Registration Opens for 2021-22 GCS Virtual Program
Looking forward to next school year, Greenville County students have the opportunity to enroll in the full-time GCS Virtual Program. Registration for the 2021-22 GCS Virtual Program started this week and will continue through Tuesday, February 9. To register, students must be enrolled in Greenville County Schools and parents must have a BackPack account. This first registration window is for those who are certain they want to participate in the Virtual Program next fall. The program will be staffed based on this early signup. Greenville County Schools will reopen the window in April to create a waitlist. Students on the waitlist will be scheduled based on space availability in the Virtual Program. (PLEASE NOTE: This schedule is based on an assumption the pandemic will no longer be a serious concern. If during the summer it is apparent school will open in the fall on an altered schedule or with pandemic protocols in place, and/or if vaccines are not widely available for all age groups, additional windows will be made available for parents to select the Virtual Program.)
GCS has made several important changes to the Virtual Program for 2021-22. First, there will be an increased emphasis on attendance in live sessions. Students will be expected to participate in live sessions at scheduled times. Exceptions based on extenuating circumstances must be approved, in advance, by the virtual administrator. Second, parents who wish for students to return to brick and mortar instruction will be allowed to make requests. They are encouraged to make an approved transition at the end of a nine-week grading period. Third, students in the Virtual Program will be scheduled based on grade level and academic record, not by school. GCS cannot guarantee placement with other students or teachers from the home-based school. (This is a significant change for high school students, who will not be scheduled with teachers from their high schools next year.)
EXCLUSIONS: The Virtual Program will not be offered for Specialized/Magnet programs such as Charles Townes Center, Language Immersion, preschool programming or the most intensive special education services, typically referred to as self-contained programming. The majority of students with disabilities can enroll in and be served by the GCS Virtual Program for the 2021-2022 school year, because most special education services that can be accessed through a virtual model. Intensive programming that is typically necessary for our students in a self-contained setting will not be offered in the GCS virtual program, but no student is prevented from registering for virtual school. An IEP team will individually consider whether services for that particular student can be provided in the virtual program without self-contained programming being offered.
Should a child have a medical condition that impacts his/her ability to attend in-person instruction, we encourage the family to speak with their child’s physician and consider applying for services though the medical homebound program. The District is committed to reviewing and considering the individual needs of each child whether through medical homebound, additional accommodations and supports in the classroom, or through other measures as decided by the IEP team.
