Nevada Virtual Academy
8965 S. Eastern Avenue
Suite 330
Las Vegas, NV 89123
(702) 407-1825
(702) 407-5055 Fax
Caroline McIntosh, Head of School
Orlando Dos Santos, Principal
Janine Calhoun, Vice Principal
Gabriel Gonzalez, Vice Principal
School Profile 2014-2015
Mission
The mission of Nevada Virtual Academy is to help students achieve academic excellence with a world class education
grounded in high academic standards, which prepare them to graduate college and career ready.
History
Nevada Virtual Academy is a public charter school that has served students throughout Nevada since 2007. Fully
accredited by AdvancED in recognition of the high quality education that it provides to students, NVVA offers a dynamic,
traditional curriculum provided by CITA-accredited K¹² Incorporated that teaches children to be critical thinkers in a fastchanging global world. The K¹² curriculum provides multiple curriculum options to meet the needs of diverse learners,
offers a diverse high school catalog with more than 90 courses in Math, Language Arts, Science, and History, and
provides opportunity for students to participate in extracurricular clubs and activities.
School and Community
Nevada Virtual Academy High School currently has an enrollment of 900 students in grades nine through twelve who
receive rigorous instruction, high standards, informed guidance, and individual attention. All teachers are licensed by the
State of Nevada and maintain “Highly Qualified” status. Nevada Virtual Academy is a competency-based program,
although courses are designed for students to log a minimum of one-hundred and eighty days of instruction. Nevada
Virtual Academy is not a “work at your own pace” program. Students must follow deadlines established by their teachers
in each course. The NVVA reporting school year runs from August 25, 2014 through June 4, 2015.
Demographics
Am Indian/
IEP
ELL
FRL
AK Native
10.00%
12.00%
Black/
Hispanic/
Afr American
51.00%
2.11%
3.34%
13.61%
White/
Latino
Pacific
Islander
Caucasian
13.36%
2.40%
65.18%
Asian
Graduation Requirements
Nevada High School Graduation Requirements can be found at http://www.doe.nv.gov/APAC_Graduation_Requirements/
 Nevada Virtual Academy offers the following diplomas:
Number of credits (units)
Core Course required
GPA requirements
Standard Diploma
22.5
American Government (1)
American History (1)
Arts & Humanities (1)
Computers (.5)
English Language Arts (4)
Health (.5)
Mathematics (3)
Physical Education (2)
Science (2)
Advanced Diploma
24
American Government (1)
American History (1)
Arts & Humanities (1)
Computers (.5)
English Language Arts (4)
Health (.5)
Mathematics (4)
Physical Education (2)
Science (3)
Social Studies (1)
Advanced Honors Diploma
24
American Government (1)
American History (1)
Arts & Humanities (1)
Computers (.5)
English Language Arts (4)
Health (.5)
Mathematics (4)
Physical Education (2)
Science (3)
Social Studies (1)
Maintain 3.25 grade GPA
on 4.0 scale
(12 of 24 units must be honors)
Maintain 3.25 unweighted and
3.85 weighted GPA on 4.0 scale
* all courses can be taken as early as 6th grade
Millennium Scholarship
In 1999, the Governor Guinn Millennium Scholarship initiative was enacted into law by the Nevada Legislature, creating
the Millennium Scholarship trust fund to be administered by the State Treasurer. Nevada Virtual had 43 students earn the
Millennium Scholarship in 2014. All students meeting the following requirements earn a $10,000 scholarship:
 Graduate with a diploma from a Nevada public or private high school;
 Complete high school with at least an overall 3.25 grade point average, weighted or unweighted;
 Pass all areas of the Nevada High School Proficiency Examination;
 Student must have been a resident of Nevada for at least two of their high school years;
 Meet core curriculum requirements of English- 4 credits, Math (including Algebra II)- 4 credits, Natural
Science- 3 credits, Social Science and History- 3 credits
Class Rank
Class ranks are determined by using the cumulative weighted GPA out of total class size. Valedictorians are identified by
the maximum cumulative weighted GPA of 4.8. A weighted grade point factor for successful completion of Honors,
Advanced Placement (AP), and Dual Credit courses will be added as follows:
• Honors
• Advanced Placement (AP)
• Dual Credit
.025
.050
.050
Advanced Placement Program (AP)
In the spring of each school year, a cumulative exam is administered for each AP course by College Board. AP Exams are
graded on a scale of one (minimum) to five (maximum). The cost for each exam (approximately $90) is paid for by
Nevada Virtual Academy and administered by Nevada Virtual Academy or taken at their local zoned high school.
University credit is generally granted for exam scores of three and above, with five being the highest score. AP courses
receive a weighted factor of .050 per semester. Based upon students’ AP Exam scores, they may earn as many as 18
semester hours of college/university credit. This represents a significant financial savings to the parents of these students.
Nevada Virtual Academy offers the following Advanced Placement (16) courses:
AP English Language and Composition
AP English Literature and Composition
AP Psychology
AP World History
AP U.S. History
AP U.S. Government and Politics
AP Calculus AB
AP Calculus BC
AP Biology
AP Chemistry
AP Environmental Science
AP Spanish Language
AP French Language
AP Computer Science
AP Microeconomics
AP Statistics
Nevada Virtual Academy offers the following Honors (18) courses:
Honors Literary Analysis and Composition I
Honors Literary Analysis and Composition II
Honors American Literature
Honors British and World Literature
Honors World History
Honors U.S. History
Honors U.S. Government
Honors Algebra I
Honors Geometry
Honors Algebra II
Honors Earth Science
Honors Biology
Honors Chemistry
Honors Physics
Honors Spanish II
Honors Spanish III
Honors French II
Honors French III
Dual Credit Program
Nevada Virtual Academy offers a Dual Credit Program in conjunction with the University of Nevada, Las Vegas
(UNLV), University of Nevada, Reno (UNR), College of Southern Nevada (CSN), Great Basin College (GBC), and
Western Nevada College (WNC). Students enroll in college-level courses at these various institutions and can earn high
school credit while also earning college credit. These courses may count for required or elective high school credit. A
three (3)-credit university course is equivalent to one-half (0.5) unit of Nevada Virtual Academy high school credit.
Courses taken in this program will be denoted on the transcript with the university/college acronym, course number, and
course name (Example: UNLV ENG101: Composition I). Dual Credit courses receive a weighted factor of .050 per
semester. Nevada Virtual Academy covers the tuition cost, up to 24 credits, for students who earn a “C” or better in each
course.
Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT)
Student may take the PSAT in either 10th and/or 11th grade. In October, Nevada Virtual Academy administers the PSAT
exam. Students who take the PSAT get feedback about critical academic skills, prepare for the SAT, start getting ready for
college, enter scholarship competitions (must be taken during 11th grade) and see which AP courses students might be
read for.
American College Testing (ACT)
Beginning with the 2014-2015 school year, every 11th grade student in the state of Nevada will be required to participate
in ACT + Writing Assessment. At Nevada Virtual Academy, we strive to have each of our students meet the ACT
Benchmarks in English Composition, College Algebra, Social Science and Biology by the time they graduate and monitor
their progress through the ACT Aspire College and Career Readiness System in grades 3-10.
Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM)
Nevada Virtual Academy is in the process of implementing the foundations of Science, Technology, Engineering, and
Mathematics (STEM) into its present practices. Nevada Virtual’s STEM model focuses on four pillars:
1. Learn to know (we have to be able to teach ourselves)
2. Learn to do (we have to do something with knowledge; we have to make artifacts)
3. Learn to live together (we have to think of the long-term impact; how our actions impact others)
4. Learn to be (imagination is power not knowledge).
The school’s program is currently developing partnerships with STEM advocates around the state and nation to
incorporate standards into instructional processes. This past summer, Nevada Virtual held week-long camps for
students with emphasis on water quality, renewable energy, robotics, and outdoor survival.
Face-To-Face Tutoring
Even though Nevada Virtual Academy is an online school, we see the need for person to person instruction when
supplementary practice for understanding is necessary. Our teachers provide 4 hours a week of tutoring at various
locations throughout the state to meet the needs of students who are in need of additional support.
Nevada Virtual Academy’s CEEB code is 290243
For more information, visit our websites at http://nvvacommunity.org, www.k12.com/nvva, or
www.nvvacounseling.weebly.com