IVSA Newsletter

At IVSA, each month brings fresh opportunities for students across Illinois to grow, learn, and discover new passions. This October, we’re especially excited to launch our new Agriculture courses, beginning with the October 14 cohort. These classes open doors for students to explore the vital world of Agriculture - from the science behind farming to the innovations shaping our future.

We’re also kicking off something fun for our youngest learners: the Recorder Superstars class for elementary students! Each week, students can gather online to make music together, build confidence, and enjoy the joy of learning a new instrument in a supportive environment.

This month’s newsletter also spotlights the Empower U PE Well-Being course, Dual Credit opportunities, and the University of Illinois Survey - your chance to share feedback and help shape the future of virtual learning at IVSA.

Every course, skill, and connection is another step forward. We’re excited to take those steps with you, together.

Melissa Lundgaard

IVSA Executive Director

Agriscience I: The word “agriculture” often evokes images of farms, fields, and livestock, and while all of these representations are correct and essential, the field of Agriculture is so much more! In Agriscience I: Introduction, you'll explore how agri scientists play key roles in improving agriculture, food production, and the conservation of natural resources along with the technologies used to keep the field thriving. Are you ready to explore the diverse careers in agriscience and how you can prepare to positively impact the planet? Let’s get growing!

Agriscience II: Have you ever strolled past a bright green cauliflower at the market and paused to ponder its unusual color? Ever wonder why “broccolini” is suddenly a thing? Well, if you find yourself curiously questioning these, and other, peculiar vegetables and wondering about the role of agriculture in the modern world, Agriscience II is for you. Learn how science and technology are revolutionizing our food supply and promoting innovative ways to produce healthy plant-based foods, such as developing better hybrids and growing edible plants in challenging places. Food is our most essential resource; see how plant science will change the face of eating in the 21st century and give us the knowledge to continually improve our green thumbs!

Veterinary Science: Whether you want to step into the wild side of veterinary medicine or just take care of loveable dogs and cats, explore how to care for domestic, farm, and wild animals, diagnose their common diseases and ailments, and learn about different veterinary treatments. If you have always been drawn to the world of our furry, scaly, and feathered friends, this is the course for you!

For students seeking to earn semester PE credit while building life-changing resilience and mental and physical well-being skills, EmpowerU is the perfect fit. Designed for students who may be struggling with anxiety, motivation, stress, or peer challenges, and need extra support to set and meet physical and/or health wellbeing goals, EmpowerU provides strategies for how to meet them and stay on track. EmpowerU transforms mental wellness into measurable academic progress. Through a blend of engaging self-paced lessons and daily 1:1 coaching from online, asynchronous wellness coaching, students build real-world tools to:

• Set and meet health, physical wellbeing, social, emotional, and academic goals
• Replace negative thinking patterns with confidence and persistence
• Manage stress and anxiety with strategies like mindfulness and habit tracking
• Improve motivation, time management, and social connection to stay engaged, confident, and healthy.

We are excited to invite Tier 1 and Tier 2 High Schools to participate in a new dual credit program — a collaboration between Illinois Virtual Schools and Academy (IVSA) and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The university’s Dual Credit Learning Accelerator is partnering with IVSA to pilot four Illinois Dual Credit courses during the 2026–2027 and 2027–2028 school years to qualifying schools.

Through this initiative, students can earn both high school and college credit simultaneously — at no cost to them.

The pilot includes four popular 100-level general education courses from the University of Illinois:

● ASTR 150: Killer Skies: Astro Disasters

● CS/STAT 107: Data Science Discovery

● SPED 117: The Culture of Disability

● MACS 100: Introduction to Popular TV & Movies

You can view the full course menu with course descriptions on the Learning Accelerator website.

To express interest, please reach out to IVSA, and we will be in touch with next steps.

We look forward to working with you to expand access to high-quality dual credit opportunities!

✅ Elementary, Middle & High School Courses
✅ Credit Recovery
✅ AP Options
✅ Flexible Scheduling
✅ Licensed Illinois Teachers

✅ Teacher Shortage Solutions for Districts

Do you have a student that is behind in credits? IVSA has a solution to assist them get back on track. Your student can joint the IVSA Next Chapter Credit Recovery program and earn up to 2 credits every six weeks. They do this with the support of our School Counselor and Student Success Coach, meeting twice each week to help your student stay on track.

• Full-Time Academy - We offer a highly supportive full-time virtual learning option for students.
• Next Chapter - Our Brand New Credit Recovery Program
• Single Course Offerings - Choose original credit or credit recovery courses in Core Subjects, Electives, World Languages, Business and CTE courses and more.
• Teacher Shortage Solutions - Are you experiencing a teacher shortage that may eliminate programs and courses. IVSA offers synchronous and asynchronous instruction options for full classes.

We have begun to partner with several schools that have a virtual block that allows students to take Credit Recovery, Core, Honors, AP, CTE, Electives, PE, or Health as needed. You provide the space, a virtual learning facilitator, and we provide the teacher, rigorous content. If you are a public school, all enrollments are eligible for reimbursement through the Illinois Virtual Course Catalog.

As we prepared for the 2025–2026 school year, we invited our Partner Schools to join us for training and IVSA updates. If you are a new School Partner or even a new additional to the school and need additional assistance in navigating our SIS, please send in a request to support@ivsaschool.org and our Operations Team will set up a time to train you on the IVSA SIS.

If you have a need for IVSA to support your school with TSS, please fill out this TSS intake form to let us IVSA know what needs you are anticipating. Filling this out does not bind you to using IVSA, but we can begin to explore this partnership.

Be sure to REGISTER for The University of Illinois Pilot Program for SY2526 if you have not already requested Teacher Shortage or a Credit Recovery program.

You will be receiving the first University of Illinois Pilot survey next week. Please take a few minutes to fill this out to help us continue to meet the needs of each school that we partner with (almost 300 schools throughout Illinois).

All FTA students are expected to complete the iReady Diagnostic three times per school year. The fall window is closing rapidly, so if your student has not completed both the Math and Reading Diagnostic, be sure to encourage them to get that done today!

Registration for our OCTOBER COHORT is OPEN! Do you have a student who would thrive with a flexible learning solution? Enroll your student today.

We have a new way that you can follow your student's IVSA course(s) by creating an observer account in our learning management system, Canvas. Please use the HELP GUIDE to walk you through this.

October 13:No School, Indigenous Peoples' Day

The mission of IVSA is to partner with local Illinois schools to provide engaging and supportive online educational experiences to meet the needs of all learners.

Any Questions? Reach out to info@ivsaschool.org

Website: https://ivsaschool.org/

IVSA Phone Number: 866-890-IVSA (4872)