Mrs. Carol Borland, Coordinator
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In the interest of the health and safety of our Step-Up families and St. Vincent teacher candidates during the pandemic, the Step-Up Enrichment Program will be a virtual program during the Spring of 2021.
REGISTRATION IS OPEN
CLASSES WILL BEGIN THE WEEK OF MARCH 15, 2021

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The Step-Up Enrichment Program at Saint Vincent College is a program open to all families who are actively home schooling or cyber schooling children in grades PreK - grade 12.  Home study students from the surrounding area may choose to participate in as many as three enrichment courses designed and taught by college students who are enrolled in the teacher certification program and supervised by faculty. The courses will be held on-line via Zoom during the Fall 2020 semester. Each course consists of eight weeks of bi-weekly instruction of approximately 30-40 minutes. The college students will be taught by an instructor who is an expert in on-line instruction.  There will be many interactive tools that our students will be using in each course. Courses will be engaging and collaboration and social interaction will be part of each course.
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The goals of the STEP-UP Program are to:
1) Offer assistance and support to home-school families in meeting instructional needs to meet requirements for their specific curricular goals.
2) Encourage a collaborative learning experience through group projects with other home-schooled and cyber schooled students in the area. 
3) Enrich the learning experience of nontraditional students through a variety of interesting enrichment units taught by college students in the field of education who aspire to be teachers.
The Step-Up Program offers...
  • a unique and exciting opportunity for home schooled and cyber schooled students to interact with other students who share common interests.
  • an opportunity for home schooled and cyber schooled students to transition into college classroom settings and reduce anxiety when planning for college.
  • pre-service instructors the chance to teach the courses in a required field experience. These college students hold a 3.0 GPA or higher, and must have criminal and child abuse clearances before entering into a classroom.
  • home schooled and cyber schooled students the opportunity to choose courses specifically designed to meet their interests while meeting curriculum requirements.
Online registration on the STEP-UP website is available for parents to register their children for classes each semester. Since the classes are spread throughout the week, you may register your child from one to five classes. There is a $30 family registration fee plus each course is $20. Any materials specific to the class will be mailed home.  Just follow the registration link at the top of the grade level page. Class sizes are limited, so home schooled and cyber schooled students are accepted on a first-come, first-served basis.  
Your child will be participating in online instruction using a variety of online tools and Zoom web conferencing for class. The following is a list of important items to consider when attending class with the Virtual Step-Up format.

  • When using Zoom, students need to be in an area that is free of distractions for them and for other students in the class. Please consider placing your child in an area of the home away from possible distraction.
  • Your child will be expected to be physically present during the Zoom meeting. Your child will need to have the camera on, consistent internet access, speakers and microphone for listening and participating in class.
    • Zoom may be accessed via a desktop computer, laptop computer, tablet or phone.
  • All students and the teacher will have their webcam on during the session and will need to follow instructions provided by their Step-Up teacher as to the best ways to interact with others and use Zoom effectively.
  • Your child may need assistance or support when using technology, especially young children. We want to provide engaging and interesting lessons each week using a variety of tools, your child may require some simple assistance when accessing or using some of these programs or tools.
  • Bare minimum technology requirements – computer (laptop or desktop) with webcam, microphone, speakers, consistent internet access, Zoom downloaded or smartphone or tablet with the above.