through various colleges and universities and earn high school credits that fulfill graduation requirements for CCA. Successful completion of these courses will also be recognized for credit by participating post-secondary institutions, and may be transferable among post-secondary schools. Some of CCA’s partners also offer industry-recognized certifications and credentials.

Educational Assessments
As learners participate in courses, teachers use a number of assessments to ensure content mastery. The assessments will vary by teacher, grade level and course. A learner’s grade is composed of two elements: (1) Participation and (2) Assessments.

Diagnostic Assessments
Diagnostic Assessments are conducted periodically throughout the year to identify and track learners’ academic levels and growth. These assessments provide instructional guidance for teachers and Learning Coaches. Benchmarking assessments currently being used include iReady – Math and English Language Arts, and Acadience – English Language Arts grades K-5.

Mandatory State Assessments
As a public school, CCA is required to administer the Pennsylvania System of School Assessments (PSSA) and the Keystone Exams to all learners in grades 3-8 and upon completion of Algebra I, Biology, and English Literature. CCA will send more specific information regarding the administration of these tests after the start of the school year. Attendance at these exams is mandatory. CCA may choose to administer Keystones in the Winter or Summer sessions as well.

PSSAs
April 21 to May 9, 2025

Keystones Winter – December 4-18, 2024
Keystones Summer – May 12-23, 2025