Educators

Welcome Back-to-School: 5 Questions with Dr. Louis Algaze, FLVS President & CEO

By Florida Virtual School on August 16th, 2021

New school year, new opportunities. It’s a chance to start fresh. Discover new courses. And get to know new people, like Dr. Louis Algaze, Florida Virtual School President & Chief Executive Officer. We sat down with Dr. Algaze to hear what inspires him, his journey to becoming an educational leader, and how he celebrated the first day of school long before Tik Tok existed to capture the moment.

FLVS Celebrates Teachers on World Teachers’ Day

By Florida Virtual School on October 5th, 2020

Every August, thousands of teachers prepare for the new school year, decorating their classrooms, organizing lessons, and brainstorming fun activities for students. Teachers at Florida Virtual School are no different! Although they may not have a physical classroom where they can see students daily, FLVS teachers find unique ways to create engaging learning experiences for students in the virtual classroom.

FLVS Teacher Receives Yale Educator Award

By Florida Virtual School on September 25th, 2020

Florida Virtual School is proud to announce that one of our teachers, Samantha Rimes, was honored as a recipient of the 2020 Yale Educator Award. This award, sponsored by the Yale Office of Undergraduate Admissions, recognizes educators from around the world who inspire and support their students to perform at high levels and to achieve excellence.

Planning Tips for Teachers Moving Online

By Florida Virtual School on June 8th, 2020

As the majority of Florida’s education system transitioned online due to the COVID-19 pandemic, much focus has rightly been on helping students cope, both academically and emotionally. However, teachers who teach in a traditional classroom setting have also made the transition, in emergency conditions, and require support.

We know engaged teacher-student interaction is important to parents. To help that interaction continue, FLVS has tips to help teachers manage their online classroom, with tools they can use when they return to their normal classroom setting.

A Teacher Is…

By Florida Virtual School on May 1st, 2017

What is the definition of a teacher?

As described in many dictionaries, a teacher is a person who teaches or instructs, especially as a profession.

While this definition is accurate, we hope you will agree with that it does not sufficiently describe all that a teacher embodies.

This week, Florida Virtual School is celebrating Teacher Appreciation Week, and we would like to expand on the definition of a teacher.

At FLVS, our teachers are superheroes. While they do not wear eye masks or fancy capes, they possess special super powers. They are passionate and dedicated to working with all students, recognizing that each learner is unique and has individual strengths and needs. They go beyond educating—they listen, guide, support, and inspire.

We recently asked our staff to come up with their own definition of a teacher. Here are a few of the responses we received to our “A Teacher is…” challenge: Continue reading

Make, Bake, Partake – Volunteering at School

By Guest Blogger on April 17th, 2017

My mom was blessed with the baking and hospitality gene. As far back as I can recall, she loved to play hostess—still does, and when people come over, she has a quiet way of honoring them and making them feel special. It shows in the details, from a sparkling clean house to using the good dishes and serving delectable treats.

I remember my mom volunteered to be the class mom for Mrs. Kast’s second grade class in New York. I glowed whenever she’d come into my classroom to drop off some cut outs for a project we were working on, or when she’d bring in homemade cupcakes for a class party. And while I just thought I had the coolest mom in the world, she had sneakily found a way to stay connected to me during the school day.

April is Florida School Volunteer Appreciation Month and today marks the first day of Public School Volunteer Week. Continue reading

FLVS Attends GOES-R Satellite Launch

By Florida Virtual School on December 7th, 2016

On Saturday, November 19, I had the privilege of watching the GOES-R weather satellite launch from Kennedy Space Center.

Now you may be wondering what GOES-R stands for. It’s the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite, a satellite system that orbits the earth and sends data back to National Weather Service computers. The R indicates what number or version the GOES satellite is on, so there have already been versions A-R. GOES-S is slated to launch next year and is the twin to GOES-R.

Of course, weather satellites get launched all the time, so why would this one be any more special than the others?

Well, right now we receive images of satellite scans every 30 minutes or so. The GOES-R satellite will provide data at least every five minutes, and in some circumstances every 30 seconds! So not only will it be five times faster than current weather satellites, but it will also gather three times more data and it will have four times better resolution. Continue reading

To Bennu and Back!

By Florida Virtual School on September 29th, 2016

Hello FLVS peeps!

I had the distinct honor of representing FLVS at the OSIRIS REx rocket launch a few weeks ago.

Now if you’re wondering what exactly that means, OSIRIS REx stands for NASA’s Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security-Regolith Explorer. That’s a mouthful, right?

In a nutshell, NASA is sending a spacecraft to an asteroid named Bennu. Once it reaches Bennu (after a trip lasting two years), the spacecraft will orbit the asteroid for about a year, find the perfect place to collect about 80 grams of the rock, and head back home, arriving back to Earth in 2023.

It won’t actually land on the asteroid, but instead hover over it – and with the help of Canada and their amazing knowledge of spacecraft arms – will grab a small sample. (To put this in perspective, 80 grams is about the equivalent of 80 Skittle candies.)

So why are we going to Bennu? Continue reading

Internships at FLVS

By Guest Blogger on October 15th, 2015

Seven years.

That’s how long I taught in a brick-and-mortar classroom before joining FLVS. While a lot has changed since I taught in the classroom, there are still some common challenges that were faced by teachers during my time and are still faced by teachers today – the biggest one being technology.

I remember computers being placed in my classroom and all the information I was supposed to take in at once. I was introduced to DOS, Windows, BASIC, Word Perfect Suite (with reveal codes), Windows, Office, HTML, Photoshop, Dreamweaver, etc, etc, etc…never ending! With each one, just when I started to feel comfortable using it myself, a new one would come.

Students Need Champions

By Guest Blogger on August 26th, 2015

August 26th is “Women’s Equality Day,” so what better time than today to reflect back on the women who have made a difference in this world.

For me, a very special woman comes to mind. She was a teacher from Texas who changed so many lives and affected so many other teachers and students. Her name was Rita Pierson. And though I never met her, listening to her talk about teaching and learning provided me with the foundation I try to base my work on every day.

Mrs. Pierson gave a Ted Talk back in May 2013 that now has almost 5 million views. In her talk she shared some of the best advice I’ve ever heard about teaching. Here are just some of the beautiful words Rita shared with us and just a few reasons why she is a woman I admire greatly.