Latest / GCA Unmuted: Voices of Virtual Education / Showing Up Online with Crystal Amey: Virtual Attendance Systems That Work

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Showing Up Online with Crystal Amey: Virtual Attendance Systems That Work · GCA Unmuted: Voices of Virtual Education

• 0:03
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to GTA Unmuted, the podcast where we share the stories and strategies that show how Georgia Cyber Academy makes online learning work.
• 0:13
  SPEAKER_00: In a virtual school, attendance isn't just about logging in.
• 0:17
  SPEAKER_00: It's about showing up, staying connected, and staying engaged.
• 0:21
  SPEAKER_00: Building systems that support attendance online takes communication, consistency, and strong partnerships with families.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_00: I'm joined today by Crystal Amy, GCA's Family Engagement Liaison Supervisor.
• 0:36
  SPEAKER_00: She leads the work that helps ensure students are present, supported, and engaged in their learning every day.
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_00: We'll explore how virtual attendance works at GCA, how families are supported when students struggle to stay engaged, and what makes attendance systems effective in an online environment.
• 0:58
  SPEAKER_00: So thanks for being here, Crystal.
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_00: And to start us off, can you share a moment or situation where you think GCA's attendance systems helped uh re-engage a student or a family?
• 1:13
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_01: And thank you for having me.
• 1:19
  SPEAKER_01: So I didn't start as a supervisor here.
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_01: I started as a family engagement liaison.
• 1:27
  SPEAKER_01: And one of my students that I love to talk about here is Hunter.
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_01: And Hunter was an unengaged student.
• 1:41
  SPEAKER_01: As I was doing the work that our FELs do, I was just kind of going through my caseload.
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_01: And I was, we reach out to each of those students in their families at least once a month.
• 2:03
  SPEAKER_01: I say at least because it can be every day or it can be once a week, but at least once a month.
• 2:09
  SPEAKER_01: And we review their grades, their attendance before we call them.
• 2:16
  SPEAKER_01: And one of the things that I noticed when I before I called Hunter was that her grades were slipping.
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_01: So when I called her, I'm, you know, looking like, what's going on?
• 2:29
  SPEAKER_01: And I noticed, you know, things just weren't weren't going well for her.
• 2:35
  SPEAKER_01: So one of the things that we did with Hunter to make sure that she got on the ball was to pull her into a session regularly and to support her her learning and her engagement, which attendance is is all about getting them into school, getting them engaged in school, um, getting them into class, in addition to their just regular learning, is into a work session to make sure that she was supplementing her learning, um, finding out what their goals are, to get their buy-in, get their why, figure out, you know, give them a reason to be here, want to go to school.
• 3:25
  SPEAKER_01: She wanted to go to Georgia Tech.
• 3:27
  SPEAKER_01: That was her goal.
• 3:28
  SPEAKER_01: She was in ninth grade at the time.
• 3:31
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so you know, figuring out a relate, you know, developing a relationship with the student so that they want to be here.
• 3:40
  SPEAKER_01: Um and she was failing all six of her classes at the time.
• 3:46
  SPEAKER_01: So once I knew what her goal was, she had a reason to come to school.
• 3:52
  SPEAKER_01: You know, I I I want to go to Georgia Tech.
• 3:55
  SPEAKER_01: I said, well, we can do that.
• 3:57
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
• 3:58
  SPEAKER_01: Let's do it.
• 3:59
  SPEAKER_01: But you gotta come to school to do it, you gotta get into class to do it.
• 4:03
  SPEAKER_01: Um 12th grade, uh she she got in, we did it.
• 4:11
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and she was able to attend graduation at Georgia Tech.
• 4:17
  SPEAKER_01: No way, yes, we did it, and so developing that relationship with her, um, finding out her why and getting her to show up every day knowing what she was working towards was huge.
• 4:35
  SPEAKER_01: And and that's what our team does.
• 4:36
  SPEAKER_01: We develop relationships, figure out what their why is so that they know why they're coming to school, why they're showing up every day.
• 4:46
  SPEAKER_00: It's it's huge.
• 4:48
  SPEAKER_00: And then her attendance didn't become an issue because she was like, Yeah, I wanna I wanna be here.
• 4:52
  SPEAKER_00: This is why I want to be here.
• 4:54
  SPEAKER_00: That's incredible.
• 4:54
  SPEAKER_00: That's incredible too that uh her her like goal didn't change, you know, and ninth grader being like, I want to go to Georgia Tech.
• 5:02
  SPEAKER_00: It was it's funny that like you were like actually that stayed because a lot of students are like, Yeah, I want to do this, and then it's like a couple years later they change or whatever.
• 5:11
  SPEAKER_00: So man, but good for her for being like, No, I want to go to Georgia Tech, I know exactly what I want to do.
• 5:16
  SPEAKER_01: Oh yeah, she's like, that's my dream school.
• 5:18
  SPEAKER_01: I was like, well, let's do it.
• 5:20
  SPEAKER_00: That's awesome.
• 5:22
  SPEAKER_00: Um well you said you started as a family engagement liaison, now you're supervisor, and so I'm curious.
• 5:30
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe I don't know if you have any background in the traditional brick and mortar, but uh even if you don't, perhaps you already have a good idea.
• 5:39
  SPEAKER_00: But what do you think attendance looks like in a virtual school compared to a traditional brick and mortar school?
• 5:48
  SPEAKER_01: So there are both some some similarities, but also some some stark differences.
• 5:57
  SPEAKER_01: So where there are similarities, there are there are some very strict guidelines in terms of you are going to have to come every day.
• 6:09
  SPEAKER_01: Um you are going to be with a a live certified teacher.
• 6:17
  SPEAKER_01: Um and you're going to have to be in front of, you know, in a live classroom.
• 6:26
  SPEAKER_01: Um I don't I don't think people realize when they come to GCA that that you're not just gonna there is some level of flexibility, but you are actually going to have to be in front of your computer, um, the same way that you would have to be in a classroom.
• 6:49
  SPEAKER_01: Like um as far as the the the stark differences, yes, you might be, you know, at grandma's house one day, at um Starbucks, you know, one day, because you know, you just need a change of pace.
• 7:10
  SPEAKER_01: Um you may be working from Georgia, you know, typically, but because your family decided to go on vacation to see grandma, you're working from grandma's house in Texas, you know, the next the next week.
• 7:27
  SPEAKER_01: Um you can't do that in a in a traditional brick and mortar school.
• 7:33
  SPEAKER_01: Um a lot of a lot of families uh are used to, especially with the younger grades, they're used to you drop off baby at at the front and and you go on about your business.
• 7:49
  SPEAKER_01: You cannot do that with a with a virtual school, especially with younger children.
• 7:54
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you are still an integral part of your students' day.
• 8:01
  SPEAKER_01: You have to be a learning coach.
• 8:03
  SPEAKER_01: You are a huge part of your students' learning.
• 8:06
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, there are teachers, um, but you don't get to drop your student off at school and and and go.
• 8:14
  SPEAKER_01: You have to stay, you have to monitor, um, you have to be very hands-on.
• 8:21
  SPEAKER_01: I I would say K through maybe eight.
• 8:28
  SPEAKER_01: Um maybe even through high school, depending on your child's level of motivation, um, self-discipline, um, you still are very, very have to be very much uh hands-on with your child.
• 8:44
  SPEAKER_01: Just like children don't all learn to read at the same time or learn to ride a bike at the same time.
• 8:51
  SPEAKER_01: Children don't develop certain skills um at the same time.
• 8:56
  SPEAKER_01: And self-motivation, that intrinsic level of self-motivation and discipline and and the the being able to get up and follow a routine and a schedule, don't all necessarily come at the same time.
• 9:13
  SPEAKER_01: And it's okay.
• 9:14
  SPEAKER_01: I have to explain that to parents sometimes.
• 9:16
  SPEAKER_01: You're not failing if your 16-year-old doesn't get up by themselves, get on, you get logged in, do all their assignments and turn them in the way that they're supposed to.
• 9:30
  SPEAKER_01: Just because they look like an adult does not mean they're going to do all the things the way that they should.
• 9:36
  SPEAKER_01: You still have to have a certain level of oversight um each day.
• 9:43
  SPEAKER_01: And it may not necessarily need to be constant oversight, but at the end of the day, for a high schooler, you you still are very important.
• 9:53
  SPEAKER_01: And definitely for an elementary schooler, um, even through middle school, they need you because the internet is a very distracting place.
• 10:03
  SPEAKER_01: They don't have a teacher to say, Hey Jonathan, are you still with me?
• 10:09
  SPEAKER_01: Hey Shirley, are you still are did you hear what she said?
• 10:12
  SPEAKER_01: We're going over here.
• 10:13
  SPEAKER_01: We're we're logging into IXL to practice.
• 10:16
  SPEAKER_01: They don't have that.
• 10:17
  SPEAKER_01: And if you aren't there, they could be way over here, not paying attention because they have the whole internet at their hands.
• 10:27
  SPEAKER_01: You know, so um it it's the attendance piece, you are you have to be there because they don't have the the live the live teachers, you know, on the other side of the county, on the other side of the state.
• 10:43
  SPEAKER_01: They can see your child on camera to hopefully be able to see, you know.
• 10:48
  SPEAKER_01: But when they have a classroom full of 30 kids in individual squares and another screen full of, you know, the material, it's challenging for the educator to both conduct the material on the screen and 30 individual pictures to see who's looking at me, who's engaged with the material and the chat.
• 11:13
  SPEAKER_01: You know, it's it's challenging.
• 11:16
  SPEAKER_01: So what it's it's different, you know, with uh with an online school and a traditional school.
• 11:24
  SPEAKER_01: So yeah, you gotta be there, but the parent is huge, you know, in in a virtual school setting.
• 11:33
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, no, that's a great point.
• 11:34
  SPEAKER_00: You it when when I think about it, you have the virtual school ensure you have that box there, and it might say the student is there, but are they really there?
• 11:43
  SPEAKER_00: And then I but if they're in a traditional school, I mean clearly they are sitting there, you can see them, but is that to say they're actually there, really, you know, or are they somewhere else?
• 11:55
  SPEAKER_00: You know, uh so there's definitely, like you said, similar difference, differences.
• 11:59
  SPEAKER_00: And also that key piece of saying, like, uh they really take school with them on their laptop.
• 12:04
  SPEAKER_00: So it's like wherever they are, they can actually be, you know, they can attend where they are with their laptop versus that traditional brick and mortar school, you know, if they decide, like you said, to take a trip, you can't be there.
• 12:16
  SPEAKER_00: Like you, you physically, because you have to physically be at the brick and mortar school.
• 12:20
  SPEAKER_00: And so there that attendance isn't gonna count.
• 12:23
  SPEAKER_00: That's a good point.
• 12:24
  SPEAKER_00: Just just as like a logistical piece for people that might not be aware.
• 12:30
  SPEAKER_00: Is it does the parent have to do something?
• 12:32
  SPEAKER_00: Does the student have to do something to actually say, I attended today?
• 12:38
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I my attendance counts.
• 12:40
  SPEAKER_00: Like, do they track something?
• 12:41
  SPEAKER_00: Do they log something in?
• 12:43
  SPEAKER_00: How does how does GCA keep track of like actual attendance, actual a student logging in for that that day?
• 12:52
  SPEAKER_00: Or if they log in and access the course, does that count as them being there present?
• 12:58
  SPEAKER_00: Does that if that makes sense?
• 12:59
  SPEAKER_01: Great question.
• 13:01
  SPEAKER_01: So GCA uses a program uh called Nucleus.
• 13:07
  SPEAKER_01: And the way that Nucleus works, when the student logs in uh to class, that is automatically tracked.
• 13:15
  SPEAKER_01: Um but depending on a the student, there is um a certain level of flexibility depending on the student's academic performance.
• 13:26
  SPEAKER_01: So we have some students um who have excellent grades, they have demonstrated that they have mastered um the material from one instructional cycle to the next.
• 13:36
  SPEAKER_01: And so they have earned, if they have a certain average, they will earn flexibility and will not necessarily have to log into class.
• 13:45
  SPEAKER_01: Now, if they've earned that flexibility, that means they don't necessarily have to log into class.
• 13:52
  SPEAKER_01: They can watch the recording for the class.
• 13:55
  SPEAKER_01: But if they've earned that flexibility, that means Nucleus isn't isn't logging any attendance because they're not there live.
• 14:02
  SPEAKER_01: That means that parent will have to manually go in and log the attendance, and if they don't, then Nucleus will show an absence for that student.
• 14:11
  SPEAKER_01: So technically, if that if that parent does not remember to go in and log those hours, they could potentially be uh accruing absences.
• 14:22
  SPEAKER_01: So um you could have an excellent student who has a bunch of absences if the parent is forgetting to go log attendance.
• 14:30
  SPEAKER_01: So it's important for you to know kind of which which one you are, um, and then for again parents to be responsible and remember to go in and and log it.
• 14:42
  SPEAKER_01: Um there are also days where we have asynchronous days where it's kind of like the equivalent of a brick and mortar teacher workday.
• 14:51
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but the students in a in online school, because we are online, can still log in and have instructional work to do.
• 15:01
  SPEAKER_01: The teachers will leave things in the online classroom for the students to log in and complete on those days.
• 15:09
  SPEAKER_01: Whether you have the the flexibility or not, will still have to log in.
• 15:14
  SPEAKER_01: Um, that is logged through, that is kind of you they will see that attendance through your Canvas login.
• 15:23
  SPEAKER_01: That is kind of where all our material is housed.
• 15:27
  SPEAKER_01: That's like walking into the school building.
• 15:29
  SPEAKER_01: Canvas is the equivalent of our school building.
• 15:32
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and that you can see that in our system.
• 15:35
  SPEAKER_01: And so once they see you've walked into your school building, they will say, okay, we can see this child has logged in.
• 15:43
  SPEAKER_01: Um, our system will count that, and then parents are still responsible for logging, you know, how many hours did your student um, you know, spend on XYZ?
• 15:55
  SPEAKER_01: So that's how our attendance is logged.
• 15:58
  SPEAKER_00: And that that makes sense.
• 15:59
  SPEAKER_00: What role do you think that family engagement liaisons play in supporting attendance at GCA?
• 16:06
  SPEAKER_00: Are they the ones that can remind parents who their student has earned flexibility and they're like, hey, it looks like you have a ton of absences, but your student, you know, all right.
• 16:15
  SPEAKER_00: What what other things are they doing to support attendance at GCA?
• 16:20
  SPEAKER_01: So we actually have a specific department that answers most of the questions um for attendance.
• 16:32
  SPEAKER_01: And family engagement liaisons will always what will typically direct our families to their attendance specialist to answer specific, you know, detailed questions about their attendance.
• 16:46
  SPEAKER_01: Um, we have a wonderful um attendance team that can answer questions for families.
• 16:54
  SPEAKER_01: Every family has a designated attendance specialist.
• 16:58
  SPEAKER_01: Um so when a family is not sure if something is going to be excused, um, often their first call is to their FEO just because that's what they're used to.
• 17:09
  SPEAKER_01: But their FEO will say that is something you need to speak with your attendance specialist to find out.
• 17:16
  SPEAKER_01: Um if they don't know who their attendance specialist is, their FEO will direct them to their family engagement liaison.
• 17:24
  SPEAKER_01: Now, if they're just not sure if they have flexibility or not, that is something that that we can look up and tell them yes or no.
• 17:35
  SPEAKER_01: Um your student has or does not have flexibility.
• 17:39
  SPEAKER_01: If they have questions about why or why do they not have flexibility, that's usually a teacher question because that is determined by their grades and some other academic data points.
• 17:53
  SPEAKER_01: And that is something that would have to be discussed with their um their teacher.
• 17:57
  SPEAKER_01: So we would direct them with their teacher.
• 17:59
  SPEAKER_01: So when when in doubt, first call is always FEL.
• 18:03
  SPEAKER_01: Now, will we always be the one to answer the question?
• 18:06
  SPEAKER_01: No, but we will get you to the person that can answer you.
• 18:10
  SPEAKER_00: Sure.
• 18:11
  SPEAKER_00: That makes sense.
• 18:12
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it does.
• 18:14
  SPEAKER_00: And um figuring out that figuring out that out that why is probably a lot.
• 18:19
  SPEAKER_00: When you when you were talking about earlier about your story with Hunter, uh, I imagine FELs uh support attendance mainly through like making sure students um stay engaged, because that was my next kind of question is are there like systems or data points that that FELs use that y'all use to kind of help y'all identify, hey, we think the student's at risk of like disengagement, not really participating, or it looks like they're starting to like fail classes or not really be around.
• 18:52
  SPEAKER_00: Are there things that you guys use that are like proactive or kind of to get ahead of those types of students when those things start happening?
• 19:02
  SPEAKER_01: Uh yes, I would say so.
• 19:04
  SPEAKER_01: We GCA has a phenomenal data team.
• 19:07
  SPEAKER_01: Um shout out to Kelly Hanna.
• 19:10
  SPEAKER_01: She is our data person, um, and she provides us with a data report every Monday.
• 19:17
  SPEAKER_01: And that data report is humongous.
• 19:21
  SPEAKER_01: It has a ton of data on it, including um grades.
• 19:27
  SPEAKER_01: Well, I say grades.
• 19:29
  SPEAKER_01: It has a column that has red, green, yellow.
• 19:33
  SPEAKER_01: Um, if the student is failing a certain number of um I uh depending on the grade level, um, because our high schoolers only have four classes.
• 19:45
  SPEAKER_01: So I want to say if they're failing two classes, they're automatically either red or yellow.
• 19:53
  SPEAKER_01: Um and and that's a automatically a flag to us, like this student is automatically on our radar.
• 20:00
  SPEAKER_01: If they are red or yellow, we're jumping in to support that student in a particular way.
• 20:05
  SPEAKER_01: If they're green, obviously, you know, they're solid.
• 20:09
  SPEAKER_01: They're not failing their classes, but if they're failing three or more, you know, if they have a typical sixth class, you know, schedule, our middle schoolers, um, our elementary through, let's say third through sixth graders, they're failing three or more classes, they're either red or yellow.
• 20:31
  SPEAKER_01: Um that is a big indicator to us.
• 20:36
  SPEAKER_01: Um, it also shows attendance if they're if they're missing two days, three days, four days, it shows on that data report.
• 20:45
  SPEAKER_01: Um what else is on that data report?
• 20:48
  SPEAKER_01: It there's just a ton of information there.
• 20:51
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and we're able to look at that at that data report and use it to drive our contact efforts.
• 20:58
  SPEAKER_01: Um it has uh test scores on that on that data report, um, because we can see, you know, hmm historically what used to be and what is now.
• 21:12
  SPEAKER_01: And if if we see things kind of dip, that could be an indicator of an engagement issue.
• 21:19
  SPEAKER_01: If we see a student that was green and is now suddenly yellow, it's like something's going on there.
• 21:26
  SPEAKER_01: Um, did the student disengage?
• 21:29
  SPEAKER_01: Is there something going on in the family?
• 21:31
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and and oftentimes you can catch something before it gets too far gone.
• 21:37
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and and there, and there have been you know cases where we have been able, I mean, FELs find these things all the time, um, partly just because they know their families.
• 21:48
  SPEAKER_01: They know their you they don't need a data report to know this student is green, this student is yellow, this student is red.
• 21:55
  SPEAKER_01: Um but the data report is a great indicator.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_01: Um, maybe because the student is green, they don't talk to them as often.
• 22:04
  SPEAKER_01: If they see that data report and they see, you know, Susan Jones, and they're like, whoa, that's a green student.
• 22:11
  SPEAKER_01: Why is this all all of a sudden yellow?
• 22:14
  SPEAKER_01: They already know I I'm about to call her today.
• 22:16
  SPEAKER_01: Like I'm not scheduled to speak to her until next month, but I need to call her today because this is this is not typical of this student.
• 22:23
  SPEAKER_01: And that that automatically lets them know something is going on.
• 22:28
  SPEAKER_01: For all we know, you know, maybe they had a death in the family, and she was really close to to that person, and she has kind of checked out.
• 22:37
  SPEAKER_01: We've had that happen, you know, and they may need a counseling referral, you know, to get into grief counseling.
• 22:45
  SPEAKER_01: And we do a lot of resource coordinating for for students to make sure that they get the resources they need so that they can re-engage.
• 22:55
  SPEAKER_01: It's it's all about holistic support for these students because any number of things can can trickle down and cause a student to disengage from school.
• 23:06
  SPEAKER_00: No, and it sounds like that's super helpful having, as you said, Kalehenis, Kelly Haina's um spreadsheet that you y'all can access.
• 23:14
  SPEAKER_00: So now y'all aren't having to just be like, hmm, I wonder who needs help today and look at the call call list, or like y'all are having to dig in individually to figure out all the different grades and all the different so that's super helpful that y'all have this resource to be able to like, hey, and you said that comes out weekly, so you're able to like check that.
• 23:32
  SPEAKER_00: Uh that's that's fantastic.
• 23:34
  SPEAKER_00: Um what about the new families, Crystal?
• 23:38
  SPEAKER_00: How do y'all support the the new families that are trying to figure out like what are Tendix expectations?
• 23:47
  SPEAKER_00: Like, uh, I'm new to virtual learning.
• 23:49
  SPEAKER_00: How do y'all support those families?
• 23:51
  SPEAKER_01: So glad you asked.
• 23:53
  SPEAKER_01: So Strong Start is our baby, and our strong start begins well before they begin at GCA.
• 24:04
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and we have an orientation that breaks down everything, GCA.
• 24:12
  SPEAKER_01: We go over our policies, our platforms, our procedures.
• 24:17
  SPEAKER_01: Um, it's it's about it's every Thursday we have an orientation um so that the families get an overview.
• 24:29
  SPEAKER_01: Um, it is hosted by both our family school partnership coordinators.
• 24:34
  SPEAKER_01: Um they are the the the broader school um piece.
• 24:44
  SPEAKER_01: They they do so many things here at GCA, um, like the parent nights, um game nights.
• 24:53
  SPEAKER_01: They they're a wealth of information.
• 24:55
  SPEAKER_01: The the just so much they do here at GCA.
• 24:59
  SPEAKER_01: Um, lots of fun things, lots of informational things.
• 25:03
  SPEAKER_01: Um, then it's also hosted by our FELs, which do more of the day-to-day things, um, the tech support, level one troubleshooting.
• 25:15
  SPEAKER_01: Um they're kind of the point of the day-to-day point of contact, um the the liaison, you know, the bridges to teachers and resources and other departments.
• 25:31
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and we do the training.
• 25:33
  SPEAKER_01: We make sure to um on the very first day of school, we do a walk to class, um, where we make sure that the students who on their very first day of school, we do kind of a mini orientation.
• 25:48
  SPEAKER_01: It's kind of a a redo of the orientation just to make sure because what you know, when you're very new, it's kind of like information overload.
• 25:57
  SPEAKER_01: And you're like, yeah, I was there, but it was like drinking through a fire hose.
• 26:04
  SPEAKER_01: And so they do orientation, we go over, you know, all of this information, but then on the very first day of school, it's kind of like if you had brick and mortar and you have that that peer helper who just kind of is your buddy, and you just kind of get them and you say, Hey, you know, you know, new friend, this is gonna be your buddy for the day.
• 26:25
  SPEAKER_01: We're gonna walk you to your class and make sure you get there so that you don't get lost and and you're gonna sit by so-and-so.
• 26:32
  SPEAKER_01: You know, um that's what they do with their FEO the very first day.
• 26:37
  SPEAKER_01: They don't go straight to class, they meet with their FEO, they remind them of the things that they went over in orientation, make sure that they know how to get to class, make sure that they know how to find their assignments, um just the little things that probably went straight over their head while they were in orientation, and then they make sure that they know how to call them, you know, make sure that they know how to email them.
• 27:02
  SPEAKER_01: You know, if you get lost, this is your buddy.
• 27:05
  SPEAKER_01: Call me if you need me, and then they send them to class, their first period class.
• 27:11
  SPEAKER_01: And so if anything comes up during the day, they know how how to how to get back in contact with their buddy because I'm here if you need me.
• 27:18
  SPEAKER_01: Um and and strong start, their FEL also has a course that is accessible throughout the entire year that has all things FE all things GCA.
• 27:29
  SPEAKER_01: So at any point, they can go back to that that course and look, how how do I set up my infinite campus?
• 27:37
  SPEAKER_01: How do I reset the password?
• 27:39
  SPEAKER_01: You know, how do I how do I whatever it is?
• 27:42
  SPEAKER_01: It's a good course and it's super informative.
• 27:45
  SPEAKER_01: So we all come back to that as well.
• 27:49
  SPEAKER_00: Strong start.
• 27:49
  SPEAKER_00: That sounds incredibly helpful and so smart, so smart way to get at get ahead of things, because I imagine there would be a ton of questions if y'all didn't have that.
• 27:58
  SPEAKER_00: So it's like, hey, go figure it out.
• 28:00
  SPEAKER_00: Um maybe this maybe that answers this question, but I'm I'm curious, what do you think other virtual schools or hybrid schools could learn then from GCA's approach to attendance and engagement?
• 28:14
  SPEAKER_00: Is it make sure you have a strong start module?
• 28:16
  SPEAKER_00: Uh is there something else, dude?
• 28:18
  SPEAKER_00: Like what what what do you think?
• 28:21
  SPEAKER_01: It's make it it's it's FEL.
• 28:27
  SPEAKER_01: I I have I have wondered why I didn't have an FEL in my own journey as a parent.
• 28:39
  SPEAKER_01: Um it would have helped so many times.
• 28:44
  SPEAKER_01: Even during COVID, when school shut down, and uh I ended up bringing my own children um to GCA because the the local school knew that they weren't going into the building, um that they were gonna be doing online school, and I wasn't that they were they didn't really know how they were gonna do it, just that they were gonna do it.
• 29:07
  SPEAKER_01: Um and we finally just decided, okay, we're gonna put our, you know, bring our kids here.
• 29:14
  SPEAKER_01: Um and my kids were like, mommy, um, are you gonna be our FEO?
• 29:19
  SPEAKER_01: I said, Oh no, baby, mommy's gonna need an FEO.
• 29:24
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and and and it's it was just so true because it it is it can be a lot.
• 29:31
  SPEAKER_01: And having an the support um of another person who knows the system um that you can call, that your child can call.
• 29:43
  SPEAKER_01: That the fact that they can pick up the phone and say, Miss So-and-so, I don't know how to find this, or this is not working when I click this, is just such a saving grace.
• 29:54
  SPEAKER_01: And and we have a lot of parents who are home um but also busy with another student or working.
• 30:05
  SPEAKER_01: And and while it is not ideal, um, which is why my children are back in brick and mortar, um, because I I I just is I just do not recommend trying to work from home and school a child from home.
• 30:19
  SPEAKER_01: Certainly not multiple.
• 30:20
  SPEAKER_01: Um, it it's not ideal, but it is often the case.
• 30:24
  SPEAKER_01: Um having an FEL that can support your child, um, pick up the phone and call them is a godsend.
• 30:33
  SPEAKER_01: And every every parent can use an FEL that's gonna call them once a month and say, This is this is what's going on in school, this is where your child is, this is where your child is is uh this is what fell through the cracks, this is the email you didn't see, this is the deadline you're about to miss.
• 30:51
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, you know, so having a support system for families and parents to to just support parents and and the the relationship is huge.
• 31:09
  SPEAKER_01: Every school should have one.
• 31:11
  SPEAKER_00: So I imagine that would then answer this question as well.
• 31:16
  SPEAKER_00: If if I were to say, like, what do you think sets GCA's attendance and engagement model apart from other virtual programs?
• 31:24
  SPEAKER_00: Would you also say it's the family engagement liaisons?
• 31:28
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
• 31:29
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 31:30
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 31:30
  SPEAKER_00: So that's what we recommend.
• 31:33
  SPEAKER_00: And and that's also the thing that sets us apart.
• 31:36
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 31:37
  SPEAKER_00: Needing a family engagement team.
• 31:43
  SPEAKER_00: This person would probably be accurate, though maybe, maybe not, but I am curious, what would you say?
• 31:48
  SPEAKER_00: What would you say to somebody who's like, you know, attendance is harder to manage in virtual schools?
• 31:55
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe they wouldn't say it's impossible, but what would you say to somebody who's like, you know what?
• 32:01
  SPEAKER_00: I think attendance is harder to manage for virtual schools.
• 32:05
  SPEAKER_00: What would you say to that person?
• 32:09
  SPEAKER_01: That it's harder to manage?
• 32:17
  SPEAKER_01: Talk to talk to Jennifer Mitchell.
• 32:22
  SPEAKER_01: Because she could probably help you do it right.
• 32:25
  SPEAKER_00: There you go.
• 32:27
  SPEAKER_00: So figuring out a good system that works.
• 32:33
  SPEAKER_00: Before you leave us, what would you say is the biggest lesson or maybe a lesson that you've learned about helping students show up in an online learning environment?
• 32:49
  SPEAKER_00: Consistently be here.
• 32:50
  SPEAKER_00: Like, what would you say is like, you know what, this is probably of all the years of you being a family engagement liaison and now you're a supervisor.
• 32:59
  SPEAKER_00: Um, what's a lesson, something that you've taken away from like, hey, helping students, you know, show up in an online environment?
• 33:08
  SPEAKER_01: Relationships are everything.
• 33:11
  SPEAKER_01: Um Rita Pearson is is one of the people that is extremely inspiring to me.
• 33:21
  SPEAKER_01: Um and people they don't care how much you know until they know how much you care.
• 33:29
  SPEAKER_01: And just developing a relationship with people so that they know at the end of the day I'm their person, and they matter to me makes a huge difference in the life of that family and in the life of that child, and that is ultimately going to impact that child's education at the end of the day.
• 34:10
  SPEAKER_01: Um we as monitors of attendance, we are not overseeing their academics um directly, but in a in a sense, we are because if they're not getting into the classroom, they they'll never get that education.
• 34:34
  SPEAKER_01: And and if if we can't develop a relationship with them that lets them know that we care about them, you know, what we say to them that makes them value or or care about what they're saying, you know, it matters and it that relationship is important.
• 34:54
  SPEAKER_01: So make sure that they know at every stop in every department, including attendance, that we care about them, that their relationship with us matters.
• 35:07
  SPEAKER_01: Um because we want them here, and their attendance matters, and they matter to us.
• 35:15
  SPEAKER_00: No, that's so that's so so good, remembering that they to show that you care, and then um through that showing you care, figuring out their why, and then hey, they're here, and then bringing that home.
• 35:27
  SPEAKER_00: So uh here's today's big idea.
• 35:29
  SPEAKER_00: When schools focus on connection, clarity, and support, attendance becomes a pathway to engagement, not just a requirement.
• 35:39
  SPEAKER_00: So thanks again to Crystal Amy for joining us and sharing her perspective.
• 35:44
  SPEAKER_00: If this episode gave you new insight into virtual attendance and family engagement, be sure to subscribe and join us next time on GCA Unmuted Voices of Virtual Education.
• 35:56
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks again, Crystal.
• 35:58
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you.