The holiday season and winter break are just around the corner!
As an organization, we decided several years ago that providing a break for our staff and students is important for their overall well-being. That’s why each year over winter break, Michigan Virtual shuts down access to our online student courses to give students and teachers time to rest and be with their loved ones.
As a result, from the evening of Tuesday, December 23 through the afternoon of Friday, December 26, students will NOT be able to log into Brightspace, the platform where they access online courses and submit assignments to instructors.
Please note that our system is only closed for a portion of the time that a typical winter break is in a traditional school setting. Courses will reopen on the evening of Friday, December 26.
Why do we shut down access to our online courses?
In a traditional school, the doors close during winter break. In online courses, this isn’t quite as easy to accomplish, but we believe that breaks are important for our mental health and well-being, and we want students and teachers alike to reap the benefits of this break time. Additionally, having instructor availability is a valuable part of our online learning experience
If my students want to work over winter break, can they still make progress in their coursework?
If students would like to make progress in their online courses during this scheduled downtime, there are still ways they can do this. They will, however, need to take steps to prepare before our systems go offline.
Students are welcome to download lessons and assignments from their courses before Tuesday, December 23.
Some features of our online courses will not translate well when downloaded, such as:
Interactive elements
Quizzes
Discussion boards
We recommend that students note where these elements appear in their coursework so that they can go back and complete them later. They may also choose to write down the discussion board prompts to prepare and study for any upcoming quizzes.
When can students expect replies from their online teacher?
Our teachers will be on break between Wednesday, December 24 and Thursday, January 1. During this time, students shouldn’t expect to receive responses from their teachers. We’ll get back to students as soon as we can, beginning on Friday, January 2.
Is the break reflected in my students’ pacing guides?
Yes! The winter break is reflected in students’ course pacing tool to help them stay on track and prepare for this time off.
Can students still drop or enroll in online student courses during this time?
Yes, students may still drop or enroll in an online course during time; however, these changes may not be reflected in our system until our staff returns to the office on Friday, January 2.
My students are enrolled in an early-end term. When can I expect to receive final scores, taking winter break into account?
If your students' course end date is Friday, December 19, and your school will need final student scores on or before December 19, you will need to follow these Early End Date Procedures. If you would like your students to be able to submit work through December 19, following company guidelines and accounting for our teachers’ winter break from December 24 - January 1, instructors will have one week after the end date to grade and finalize scores. This means that scores would be finalized by Friday, January 9, 2026.
How can I get help during this time if I encounter a problem?
Our Customer Care Team will also be out of the office between Thursday, November 27 — Friday, November 28 and Wednesday, December 24 through Thursday, January 1. If you submit a help ticket, they’ll get back to you as soon as possible, beginning on Friday, January 2.
If you or your students run into any challenges while our team is on break, we recommend you check out our Knowledge Base. This repository houses a wealth of how-to articles that you can use to solve our most common customer challenges.
We wish you and your students a relaxing winter break with those you love. Thank you for your support and understanding, as we also offer our staff a break during this time.
Sincerely,
Andrea Kistler
MENTOR SUPPORT MANAGER
Andrea is the Mentor Support Manager at Michigan Virtual. If you have any mentoring-related questions, don't hesitate to email, call or text.
