Virtual Middle School Education
The 7th & 8th-grade students at PA Distance are required to engage in a total of 5.5 hours of school per day within our blended learning environment which contains “synchronous” and “asynchronous” forms of education. Students are also given a variety of extracurricular opportunities like after-school clubs and enrichment programs.
Download the 2021-2022 Middle School Course Catalog.
“There are lots of instructional tools and programs used to deliver content in today’s “classroom”, but it is the teacher that personalizes the concepts for the students.”
“I feel at home interacting with kids virtually. I can chat with a student one-on-one while simultaneously teaching a live learning session to the rest of the class.”
Educational Programs
To supplement what each student learned during their lives classes, PA Distance utilizes online instructional resources that support and supplement our curriculum. Some of the educational programs that our teachers utilize include:
Computer Science for All
PA Distance 7th & 8th-graders have the unique opportunity to enroll in brand new computer science electives designed to teach them the basics of computer programming, coding, website design, and CSS and HTML computer language. The PA Distance Computer Science Team believes that computer science knowledge is attainable for all students, no matter their background or prior experience.
After-School Clubs
Every year, a variety of virtual club opportunities are introduced to our students. Some of our current after-school clubs include:
Art Club: 4-8th graders
Student Leadership Club: 7-12th graders
Cooking Club: 8-12th graders
Stress-Free Students Club: 7-12th graders
CEW Program
By Pennsylvania law, all public schools are required to prepare students in regards to career readiness through a Career Education & Work (CEW) program.
Before they finish the 11th grade, all students are required to complete at least 20 “artifacts” that are kept within their career portfolio. The portfolio, and the artifacts contained within, is an ongoing and individualized collection of materials that document a student’s educational performance, career exploration, and employment experiences over time. Each year, students have monthly career activities to complete that are added to their portfolio, including the creation of a career plan.
Students have the opportunity to choose and pursue a career pathway as early as 7th grade. Our teachers embed “employability skills” into their daily lessons so that students can work towards their career plans and obtain the required artifacts.
Office Hours
Students have the opportunity to meet any of their teachers for additional health on their daily assignments. At 3:00 PM, every day, students can meet with their teachers virtually via a video call, phone call, or chat.
Student Support
With the help of our interventionist, counselors, teachers, and student support staff, we can meet each student where they are and help them to grow.
To ensure every child has the tools that they need to be successful, PA Distance utilizes a Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS) to grow out students academically, behaviorally, and socially.
- Delivery of standards-based instruction and differentiated learning opportunities to meet the needs of students
- Collection and analysis of multiple data points to support informed decisions regarding curriculum, instruction, and assessment
- Implementation of a tiered system of support to differentiate programmatic interventions of all students
Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports
To provide behavioral supports, we utilize Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS). PBIS is a process for creating safer and more effective schools. It is a systems approach to enhancing the capacity of schools to educate all children by developing research-based, school-wide, and classroom behavior support systems. As a reward for students exhibiting desirable behaviors, they can earn “Scholar Dollars” to use at our school store!