Olympia Regional Learning Academy

ORLA Online Information meetings for the 2023-24 school year will all be held every Thursday at 4:30pm until June 2024.

Transfers

All ORLA programs are considered OSD Choice Programs and require a transfer request from your neighborhood school or district. The transfer process is managed by OSD’s Offices of Elementary and Secondary Education at the district office.

Please complete the following steps to request a transfer to ORLA:

1. Do not unenroll from your current school - we generally have open enrollment each quarter, and your student needs to continue attending classes until they are officially transferred. 
2. For in-district students, please complete the OSD Transfer Request.
3. For out-of-district students complete the Choice Transfer Request from Washington State and the OSD Transfer Request.
4. While awaiting approval of your request, attend an Information Meeting and review the 2023 - 24 ORLA Online Course Catalog for more information on available courses.

Enrollment

Upon approval of your request from the Offices of Elementary or Secondary Education, reach out to the ORLA Office to proceed with enrollment.

If your student is currently enrolled in an OSD school, ORLA’s registrar can easily transfer the enrollment over and provide a few additional documents that are required for ALE programs and homeschooled students. k-12th grade out-of-district students need to have a completed Choice Transfer form and complete the online registration process. ORLA’s registrar can assist you with this process.

Once your students are active at ORLA, you are ready to get a class schedule! Please contact the ORLA office and one of our administrative staff will set you up with an intake meeting through Zoom or in person.

At this meeting, we will review your student's previous academic record, we'll look at graduation requirements (for high school), and we will select classes. The student and parent/caregiver need to attend this meeting together.

Each student and parent/caregiver will also receive a link to complete an orientation mini course in google classroom which will help each of you understand all components and requirements of the program. This orientation must be completed within the first week of enrollment or your student will be dropped from the ORLA Online program. 

High school students will need to meet with an ORLA staff member to schedule courses in order to ensure on-time graduation. At this time, students will also learn about other options that can be incorporated into their schedule, including Running Start or New Market Vocational Skills Center.

ORLA Online Course Catalog

Washington State has some unique requirements for those participating in an Alternative Learning Experience (ALE) program. The purpose is to ensure student success and demonstrate results quickly since a traditional school program may have already proven unsuccessful for a student. Through monthly progress reporting and implementation of intervention plans, ORLA strives to find solutions for all students.

Monthly Progress

Each month, teachers complete a progress report for students that determines whether they have made adequate monthly progress. Two-way communication regarding student progress is required and is completed in Skyward Family Access. Each month, caregivers will receive an email notification alerting that progress has been posted to Skyward. At that time, caregivers go in and acknowledge receipt for each enrolled student. Responses to progress are due within a certain number of days upon delivery so be sure to adhere to the due dates communicated each month.

Intervention Plans

Students not making adequate monthly progress will have a conference with ORLA staff and be placed on an intervention plan. This is a collaborative process between a caregiver, student, and ORLA staff member. It may include items such as increased onsite attendance, dropping a course, using a school planner, regular teacher check-ins, and more. These are designed to support students so they can be successful in the learning plan developed for them.

It is important to note that being on an intervention plan for multiple months may result in a student needing to transfer to another school program. Washington State limits the number of months in which a student does not make satisfactory progress in their coursework within Alternative Learning programs.

Each ORLA Online family will need to complete our Online Student Caregiver Agreement prior to beginning classes at ORLA.

If you are combining hConnect or online coursework with homeschooling, you must complete the Declaration of Intent to Homeschool.

• English
• Spanish
• Vietnamese

Statement of Understanding regarding Alternative Learning programs versus homeschooling.