Parent FAQs
How much does Catholic Virtual cost? Are there scholarship opportunities?
The financial relationship is with your local Catholic School. Catholic Virtual is a partner and program offered through your school. Schools are offering different services to students in addition to the online learning, so pricing may vary from school to school.
How do I sign up for Catholic Virtual?
Let your school know that you want to register with us and we will work directly with them to onboard each student.
What is the commitment to Catholic Virtual? If I want to switch back to in-person learning at my brick-and-mortar school, when am I able to do so?
Our goal is to provide you an opportunity to remain a part of your school community and make your transition back to your brick-and-mortar campus as seamless as possible. As we make commitments to teachers and staff for the semester based on enrollments and as stability and consistency is important to the learning experience for all students, your commitment to a Catholic Virtual course is for the semester. You will be able to transition back to in-person learning at the beginning of the next semester.
What are the technical requirements for using Catholic Virtual?
Our platform works with Apple and Windows and different browsers. For optimal performance, we recommend the following technical specs: 4GB PC (Windows 7,10) or 4GB Mac (OS 10.7.5+) running the Chrome (80+) or Firefox (74+) browsers with high speed internet (2Mb+). Some courses may require Adobe Flash and Adobe Acrobat Reader. We provide a technical readiness section of the student orientation when your student is enrolled.
What do I do if I experience a technical issue?
Catholic Virtual’s help desk operates 24/7. You will be able to submit a support ticket to our team and someone will get right back with you. Remote support is available as well if the support requires a screenshare.
How much interaction will my child have with a Catholic Virtual teacher?
Catholic Virtual teachers deliver two live sessions per week in each subject. If a student is enrolled in five subjects, they will have ten scheduled live sessions per week – two in each subject. Teachers provide feedback via grading of assignments and quizzes and respond to student and parent emails promptly, always within twenty-four hours.
What are the qualifications of Catholic Virtual teachers?
Catholic Virtual teachers are subject matter experts with an advanced degree in their subject are. Teachers are typically certified in their state and teach in a partner Catholic school like yours. All Catholic Virtual teachers undergo a rigorous onboarding process and training through Catholic Virtual, ensuring they are well-trained in best practices for teaching in an online environment.
What other support do you offer?
Catholic Virtual assigns an academic coach who will serve as your child’s advocate throughout their coursework from the orientation onward. We will be in close communication with your child’s school and work with them to support anyone who needs it. Our technical support help desk runs 24/7. Our student services department can arrange a meeting with our guidance department to discuss any academic accommodations that are desired.
What makes Catholic Virtual Catholic?
Our Catholic Identity is central to who we are as a school. Catholic Virtual is a proud member and partner of the National Catholic Education Association (NCEA). Our curriculum team vets all our content and builds our courses to ensure consistency with our Catholic faith. Our teachers come from partner Catholic schools and are trained to infuse Catholic content and perspective in our courses. Finally, our theology coursework is aligned to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) framework.
Will students receive theology courses?
Yes, we have a full theology curriculum for all grade levels.
Is Catholic Virtual an accredited program?
Catholic Virtual is a fully accredited online private school. We have been awarded accreditation by all the regional accrediting agencies that span the Cognia (formerly AdvancEd) global network. We are registered with The College Board (SAT, PSAT/NMSQT) and our school code is 102537. For more information, you can visit https://www.catholicvirtual.com/accreditation-affiliations/.
Is Catholic Virtual aligned to standards?
Catholic Virtual is aligned to state and national standards.
If my child is advanced, are there opportunities to get ahead?
Absolutely, students can pace ahead in Catholic Virtual. Students who are already on an advanced track (for example a middle school student set to be enrolled in Algebra 1) will be able to enroll in that advanced coursework.
If my child has an Individualized Education Plan (IEP), what is the process Catholic Virtual uses to make learning accommodations?
We ask for families of enrolled students to send the IEP to our student services department. Upon receiving this information, we will schedule a meeting with our guidance department to come up with a plan to provide accommodations.
How does Catholic Virtual serve students who need extra help and are used to working with resource teachers?
Our courses allow for differentiated instruction. Students can stay on lessons and assignments until they are ready to move on. The teacher has the ability to set up gates so students are ready to move ahead. For students requiring additional help, our teachers are very committed and if you send a request for a quick call or chat, they will try their best to get back to you.
Will there be school supplies or other required materials for the course (e.g. an inflatable globe for required for a 3rd grade science experiment)?
Families and students will be provided with advance notice of necessary materials for upcoming lessons. Additionally, a list of required supplies is provided at the beginning of the course.
Outside of the live sessions, are there any opportunities for students to interact with their peers?
Students interact with each other in discussion forums within some courses in addition to the live sessions. We also encourage students to remain active in their parish and community.
Will I be able to track my child’s progress?
Parents will be provided a login to our platform and will be able to check in on student progress.
Does Catholic Virtual serve pre-school students?
Catholic Virtual currently serves students in Kindergarten through 12th grade.
What is a live session like?
Live sessions use a platform similar to Zoom. The teacher will be in control of the classroom, but students will be able to interact with both the instructor and each other. There are lots of other useful features as well, including chat, a whiteboard, and breakout sessions.
What are Catholic Virtual’s attendance policies for the live sessions?
Live sessions use a platform similar to Zoom. The teacher will be in control of the classroom, but students will be able to interact with both the instructor and each other. There are lots of other useful features as well, including chat, a whiteboard, and breakout sessions.
How long are Catholic Virtual courses?
Much like traditional brick-and-mortar school, Catholic Virtual courses are paced out over the course of 18-week semesters. Live Sessions with a Catholic Virtual teacher usually last for 50 minutes to an hour.
How many students are typically in a class?
A class typically has 25 or fewer students. A new section is usually created if the class reaches 30 students.
Do Students interact with each other during the live sessions?
Students interact with each other during the live lessons and in some discussion areas in the courses.
What is the daily schedule for a student in my child’s grade?
Catholic Virtual’s live session schedule is set by our scheduling department in coordination with your school. Live sessions will usually occur during typical school hours. Students will have flexibility in their schedule to complete the interactive assignments within the platform.
All students are different, and there is a learning curve with all new things, so each parent will determine how much support they need to provide their students. Every parent or guardian has a personal parent login to the parent portal you can follow their student’s progress, communicate with our teachers, and receive direct support. However, our instructors and training attempt to make this transition as easy as possible for both parents and students. Our instructors do their very best to help families maximize their potential as students.
No course is the same however, we recommend spending at least an hour a day per week to keep yourself on pace to complete the course, during the semester. For example, if you are studying 6 courses at the same time, you need to spend 6 hours a day to keep yourself on pace to complete the 6 courses. The minimum required time spent in any semester course is 45 hours or 15 days, although the majority of students complete a single semester course within 8-12 weeks, or three months. All courses allow students to work at their own pace, to read ahead and to complete assignments, while engaging with the teacher and other students in live online class meetings.
Yes, Catholic Virtual is a program of Virtual Schools of Excellence. All students receive a plan of study upon entrance into Virtual Schools of Excellence. This plan of study is a pathway towards completion of your diploma. It guides students on what courses are necessary to complete the year successfully.
Parents have access to the Student Information System at all times. They are able to see progress on everything the student has completed up until that point.
A Student Information System can best be described as the “main school office on the computer” , or the place you go to for all the information you need about your child’s progress, to schedule meetings with the staff, and to get transcripts, etc. Students start in Student Information System by creating an application. They are then accepted and placed into courses. In Student Information System, students and guardians can access all student records, grades, information, email instructors, request transcripts, request new courses, submit a support ticket, and many other things. Student Information System has a full student tutorial in the Help Videos section as well.
Once you log in to our system as a parent and click on your “guardian account” you can view grades by clicking on the “grades” tab inside Student Information System.
Demos are always available so please use the request button and we will provide access to you.
All Catholic Virtual teachers are highly qualified subject matter experts.
Our course catalog and curriculum page provides a course description for all courses, but we are always happy to talk to you about our classes.
Courses are taught in variety of different methods. Courses can be taught live, at your own pace, blended, in a hybrid model and students have the option and ability to customize their learning. Each course includes access to live teachers, Socratic webinars, tutors and teacher online office hours.
Students receive a variety of assessments throughout their courses. Courses contain summative and formative assessments, as well as project-based learning. Standard assessments include essays, projects, fill in the blank, multiple choice, and true false type questions.
Students do have the ability to retake assessments in content after a relearning or reteaching exercise with instructors.
There are no associated national exams or tests for completion of the program. There are tests and other assessments throughout each course, but no “high stakes” exams.
High School courses are all worth a half credit, some courses like core courses such as Algebra 1, are broken into two halves an A semester and a B semester.
