Every morning feels like a battle – getting your child out of bed, ready for breakfast, and out the door to make their first class in time. The starting time for schools seems to get earlier and earlier as the student gets older and it only makes the issue of time harder. These are the beginning signs that your child may need a more flexible online school schedule. In this article, I’m going to dive into some of the other signs you should look that may indicate your student’s current school environment isn’t good for them. Because every family deserves a school that works for them not against them.
What is Flexible Online School?
With the rise in popularity for online schools, many parents are beginning to consider it as an alternative option for their children. Delvinpeck.com had this to say about the rise in online schools:
According to estimates, the number of people who take an online course will rise to as many as 57 million people by 2027.
If these estimates are to be believed, online learning will only grow in popularity with time. In addition, online schools have had over 5 years since the pandemic to revolutionize their learning models which has resulted in better curriculums and types of online schools for families. Online schools can be enrolled both as a supplement to a home school education or for full-time students. Institutions like Tenney School Live pride themselves on having a flexible online school schedule which means the students will have more time during the day to tackle other obligations and responsibilities.
5 Signs Your Child May Need It
1. Falling Behind Due to Health or Personal Issues
Spotting the signs that your student is falling behind can be difficult to spot early on. The student may become disinterested in class, exhibiting physical or mental health issues, and in more obvious cases, their grades may begin to slip. When a student begins falling behind due to personal issues, the source often times ends up being the learning environment. There are many factors which may point to a student falling behind in this way with some of the most common being:
- Anxiety
- Falling Through the Cracks
- Depression
- Bullying
- Chronic Illness
If you begin to see a lapse in attendance or grades due to any of the above mentioned signs, a flexible online school schedule may help! With these types of school schedules, a student is allowed the freedom in time to tackle these challenges without having to worry about the stresses of maintaining a more rigid school schedule present in most in-person learning environments. Your child’s health is everything, and having a school that allows you the space to tackle it is essential!
2. Pursuing Passions that Require Day Time Commitments
Another sign that a flexible online school could be a good choice for you is for students with busy day-time commitments. These are students who may be aspiring athletes, artists, etc. More often than not, a traditional school schedule is not fitting to accommodate the student’s schedule and requires you to drop everything to maintain good standing with the school. Flexible online schools understand that every family has different commitments and encourage families to pursue these day-time commitments and work to schedule schooling around them.
There are many different options available to these families as well, ranging from synchronous classes to asynchronous which allows for this kind of flexible scheduling.
3. Struggling with Focus or Learning Differences
When a student begins struggling with focus or has learning differences that the school can’t accommodate, an online learning environment is a great option! Many traditional school environments are rigid in their schedules and accommodations. Often times these schools require parents to ‘jump through hoops’ to get the accommodations needed for their child. Online schools can circumvent this through their flexible nature. It’s important to still do the research for the right online school, as each school may have different limits on their accommodations. Tenney School Live is a great option for families looking for synchronous accommodations for their students. In our school, all of our students meet one-on-one with their teachers. The benefit of this is the teacher can slow down the curriculum and modify it for students who are struggling and speed it up for students who are looking for more of a challenge!
4. Bored or Unchallenged in Current Curriculum
Not every classroom is able to accommodate gifted students, and with specialized online programs, gifted students can achieve their true potential! As mentioned previously, online learning environments like ours allow our teachers to teach in a one-on-one synchronous setting. This affords the flexibility to accommodate gifted students in a way they haven’t been taught before! Gone are the days of a student getting bored in class because they aren’t being challenged. In our program, our teachers are able to speed up the curriculum to better accommodate these students!
5. Burnout or Emotional Stress
The final sign I want to discuss is burnout or emotional stress. Many students today are experiencing symptoms of emotional stress due to a ‘one-size-fits-all’ learning approach that many schools has. While this may work for some students, not every student prefers learning in the same way! This causes intense stress and strain on the student as they try to mold themselves to a learning style that doesn’t work for them. For this reason, a flexible online school may be the right choice. In these learning environments, students are encouraged to learn the way that’s best for them, which can reverse burnout and ease emotional stress!
Choosing the Right Flexible Online School
The right online school can be difficult to find as there’s so many different options available. Having a discussion with your student about their preferred learning style is the first step to finding the environment for them. Some students may prefer an asynchronous learning environment while others prefer the synchronous style instead. Touching base with their current teachers and counselors can offer a unique perspective as well! In the case that they prefer a synchronous, flexible online school, I recommend inquiring about our school: Tenney School Live! Through our program, students are able to learn in a one-on-one synchronous learning environment that adapts to them!
