Enrollment
With Black Hills Online Learning Community (BHOLC), South Dakota K–12 students can thrive in a flexible, self-paced online environment—all while staying connected to their home school district. BHOLC partners with participating districts to provide students with high-quality, innovative learning experiences from the comfort and safety of home. Students remain enrolled in their home district and are expected to follow local policies, including graduation requirements and participation in state-mandated testing. Ready to get started? Follow the steps below to enroll.
Step 1: Application
For K-12 Learners: When the online application is completed, you will receive an email with a Learning Agreement attachment.
Step 2: Approval
- Download the 25-26 BHOLC Learning Agreement and take it to your local school for approval before your enrollment can be completed.
- If you are pursuing open enrollment, you’ll need to present that information to the school as well. The school will need to approve your enrollment in BHOLC.
- The local school will determine approval for participation in the program. If approved, the school will enter the student registration into the South Dakota Center for Virtual Education (SDCVE) system.
- For grades K-8, the school will need to know what grade level to assign for the student.
- For grades 9-12, the school will need to know which specific courses to assign the student. Expect to meet with the local school counselor to choose courses and set up a four-year plan for meeting graduation requirements.
- View the 2025-26 Course List.
Step 3: Acceptance
- BHOLC will accept the SDCVE registration and assign courses to students.
- Your online teacher will contact you to provide orientation and assessment resources.
- Offline materials for grades K-2 (if included) will be shipped and should arrive 7-10 days from the acceptance date.
- Access to the online curriculum for grades K-8 will begin in September. High School students will follow their district calendars in most cases.
You are now fully enrolled and ready to start school with Black Hills Online Learning Community!
Final Step: Choose Your Student’s Learning Coach
- The Learning Coach is usually the student’s parent or another responsible adult who is dedicated to making sure their child receives a quality education.
- A Learning Coach supports the student in the learning process while they are enrolled in the Black Hills Online Learning Community program.
- They are responsible for ensuring their student is on track with assignments and coursework as well as communicating with their teachers throughout the school year.
- Learning Coaches play an active role and should plan to monitor student work each day.
- Grades K-5: Many lessons are assessed through an online quiz, however, learning coaches will be responsible for assessing some work as well. Lessons that don’t have an online quiz will need to be reviewed by a learning coach and marked complete. This includes, but is not limited to, writing assignments and other offline lessons.
- Grade 6-12: Assignments are graded online or by the course instructor. Learning coaches are responsible for keeping informed of student progress and helping to ensure adequate progress is being maintained.
- You can find sample K-5 lessons here and an introductory video to courseware for 6-12 learners here.
- A computer and Internet access is required and not provided by BHOLC.
- At this time tablet devices (iPad, Kindle, smartphones,etc.) are not the best devices for accessing the platform. The full functionality of a computer is advised for learners to have the most successful experience.
Technology Needed
A computer and Internet access is required and not provided by BHOLC. Tablet devices (iPad, Kindle, smartphones, etc.) are not the best devices for accessing the platform. The full functionality of a computer is advised for learners to have the most successful experience.
Handbook
BHOLC is a public-school partner held to all rules and governance as public schools within the state of South Dakota. We are an online education service using online instruction to provide customized learning opportunities. Read the handbook here.