FAQs

General FAQs

What grades are offered by the California Virtual Academies (CAVA)?

The nine California Virtual Academies offer grades TK–12. Our enrollment consultants can help you find the right school for your student based upon your student’s grade and your home location.

What subjects will my child study?

Upon successful completion of course requirements, will my child receive a high school diploma as students in traditional public schools do?

Yes. As a public school in California, students can earn a diploma through California Virtual Academies based on successful completion of the school’s graduation requirements.

Can my child work at his or her own pace?

How much time do students spend on the computer?

In the younger grades, many of the online lessons include offline work. Students in grades 3–5 spend no more than 15 to 30 percent of their school time on the computer. Screen time increases in middle school to 50 to 70 percent, and by high school students spend 80+ percent of their time online. 

Do you provide curriculum for children with special needs?

Can you accommodate the accelerated learning needs of my gifted/talented learner?

How do students interact socially?

In addition to interacting with their classmates in their Class Connect sessions, students have access to other social opportunities. Throughout the year, students are invited to participate in school field trips (e.g., to historical sites, museums, zoos), picnics, and other social events. Local students and parents can get together on a regular basis in their areas. The online family directory in the Learning Coach app provides a way for California Virtual Academies families to network with families in their region of the state. With online discussions and forums, new types of communities can be formed based shared interests rather than geography.

Will this program intrude into my home?

There are no home visits as part of the program, and there are no other intrusions into your home.

What if my family is homeless?

According to section 725(2) of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11434a(2)), the term “homeless children and youths”—

(A) means individuals who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence…; and

(B) includes—

(i) children and youths who are sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or a similar reason; are living in motels, hotels, trailer parks, or camping grounds due to the lack of alternative accommodations; are living in emergency or transitional shelters; are abandoned in hospitals; or are awaiting foster care placement;

(ii) children and youths who have a primary nighttime residence that is a public or private place not designed for or ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings;

(iii) children and youths who are living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations, or similar settings; and

(iv) migratory children who qualify as homeless for the purposes of this subtitle because the children are living in circumstances described in clauses (i) through (iii).

Children and youth are considered homeless if they fit both part A and any one of the subparts of part B of the definition above.