Online School at Home: Why More Families Are Making the Switch

The world as we knew it changed in 2020 when the coronavirus spread across the world. For many industries, it created a new opportunity to learn how to do business. It also changed the way our children learn. Across the United States, many school were forced to transition to remote learning. Online learning is not something new. It became more prominent as an education option as many schools put restrictions in place during the pandemic. Here’s how online learning can benefit families from all walks of life.

Consistency for Military Families

Military families on average move between six to nine times during a child’s school years. These moves mean children in military families are constantly getting acclimated to new teachers and classmates in addition to getting to know a new community. Online education has brought consistency into the lives of students learning in a virtual classroom. The benefits of online learning for them means their school goes with them wherever they are living.

A Haven for Bullying Victims

Online learning has also become a refuge for students who are victims of bullying. Nearly a quarter of adolescent students will face bullying at some point while going through school, and more than 160,000 will skip school at least once to avoid being bullied. While switching to online learning is not the only way to combat bullying, many parents and students are finding it to be an effective solution. In a K12 survey of parents that have made the decision to enroll their child into online learning because of bullying, more than 90 percent say the online schools have been helpful in dealing with the bullying issue and are seeing their student’s academic performance rise, and 95 percent of parents say the feel their child is in a safer environment.

Supporting Children with Special Needs

Families of students with special needs have found the flexibility that comes with online learning to help their children become better learners. Students with ADAH can take frequent breaks to reduce anxiety and help increase their attention span. Those on the autism spectrum may not be able to keep up with the teacher’s lesson in a traditional brick and mortar school. For disabled children, online learning means they can get the support and accommodations they need to be successful in their education. On top of these learning difficulties that online learning helps to resolve, it is also a way to help when it comes to social situations. Often time students with special needs have difficulty picking up on social cues, which can be stressful and discouraging. Online learning allows these students to be able to interact with their peers in their own way through activities and clubs.

Flexibility for Your Child to Pursue Their Passion

Are you encouraging your children to follow their dreams on the playing field or in the arts? The flexibility online learning provides has allowed these student-athletes or student-performers to excel at their passions. In typical brick and mortar schools, extra-curricular activities like sports practices or rehearsals take place after the school day has ended. With a flexible educational schedule, students can spread out the day’s work more effectively so that when it is time to practice or rehearse, they can do so when they are full of energy. Many of these activities also require travel to participate. Like with military families, the ability to take your school with you while you travel to participate in competitions or performances means you don’t have to worry about falling behind and the burden of having to make up for missed classwork.

Getting a Head Start on College

With colleges and universities across the country offering online classes that can be completed any time of day, high school students are taking advantage to get ahead in their academic careers. Dual enrollment has become more prominent, where older students are taking courses that also transfers into college credit. This allows students to get ahead in higher education and makes them more desirable applicants to colleges and universities having proven that they can complete college level coursework. With college tuition also continuing to rise, it can also be a money saver because these courses are traditionally completed at a heavily discounted rate while in high school.

Online school gives the most options for a learning environment. Enroll your child in a K12 online school, so they’ll get the most out of learning and make time for their passions.