This is the time of year for resolutions and new beginnings. In that spirit, I hope you have taken some time to reflect on the past and look forward to this new year with optimism and anticipation. After all, as the Harbaugh coaching family notes daily, “Who’s got it better than us? Nobody!” 

As we enter the second semester, I want to challenge the parents of all Full-Time VOL students to check the status of their child’s classes. There were numerous students who did not fully complete their semester 1 courses and were given time over break to finish. If your child has a “segment 1” that has not been “completed” on their FLVS dashboard, it means that they have not yet finished all of the required assignments and needs to do some ASAP. We will be cutting off all semester 1 courses and finalizing all grades on January 26th. I also want to ask parents to promote student attendance to live lessons this semester. Our experience shows that live lesson attendance is strongly correlated with overall success in a class, likely due to the connections students make during those sessions and the awareness of teacher expectations and pacing. Over the last two years, I have seen our teachers put together outstanding, engaging, and effective lessons designed to help students understand the concepts within a class, the rigor with which the student should apply that concept, and how a particular idea relates to other things the student is learning. We have a lot of incredibly smart students, no doubt, but even the smartest need guidance from their teachers. The live lesson provides that opportunity at a specified time each week. Please help our teachers and your student by emphasizing the importance of these sessions.  

On the topic of important items, we are currently in the second progress monitoring window for FAST testing. Please remember that participation in state testing is a requirement and expectation of all Full-Time VOL students. If your child missed any of their testing sessions (all 3rd – 10th grade students have at least one assessment, and most likely two), please be on the lookout for communication from our testing coordinator, Dr. Markell, who will sharing information about FAST make-up sessions over the next couple of weeks. She has also included a wealth of information about testing in her section below, so please be sure to scroll down if you need more information.

Lastly, I want to remind everyone that our Full-Time application is now open. At this time, we are asking current VOL students to not submit an application until prompted to do so. We are in the process of determining which current students will be automatically rolled back into VOL next year and therefore will not need to complete an application. Once that is determined, we will contact those who are not automatically rolled back into VOL with information about how they can reapply. Remember, all students’ academic performance and testing participation for the remainder of this school year will factor into their enrollment status for next year.  

That’s all I have for this issue. I hope you have a wonderful rest of January!

Thank you for reading.

Dr. Serianni

You may now schedule your sitting for Senior Portraits with Dean Stewart Photography in Daytona Beach. Use the link below.

Orders can be placed on the Herff Jones website (www.herfforlando.com) or you may order in person at their Winter Park office (address below). No appointment is necessary. All items ordered EXCEPT the cap and gown will be shipped to your home. Caps and gowns will be distributed at VOL during the second semester. If you have any questions, please feel free to call Herff Jones at the number below.

https://bit.ly/407hpua - CAP & GOWN PRICING & PACKAGES

https://bit.ly/48SfoWX - GRADUATION CATALOG

https://bit.ly/47PKYnO - CLASS RING CATALOG

Check out the new VOL school store to get all sorts of VOL gear. All items are purchased online and shipped directly to you. All profits go to supporting a myriad of VOL programs for students and teachers! Click here to start shopping now!

The Winter state testing window opened this week for Grades 3-10 for the second round of Progress Monitoring (PM2). These Reading and Math tests are administered remotely with VOL test administrators proctoring within the secure testing browser. Students should be receiving important emails from test administrators with individual testing information, including Zoom links, testing times, and test tickets.

** Some elementary groups may be tested on other dates within the January testing window, up until January 26th. Elementary teachers will provide specific group testing information to their students.

Practice materials and further information can be found at https://flfast.org/families.html

Just like the Fall PM1 remote testing, students in Grades 3-10 will need to test on a computer or laptop with the secure browser downloaded and a working camera connection for the required remote proctoring. Students will also need a stable internet connection to support a smooth testing experience. Please keep in mind that participation in state testing is a condition of enrollment for VOL students.

* Additionally, some 11th and 12th graders in need of graduation concordant scores received an email from Dr. Markell on January 8th, inviting them to register for the ACT-NCR (non-college reporting) test, which will be given at zoned schools March 12-14. These students have until February 12th to complete the registration form if they are interested in taking this testing opportunity.

* Looking ahead, Spring state tests happening later in the year will occur in-person. This will include PM3 for Grades 3-10, and End-of-Course (EOC) exams for secondary students with EOC requirements. If you haven’t already completed our Spring Testing Location Survey, please complete that here for each child in Grades 3-12: https://forms.office.com/r/WChJDjznFc

If you have any questions or concerns related to state testing, please reach out to VOL testing coordinator, Dr. Markell, at [email protected] or 386-734-7190 ext. 72701

As we move into the new semester, it is important for our students to create a daily/weekly schedule and stick to it. This will help them to remain on pace and perform better in their online courses. Teachers will be assigning Quarter 3 report card grades based on student progress at the end of the school day on Thursday, March 21st. Report card grades will reflect actual student progress or lack thereof for each course listed on their schedule (this includes special area and elective courses). 

All Volusia County Schools will be closed to the public on Monday, January 15th in observance of Marin Luther King’s birthday. Teachers will not be available for grading, DBAs, assessments, text messages, or emails until classes resume on Tuesday, January 16th. 

Last week, many of our students participated in FAST Testing in grades 3-10. This week, our primary students in grades K-2 will be participating in FAST Testing. Our testing coordinator, Dr. Markell, will be reaching out to any students who are in need of a makeup session.

VOL now has our very own virtual store where students and families can purchase school related apparel and products. Feel free to check it out here: VOL Store.

Attention senior parents, Volusia Online Learning has partnered with Herff Jones, our official graduation supplier.  Cap and gown orders can be placed online at www.herfforlando.com. Please be sure to place your order no later than March 1st to avoid paying a late fee.  All items ordered EXCEPT the cap and gown will be shipped home. Caps and gowns will be distributed through Volusia Online Learning in early May.

All full-time students were expected to complete ALL their Segment 1 coursework before Winter Break. If they did not, they MUST have it all completed by January 26, 2024, to be eligible to earn course credit for Segment 1.

With the start of Semester 2 on January 3, 2024, all Segment 2/Spring courses have been assigned in FLVS and students should have access to them. If your student is missing a course in FLVS that is showing on their schedule in Focus, please reach out to your student’s VOL counselor so that the issue can be corrected right away.

Students should be working in their Semester 2 courses already and make sure they are staying on pace so they can complete their courses successfully by the end of the Semester 2 grading period.

Q3 VOL End Date is 3/15/24.

SENIORS must have ALL coursework complete BY 5/3/24.

K-11th Grade students must have ALL Segment 2 coursework completed BY 5/24/24.

Educational Doctorate- Liberty University

Educational Specialist- Liberty University

Master's of Science- University of Central Florida

Bachelors- Elementary Education University of Science

Dr. Allanson has been teaching for 31 years. Prior to teaching, she worked in banking and the automotive industry as a service clerk.

Dr. Allanson enjoys working for VOL and loves the interactions between coworkers and especially with the families. She appreciates the opportunity to make connections that you don’t get to make in the brick-and-mortar setting.

When Dr. Allanson is not working, she works part-time for Liberty University teaching research and education courses. Dr. Allanson and her family loves camping is currently adding to a camper that she is building.

A little-known fact about Dr. Allanson is that she wrote a children's book titled Parallela’s Problem which is all about math problem solving. Dr. Allanson has many professional publications - most recently Allanson, P E., & Notar, C. E. (2020). Statistics as measurement: 4 Scales/levels of measurement. Education Quarterly Review, 3(3), 325-334.

Alauna Montalvo is a Volusia Online Learning 4th grade student. Her nominating teacher, Ms. Spencer, says “Alauna is such a detail-orientated student. She has such a wonderful home support system, too. She is always on pace, prepared, and willing to participate in class discussions. She is an active member of the Robotics Club and will be heading to Embry Riddle on December 18th for the competition."

Congratulations Alauna!

Levi Blum is a Volusia Online Learning 7th grade student. He was nominated by Mr. Dunaway, he stated “I am delighted to nominate Levi for recognition as an exceptional student and athlete. He has consistently demonstrated an outstanding commitment to academic excellence, kindness, and athletic prowess throughout his time at VOL.” 

Congratulations, Levi!

Tanner Ballash is a Volusia Online Learning 11th grade student. He was nominated by Mrs. Moore, she stated “Tanner is an excellent student! He is a hard worker and puts forth maximum effort. He has excelled in his US History course, having finished his coursework early. He is dual enrolled. He loves to skateboard at the beach and animals.” 

Congratulations, Tanner!

Copyright Notice

Reproduction of this material, either written or electronically, including the general layout, graphics, analyses, and content topics without the express approval of Target Performance Systems, Inc., a Florida corporation, and Volusia Online Learning is forbidden without written consent. Thank you for your support of the Volusia County Schools and especially Volusia Online Learning. Please contact Dr. Serianni at [email protected] with any questions related to the program.

Volusia Online Learning | Dr. Serianni, Principal | 386.506.0014 | VOL Website