FAe Program Expectations
As a K-7 blended learning fine arts academy, our students learn through the arts at school and through a personalized learning program at home. The arts provide a foundation for our school’s culture and learning philosophy and they foster the cognitive, social, personal and emotional development of the learner. Students also work at home to develop their literacy (reading) and numeracy (math) skills through a program tailored to address each child’s unique qualities and interests.
The FAe program involves:
- Participation in a blended learning fine arts academy
- A shared learning community at Tsolum Campus and an individualized learning plan at home
- Classes organized around multi-age grade groupings
- Being engaged in daily artistic activities including visual art, music, drama, dance, and literary/digital art
- An individualized home learning program co-developed by the student, teacher and parents/guardians
- Following the Circle of Courage framework – Belonging, Mastery, Independence and Generosity
It is expected that students will:
- Attend the three face to face days on Tuesday-Wednesday-Thursday
- Be accepting of others and be willing to be engaged in the FAe learning community
- Be open to exploring learning through the lens of the fine arts
- Follow a home learning program as set up during Spark meetings with a parent/guardian and the teacher
It is expected that parents/guardians will:
- Be involved in the development and execution of the student’s learning program
- Support the student throughout the home learning process as the home learning facilitator
- Consistently provide evidence of learning as outlined in the student’s home learning program
- Attend 4 Spark meetings throughout the year to support the development and maintenance of the home learning program
- Pay the academy fee for each student in the program.
It is expected that the teachers and the school will:
- Ensure that every student is provided a caring, safe and respectful environment for their learning
- Ensure that students are meeting BC Ministry of Education curricular requirements
- Work with parents/guardians and students to create a personalized home learning plan
- Provide assessment and feedback of each student’s academic progress throughout the school year
- Report out to parents/guardians on student progress through a continuous online portfolio system supplemented by two summary of learning reports
- Provide a yearly calendar of events including showcase dates, exploration/spark meeting weeks and any other important dates that may affect a FAe student’s education
- Be available to support parents/guardians and students throughout the home learning process
Our overriding goal is to ensure that the FAe program is the most appropriate educational program for each student. If there is a situation where a student or parent/guardian is unable to meet the expectations of the program or a student is unable to meet the curricular requirements as outlined by the BC Ministry of Education, then there may be a review of the student’s situation so that supports can be put in place to help the student achieve success. If we are unsuccessful in initiating positive change then we may look at supporting the student and family in exploring alternative educational opportunities that would be more successful for the student.