Guide to Summer Learning
Accredited Summer Classes
We’ve all heard about No Child Left Behind, but what happens if yours was? Maybe he drew the short straw and got a dud teacher. Or perhaps it took until late in the year to connect all the dots and realize the need for extra support. Whatever the reason, your child is on track to start the next school year at a disadvantage. So what’s a parent to do?
Good news. If your child didn’t master the material by the end of the school year, plenty of help is available all summer long. Assuming you and your child are willing to take a bit of initiative to get started, options abound.
Summer School
The fallback option used by many families is to inquire about summer school programs offered through your school district. If the subjects you need are offered, and state budget cuts or family vacations don’t get in the way, you can quickly sign-up and use summertime to catch-up with the class.
Just don’t expect an easy ride. The subject your child just struggled through will be taught at a far faster pace, which means more hours in the classroom and more homework over a shorter period of time. On the upside, he will most likely have some foundation from the previous year and, if this is his only class, no other subjects competing for brain cells.
Online Instruction
If you’re worried summer school will be a repeat of what went wrong during the school year or if the school program doesn’t work out, online school might open up a whole new world of learning.
Thanks to today’s technology, plenty of universities and homeschool networks offer online learning on a class-by-class basis. Before getting started, look around at a variety of programs and consider how well each solution fits your child’s personality and drive to succeed. Will he wake up each day ready to learn or are you likely to face a summer of nagging and cajoling? Lastly, determine if the purpose of enrollment is for academic growth or to earn school credit. If credit is needed, be sure to get written school approval before registering for a class.
Online learning examples
One-on-one Tutoring Support
Whether you and your child choose summer school, online instruction, or to go it alone, getting additional one-on-one, in-person support is highly advised.
Consider asking the “good” teacher from the other class if he’s available to help check progress and explain difficult concepts for at least two hours each week (summer courses require students to compress a full year’s worth of learning into a few weeks, so we recommend at least two hours of teacher help since falling behind is also accelerated).
Feel free give TeamUP! Tutors a call for summer support and advice. Our staff is always happy to direct you to valuable resources or put together an individualized tutoring plan to support your summer learning needs.
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