As the academic year winds down for primary, middle, and high school students worldwide, most young people start thinking of summer vacation and the fun that awaits them. Others, however, aren’t quite as excited by the end of the school year.
Some students might instead feel downtrodden, defeated, and even embarrassed by their showing in spring courses and final exams. Not getting the grades they’d hoped for — or failing one or more classes — can put a significant damper on the summer to come. For other kids, the summer may be filled with worry over starting high school for the first time, and others might be disappointed with the selection and variety of courses awaiting them in the fall.
For these students, a virtual school can fill in the gaps and help them accomplish whatever academic goal they’re looking to achieve — all while straddling that crucial social and educational balance over the summer months.
The Benefits of eLearning Through a Virtual School
Virtual school offers flexible, self-paced learning where content is available 24/7. Students can complete their course in as little as three weeks, and from anywhere in the world. This is a unique advantage as it means kids can maintain consistency with the curriculum they’re accustomed to.
So, for example, if families in Ontario have planned a trip to the United Kingdom for the summer, their kids can attend an accredited virtual school in Ontario — keeping their education streamlined and straightforward when they ease back into the province in the fall.
Here are three ways a virtual high school can help kids attain their academic goals this summer.
Students Can Upgrade Courses
It happens: sometimes kids receive a lower mark than they had anticipated, preventing them from moving onto the next logical stage of their education — whether it’s another course in K-12, or it’s a program at their desired institution of higher learning.
By attending an accredited virtual school, students can retake the course (or courses) to improve their grade and their understandings, empowering them to move on to their next educational chapter when the fall term begins.
Grade 8 Students Can Prepare for High School
The step up to high school can feel more like a giant leap and can be incredibly stressful for some kids. New classmates, teachers, and a new learning structure can be an intimidating experience. Fortunately, some virtual high schools offer free transitional courses that can help kids prepare for high school as-and-when they’d like during the summer months.
This special course helps kids prepare for daunting core subjects (like STEM fields), develop their learning skills, foster digital literacy and strengthen their independent learning abilities. After one of these prep courses, students aren’t likely to find high school subjects daunting.
Kids Can Take Courses That Aren’t Regularly Available to Them
Kids who live in rural areas with small high schools, and those who attend a school with pared-back class options due to teacher shortages, can often miss out on the courses they’re most interested in, like French Immersion, Media Studies, Photography or Marketing.
eLearning through a virtual school allows learners to take these courses and obtain course credits — which is essential for gaining acceptance to a college or university, or simply seeing if this subject is something they’re truly interested in pursuing.
The Takeaway on Virtual School This Summer
Virtual schooling through an accredited high school is just as legitimate and effective as attending a brick-and-mortar summer school. Certified teachers teach courses, and they end with proctored exams. Grades are then sent to day schools and postsecondary application processing centres, depending on the circumstance. eLearning this summer allows kids to travel and to learn when they’d like — meaning that they won’t miss out on important peer social events. They’re often a simple and effective way for students to turn around disappointment and make their summers count!
