Welcome Back to School

Welcome to a new school year! We are excited to partner with you as we support your student in achieving their future goals.

At DCA, your student will experience more than a traditional high school education. Through career pathways, work-based learning, CTSOs, project-based learning, industry-recognized certifications, and more, they'll gain the knowledge, confidence, and real-world skills needed for success after graduation.

This is the first edition of our monthly family newsletter. Throughout the school year, we'll share important dates, upcoming events, school news, helpful reminders, student highlights, and resources to help you stay informed and engaged in your student's education.

Be sure to watch your mailbox over the next few weeks for your back-to-school packet. It contains important information and documents to help your family navigate the school year, so please keep it in a convenient place for future reference.

Thank you for trusting DCA to be part of your student's educational journey. We look forward to working together to make this a successful and rewarding school year. If you have any questions or need assistance, we're here to help!

Jen Wegner
Principal
dcawi@wivcs.org

Dear Families,

You work hard to support your student’s learning. This year, thanks to feedback from families like yours, we’re rolling out new features that make your Learning Coach life easier.

• First, take a little time to look over the Welcome Site. There’s no better place to find answers and reminders for preparing for the new school year. Prior to the first day of school, your K12 School (OLS) login will direct you there automatically.

• When your student logs in to login.k12.com on the first day, they will see the K12 Launch Pad. This is their personalized command central for accessing classes, assignments, emails, and more. They’ll see recommendations on what to do next, quick links to their email, class session recordings, and a Welcome Site widget, so they can easily visit the site anytime throughout the year.

Once students are in the K12 School (OLS), they’ll enjoy redesigned courses with a clearer lesson flow and less scrolling, giving them confidence to navigate their day with ease.

All this is just the beginning. We’re grateful for your feedback, and we will keep improving the experience for your family.

This is our year!

Sincerely,

Dr. Cutler

To help your student have a successful school year, we recommend having the following supplies available at home.

• Technology (Provided by the School)
• School-issued laptop
• School-issued printer

Please Note: Families are responsible for purchasing replacement printer ink and printer paper as needed.

• Reliable internet connection - Click here if you need help with internet
• Quiet, dedicated workspace
• Power strip or surge protector (recommended)

• Notebooks or composition books (2–4)
• Pencils, Pens, and Highlighters
• Sticky notes (optional)

• Calculator (if required by the course)

• Headphones or earbuds
• Webcam and microphone (if not built into your laptop)

Take a few minutes before the first day of school to make sure everything is ready!

🎓 Students: Your class schedule will be available in your Canvas account on the Sunday before school starts.

👨‍👩‍👧 Learning Coaches: You may be able to view your student’s schedule in Canvas before it becomes available in the student account.

You are required to carefully review and acknowledge the DCA Student/Parent Handbook. The handbook is accessible here: DCA Student/Learning Coach Handbook - LiveBinder

Furthermore, your confirmation of having thoroughly reviewed the document independently and with your student is mandatory. The acknowledgement form can be found here.

In the event that you have multiple students, kindly ensure completion of a separate form for each student. Should your children attend schools other than DCA, please complete the form for each child in their respective school.

🎉 Exciting News! Canvas has rolled out a fresh new dashboard experience for the new school year!

The first time students log in to Canvas, they'll be prompted to click "Authorize" to activate the new dashboard features.

✅ Be sure to select "Authorize" so you can access all of the latest updates and enhancements!

We can't wait for you to check out the new look. Happy learning! 💻📚

Please pay attention to the schedule below and when each session will be held.

After the first two weeks, you can expect a typical school week schedule as follows: Students are required to attend school each day of the week.

**Note:** Live sessions and Homeroom will take place on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and it is important for all students to attend. However, additional Homeroom sessions may be scheduled on other days throughout the year.

Want to know your schedule? Your student's schedule will be available in Canvas starting September 1st, which is the first day of school.

*The first day of school, all students will start in their homeroom classroom at 8:30 a.m.

It is important to ensure you set up BOTH student and LC accounts. Students must use their student account to attend classes, complete lessons and assignments, and track their attendance.

These accounts are completely different than the account you used to apply for enrollment at DCAWI. You will need the registration@k12.com email that was sent to you upon your student's acceptance, which includes your registration ID number. If you do not have this email, please email us at dcawi@wivcs.org. Steps to help you set up your Learning Coach account can be found below.

Link to set up your Learning Coach account - https://registration.k12.com/account-setup/register-id

Steps to set up your Learning Coach account - How to Set Up Your Learning Coach & Student Accounts

Adding the Student Account to your Learning Coach Account:

If you were not prompted to set up your student's account after you made your Learning Coach account, please follow the steps at this link to create the student's account - K12 School (OLS) Student Account Sign Up

Once you create both accounts, make sure to log in to the online school. This is helpful to save your passwords. It might be helpful to use one browser for the LC login information and a different browser for the student login information to ensure the student isn't accidentally logging into the LC account.

Login Link: https://learn.K12.com

Oh no, my password didn't work. What do I do?

Please click on "Need help logging in?" below the login button to click on Forgot password.

You can follow a step-by-step guide here -K12 School: Help Logging In

Our Family Support Room is open Monday–Friday, 7:00 AM–4:00 PM (ET)—no appointment needed!

📍 Join here: https://k12.zoom.us/j/97739092933

✨ Before you join: Download the Zoom app so you can access breakout rooms and all Zoom features.

What to expect:
👋 A friendly welcome from the support team
🛠️ Guidance to the breakout room that best fits your question
📞 Personalized support for more complex issues

You'll also discover additional support resources, including:
📚 Help articles at help.k12.com
💬 Live Chat (often faster than waiting on hold!)
📝 How to submit a support case online
🎥 Helpful how-to videos and other resources

Don't struggle alone—we're here to help you get back on track! 💙

🔍 Check for Known Outages
If you're unable to log in to the K12 Online School, your first stop should be the K12 Help Center. STRIDE updates this page regularly with the latest information about system outages.

📱 Follow for Updates
You can also check these official Facebook pages for status updates:

• Stride K12 Facebook
• Destinations Career Academy of Wisconsin

📧 Watch Your Email
If there is a system outage, updates will also be sent via email. Once the issue has been resolved, you'll receive communication letting you know it's back up and running.

It is imperative that students engage with their coursework and communicate with teachers. When students start to get behind, work begins to pile up and can become very stressful for the student. We understand that life happens and sometimes a missed day is just necessary!

Students will access their coursework in the "OLS," our Online Learning System. Their live Class Connects (live classes) will happen in Engageli. It's important for students to stay involved in their coursework and participate in live classes. If a student can't make it to a live class, they should watch the recording to keep up with the material.

To report an absence for the current day, when missing 50% or more of the scheduled school day (3 or more hours), contact the Attendance Line by 9:00 am. You can reach us at 1-608-838-9482, Option 0.

For student safety, after 1 pm, we'll send courtesy engagement notifications to the Learning Coaches of students who haven't been actively participating in school without contacting the Attendance Line first.

If you haven't received a Stride computer, please email dcawi@wivcs.org.

We recommend all students request a Stride computer as many of our courses and certifications require specific software that is only available on Stride computers.

If you would like to know if your student's materials have been shipped, you can find the information on your LC account soon.

If you are not using a K12/DCAWI-provided computer, please visit this link to follow the steps to set up Office 365 Suite - link to follow the steps to set up Office 365 Suite

A Learning Coach is a parent, relative, sibling, or legal guardian who supports a K12 student’s education journey at home. By stepping into this role, you can set your student up for success in our K12 environment and beyond.

The Learning Coach supports the student at home. The LC is responsible for making sure the student is attending their live classes, completing their online course lessons, and completing their online assignments. The LC communicates regularly with their student's teachers via email, phone calls, and text messages. The amount of assistance depends on the student's grade level and their ability to successfully complete work on their own.

More about the role of the Learning Coach -Role of the Learning Coach

*Please note that our Learning Coaches do not log attendance as this link states.

The High School Learning Coach may spend less time assisting their student based on the student's ability to work independently. The average amount of time spent by the Learning Coach with a high school student is 1-2 hours a day. During a typical week, the Learning Coach will:

• Assist with some lessons, varies based on the student's independence.

• Verifies lesson completion to ensure the student is on track.

• Supports student independence.

• Check students' grades weekly.

• Communicate with teachers.

We know it is important to build connections with others that are on this new journey. Please join our LC Community to ask questions, share experiences, and learn about events happening at DCAWI and K12. To join the LC Community, you can click on 'Community' on your Learning Coach account or log in at https://community.k12.com/

One of the best ways to socialize, make friends, and show off your leadership skills is to join a club or organization.

Clubs & Activities - Destinations Career Academy of Wisconsin

Link to sign up for clubs and CTSO's is coming soon!

K12 has a ton of great resources for learning coaches and students. You can search for multiple step- by-step guides and videos for assistance with situations.

Site Link - https://www.help.k12.com/s/

Go to login.k12.com and log in using your K12 School (OLS) credentials

First Day of School: Tuesday, September 1st

Labor Day: No school: Monday, September 7th

Attendance Count Day: Friday, September 18th

Join DCA staff and fellow students and families at various locations around the state to socialize and build community!

More information coming soon!

Any parent who is limited in speaking, writing, or reading English may request the school to provide access to services such as interpreters and/or translated documents. To request services please email Miriam Mueller-Owens at mmowens@wivcs.org. Prompt access to the appropriate services and/or translator will be coordinated.

Asistencia de idioma: Cualquier padre que se limita al hablar, escribir o leer Inglés podrá solicitar a la escuela para proporcionar acceso a servicios tales como intérprete y / o documentos traducidos. Para solicitar los servicios envíe un correo electrónico o llamar al Coordinador de ELL. Se coordinará el pronto acceso a los servicios apropiados y / o al traductor.