Frequently Asked Questions
Answers to the questions school administrators ask most when evaluating AlwaysOnline as a curriculum partner. Can't find what you're looking for? Our AI assistant Sid is available on every page, or browse our complete knowledge base.
About the Program
What Is AlwaysOnline?
What exactly is AlwaysOnline? +
AlwaysOnline is a white-label, online curriculum licensing platform built for schools and districts. Your institution partners with Silicon Valley High School to offer 60+ accredited courses under your own brand — complete with your school's name, colors, and identity. Students learn through a self-paced, AI-enhanced platform. Administrators get real-time visibility into every student's progress. Think of it as extending your school online — not replacing it.
Is this a separate school, or does it become part of our school? +
AlwaysOnline is designed to become part of your school — not compete with it. The platform is private-labeled with your institution's branding. Students log in to what looks and feels like your school's online learning environment. Your teachers monitor progress through their own dashboard. Your administrators control the data. SVHS provides the curriculum and the infrastructure; your school provides the identity.
What types of schools use AlwaysOnline? +
AlwaysOnline serves public schools, charter schools, private institutions, and entire districts. Use cases include credit recovery programs, independent study pathways, teacher shortage solutions, and full curriculum expansion. Schools of any size — from single campuses to large multi-school districts — can implement AlwaysOnline with a configuration that fits their needs.
Does AlwaysOnline replace our teachers? +
No — and this is a distinction we take seriously. AlwaysOnline extends what your teachers can do, not eliminate what they do. Your teachers retain oversight of student progress through their own dashboard, receive alerts when students need attention, and remain the supervising educators of record. The platform handles routine instructional delivery and AI-assisted tutoring, freeing your staff to focus where they're most needed.
Platform & Technology
How the Platform Works
What technology powers AlwaysOnline? +
The platform is built on IOMAD — a multi-tenant enterprise version of Moodle — running entirely on Amazon Web Services (AWS). Infrastructure uses a serverless Fargate deployment, which means near-100% uptime, automatic scaling for any school size, and zero-downtime maintenance. AI tutoring assistants are powered by Amazon Bedrock with Claude from Anthropic. Analytics run on AWS QuickSight Q, enabling natural-language queries across all student data.
What can our administrators see in real time? +
Administrators have access to school-wide dashboards showing enrollment, pacing status, at-risk flags, and completion rates — updated continuously. The AWS QuickSight Q integration lets you ask questions in plain English: "Which students are more than two weeks behind?" or "What's our credit recovery completion rate this semester?" and get instant visual answers. No waiting on reports. No spreadsheet exports. Just ask.
Does AlwaysOnline integrate with our existing systems? +
Yes. AlwaysOnline supports Google Workspace and Google API integration, Single Sign-On (SSO), Student Information System (SIS) compatibility, and LTI integration. Most schools can connect their existing tools without custom development. Your implementation specialist will map your current systems during the onboarding process.
Is there a mobile app for students? +
Yes — and uniquely, the mobile apps are published under your school's name, not SVHS's. Students download a native iOS or Android app that carries your institution's branding. Full platform functionality is available on mobile, including offline content access for students with limited connectivity. This reinforces the white-label experience from login to lesson.
How is student data protected? +
All data is secured through AWS infrastructure with encrypted transmission and storage, role-based access controls, continuous 24/7 security monitoring, and automatic security updates. The platform includes a T0 automatic failover system for disaster recovery. Data access is strictly limited to credentialed users within your institution — students see only their own data, teachers see their assigned students, and administrators see school-wide data.
Implementation Models
Which Model Is Right for Our School?
The most important question to answer first: Will your school serve as the school of record — or will SVHS? Your answer determines everything about how the platform is configured, how transcripts are issued, and whether private labeling applies.
What are the three implementation models? +
AlwaysOnline offers three distinct models depending on your school's capacity, goals, and the level of control you want to maintain:
Your School as School of Record
Your school maintains complete educational accountability. Your teachers use SVHS curriculum and the private-label platform to deliver instruction, and your school handles all grading and transcript issuance. SVHS provides the technology, content, and infrastructure — your school provides the identity.
✓ White-label platform applies | ✓ School-branded LMS | ✓ Discounted per-seat pricing
Hybrid Partnership
Responsibilities are shared and customized based on your school's specific capacity. Your school may handle some courses while SVHS handles others, or your teachers deliver instruction while SVHS handles grading. Pricing and branding are structured accordingly for each arrangement.
✓ Flexible branding arrangement | ✓ Pricing based on scope | ✓ Customized to your needs
SVHS as School of Record
SVHS provides the complete educational solution. SVHS-credentialed teachers grade all work, issue academic support, and take educational accountability for the specified courses. Students access their coursework through the SVHS-branded LMS — not a private-label environment. Your school accepts SVHS course transcripts in the same way it would accept transfer credits from another institution.
⚠ Private labeling does not apply | ✓ SVHS-branded platform | ✓ $125/seat standard pricing
When SVHS is the school of record, what does the student experience look like? +
Under Model 3, students log in to Silicon Valley High School's own learning environment — the same Cognia and WASC accredited LMS used by full-time SVHS Academy students. The experience is SVHS-branded throughout. SVHS credentialed teachers review and grade submitted work, provide instructional feedback, and serve as the educators of record for those courses. Your school's role is to coordinate enrollment and accept the SVHS transcript upon completion — similar to how a student might take a community college course for dual credit.
Why doesn't private labeling apply when SVHS is the school of record? +
Private labeling is designed for situations where your school maintains educational accountability — your institution's name, brand, and teachers are the face of the experience because your school owns the outcome. When SVHS assumes the school-of-record role, SVHS holds that accountability and its accreditations are the ones backing the transcript. It would be inaccurate — and potentially problematic for accreditation integrity — to present that experience as your school's branded product. The SVHS brand on the LMS reflects a transparent, credentialed educational relationship.
How does pricing differ between models? +
The standard per-seat price of $125 applies when SVHS teachers handle grading (Model 3). Schools that use their own teachers for grading and instruction (Model 1) receive discounted pricing, reflecting the reduced SVHS operational load. Hybrid arrangements (Model 2) are priced based on the specific scope of responsibilities. In all cases, the per-seat cost is designed to be competitive with the price of a standard textbook — not a staffing budget line. Contact us for a quote based on your specific configuration.
How do we decide which model is right for our situation? +
The right model depends on three factors: your available teaching capacity, your desired level of control over the student experience, and the nature of the need you're solving. Schools addressing acute teacher shortages in specific subject areas often find Model 3 the fastest path to serving students. Schools building out a long-term independent study or credit recovery program typically prefer Model 1 or Model 2 to maintain full institutional continuity. Dr. John Ott will walk through these variables with you during your consultation and recommend a configuration that fits your school's specific situation.