Abbotsford Virtual School
Encyclopedia
Abbotsford Virtual School (abbreviated as AVS) is a Distributed Learning
school, located in Abbotsford
, British Columbia
, that provides collaborative educational programs for Kindergarten
to Grade 12
students and any BC resident wanting to complete courses to graduate. All adults can take courses at AVS for free and courses can lead to an Adult Graduation! Abbotsford Virtual School offers Virtual courses, as well as "any pace, any place" courses. Virtual courses
are teacher-paced, semester-based courses which operate like a regular high school course but delivered through the Internet
. Teachers and students remain connected through the semester via e-mail
, text message
, Skype
, and ElluminateLive.
school programs: W. J. Mouat Virtual School, Rick Hansen eSchool
and Abbotsford Electronic School. In 2001-2002, Des McKay (retired Superintendent and former Principal of W. J. Mouat) and Rob Comeau (current Principal, W. J. Mouat) lead a school-based initiative with several teachers at W. J. Mouat Secondary School to teach courses in an online environment. Three courses were created: Principles of Mathematics 11, Chemistry 11 and CAPP 11/12. The success of these courses allowed for expansion to 17 courses by 2004-2005. Student success rate for completion was in the 90% plus range. Rick Hansen Secondary School developed several online courses in a different format obtaining high success rates as well. Abbotsford Electronic School spawned from home-based learner
programs in Abbotsford to a thriving multidimensional home-learner support school. Nearly 300 students were enrolled by 2005-2006. Principal Don Martyn of the Abbotsford Electronic School helped to amalgamate the three programs into Abbotsford Virtual School that was poised to deliver all things virtual.
. Mr. Brad Hutchinson is the current Principal. The school has 4 full-time teachers dealing with home-educated learners and 22 online teachers. Some of the online teachers are part-time, having a face-to-face teaching assignment in one of the School District #34 (Abbotsford) high schools.
Distance education
Distance education or distance learning is a field of education that focuses on teaching methods and technology with the aim of delivering teaching, often on an individual basis, to students who are not physically present in a traditional educational setting such as a classroom...
school, located in Abbotsford
Abbotsford, British Columbia
Abbotsford is a Canadian city located in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia, adjacent to Greater Vancouver. It is the fifth largest municipality in British Columbia, home to 123,864 people . Its Census Metropolitan Area, which includes the District of Mission, is the 23rd largest in Canada,...
, British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, that provides collaborative educational programs for Kindergarten
Kindergarten
A kindergarten is a preschool educational institution for children. The term was created by Friedrich Fröbel for the play and activity institute that he created in 1837 in Bad Blankenburg as a social experience for children for their transition from home to school...
to Grade 12
Twelfth grade
Twelfth grade or Senior year, or Grade Twelve, are the North American names for the final year of secondary school. In most countries students then graduate at age 17 or 18. In some countries, there is a thirteenth grade, while other countries do not have a 12th grade/year at all...
students and any BC resident wanting to complete courses to graduate. All adults can take courses at AVS for free and courses can lead to an Adult Graduation! Abbotsford Virtual School offers Virtual courses, as well as "any pace, any place" courses. Virtual courses
Virtual school
A virtual school or cyberschool describes an institution that teaches courses entirely or primarily through online methods. Though there are tens of thousands of commercial and non-accredited courses available online, the term "virtual school" is generally reserved for accredited schools that teach...
are teacher-paced, semester-based courses which operate like a regular high school course but delivered through the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
. Teachers and students remain connected through the semester via e-mail
E-mail
Electronic mail, commonly known as email or e-mail, is a method of exchanging digital messages from an author to one or more recipients. Modern email operates across the Internet or other computer networks. Some early email systems required that the author and the recipient both be online at the...
, text message
Text messaging
Text messaging, or texting, refers to the exchange of brief written text messages between fixed-line phone or mobile phone and fixed or portable devices over a network...
, Skype
Skype
Skype is a software application that allows users to make voice and video calls and chat over the Internet. Calls to other users within the Skype service are free, while calls to both traditional landline telephones and mobile phones can be made for a fee using a debit-based user account system...
, and ElluminateLive.
History of Abbotsford Virtual School
Abbotsford Virtual School is an amalgamation of three Abbotsford School DistrictSchool District 34 Abbotsford
School District 34 Abbotsford is a school district in the Fraser Valley of British Columbia. The district is located in the city of Abbotsford.It has seen steady growth as a result of Abbotsford's place as one of the fastest growing cities in North America....
school programs: W. J. Mouat Virtual School, Rick Hansen eSchool
Rick Hansen Secondary School (Abbotsford)
Rick Hansen Secondary is a public high school in Abbotsford, British Columbia part of School District 34 Abbotsford.Rick Hansen Secondary School is named after Rick Hansen, an athlete who won all-star awards in five sports when he was paralyzed at the age of 15 after being thrown from the back of...
and Abbotsford Electronic School. In 2001-2002, Des McKay (retired Superintendent and former Principal of W. J. Mouat) and Rob Comeau (current Principal, W. J. Mouat) lead a school-based initiative with several teachers at W. J. Mouat Secondary School to teach courses in an online environment. Three courses were created: Principles of Mathematics 11, Chemistry 11 and CAPP 11/12. The success of these courses allowed for expansion to 17 courses by 2004-2005. Student success rate for completion was in the 90% plus range. Rick Hansen Secondary School developed several online courses in a different format obtaining high success rates as well. Abbotsford Electronic School spawned from home-based learner
Homeschooling
Homeschooling or homeschool is the education of children at home, typically by parents but sometimes by tutors, rather than in other formal settings of public or private school...
programs in Abbotsford to a thriving multidimensional home-learner support school. Nearly 300 students were enrolled by 2005-2006. Principal Don Martyn of the Abbotsford Electronic School helped to amalgamate the three programs into Abbotsford Virtual School that was poised to deliver all things virtual.
Staff and Location
Abbotsford Virtual School is located at 33952 Pine Street, near the historic centre of Abbotsford, on the site formerly known as Philip Sheffield Elementary SchoolPhilip Sheffield Elementary School
Philip Sheffield Elementary is a public elementary school in Abbotsford, British Columbia part of School District 34 Abbotsford. Philip Sheffield Elementary School is a small inner city school located in central Abbotsford on Pine Street.-History:...
. Mr. Brad Hutchinson is the current Principal. The school has 4 full-time teachers dealing with home-educated learners and 22 online teachers. Some of the online teachers are part-time, having a face-to-face teaching assignment in one of the School District #34 (Abbotsford) high schools.