Virtual Loudoun Information
Virtual Loudoun is comprised of two branches:
Online Learning and Distance Learning.
Virtual Loudoun Online Learning (VLO) is administered centrally by Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS), not by Riverside. The program offers online courses through Schoology, using content aligned to the Standards of Learning to offer new educational opportunities to students. These courses present educational material and credit courses at the high school level using online resources. Virtual Loudoun classes are full-year courses offered in a condensed term. Students should expect, on average, to dedicate 140 hours to complete a 1 credit course within the term period.
For Terms 1 and 2, LCPS students will not pay any fees for approved course enrollment.
Course fees apply to ALL students in Term 3 and for non-LCPS students in Terms 1 and 2.
If you have questions about whether Virtual Loudoun might be a good choice for your situation, please contact your School Counselor. For more details about course offerings, registration deadlines, applicable fees, etc., the best place to start is the Virtual Loudoun Home Page.
School YearTerm Dates - https://www.lcps.org/o/vlo/page/program-calendar
VLO FAQs- https://www.lcps.org/o/vlo/page/faq
Virtual Loudoun Distance Learning (VDL) is a program offering synchronous, daily instruction via Google Meet and Schoology. Students enrolled in VDL take all their classes online without attending a brick-and-mortar school in person. Students enrolled in VDL commit to distance learning for the entire school year. It is a full-time, synchronous, secondary, virtual school program. Students log into their online classes daily via a regular bell schedule, engaging in live instruction with cameras on, utilizing their microphones, and participating in the live class chat and activities. For additional information, please see the Virtual Loudoun Distance Learning page
The deadline to apply for VDL for the 2025-26 school year is April 25, 2025. The web application is a new process this year--please review the video Completing the Distance Learning Application. Families new to LCPS who enroll after this deadline may be considered if space is available.
Additional notes regarding virtual learning...
Beginning with the 2025-26 school year, each high school will be limited to 125 seats. In recent years, Riverside has exceeded this number. Not all students requesting a course in Term 1 or 2 may be approved.
Policies related to course limits apply to any courses taken outside the brick-and-mortar classroom. For example, a student is not permitted to take one course in Virtual Loudoun and also one with another program. Courses requested outside LCPS must be approved in advance by the Director of School Counseling and Principal.
Students interested in American Sign Language may take the fully asynchronous VLO course, or may choose a hybrid course with VLD which requires weekly Google meets before or after school. The hybrid course must count as one of the student's 7 credited courses. Latin III, IV, V, and AP may also be taken as a hybrid course, and must count as on of the student's 7 credit courses. Contact your school counselor to request a hybrid course.