Preparing Your Student for Online High School

The advances in technology over the last generation have made unprecedented leaps in what is available to many students--and that includes online high schools. It's a format that will benefit many students, whether they're being bullied in their brick and mortar school, can't keep up with their peers, or are worlds above them; whether they have an illness that makes it difficult for them to attend school each day or a grueling sports schedule that allows them to pursue their passion but doesn't leave a lot of time for school; whether they love school or hate it. Virtual schooled students aren't any different from the students who attend brick and mortar schools every day. They just have special circumstances that make it necessary for them to pursue a different method of education.

As you're preparing your child for online high school, there are a number of things that you'll want to consider. Online school can be a very workable solution for your child, but there are some things that you'll need to change before you begin.

Provide a functional work space. While your child may discover that he prefers putting his feet up on the couch to sitting at a desk all day, he should have a dedicated work space just for his schoolwork. That space serves several purposes. First, it provides a designated location for all of the books and materials necessary to complete each class, so there's no running all over the house looking for something that's gone missing. Second, it provides a learning space so that he can make the mental shift toward learning. Having a designated learning space also means that when your child is in that space, he isn't disturbed by siblings or even by your demands for him to come handle a chore. Even though your child is learning from home, education is still important.

Prepare a system of accountability. How you handle this will depend on your child and your family situation. Ideally, you should be looking over your child's work every day and making sure that they're staying on track. Once your child's attention has strayed once, it will be harder for them to keep on track the next time; so the sooner you catch the fact that they aren't functioning at their best, the sooner you can get them back to doing what they need to do in order to complete their education. If you can't check every day, make sure that you're at least taking a weekly look over that work. Also, stay in regular contact with your child's teachers. They'll have a good idea of how much work is being done and whether your child is ahead, on track, or starting to fall behind.

Rearrange the daily schedule to accommodate school. When you allow your child to attend an online high school, you're committing to making that schooling a priority in your life. That may mean a serious overhaul of your schedule, if that's what's necessary to maintain focus on what your child is supposed to be doing. If she's constantly distracted, struggling to stay on task, or is having trouble in a particular subject, you may find that you need to be right there with your child throughout the school day. It isn't always easy. There will be times when you desperately want to be able to get out of the house and do something else--anything else--during the school day, but have to supervise your child instead.

Provide opportunities for socialization. One of the biggest drawbacks to online school is the lack of socialization. In a brick and mortar school, your child is surrounded by people every day. Attending a virtual school means that they are no longer in regular contact with people. While there are cases when this may be a relief, you should make sure that you get your child involved in activities where they will spend time with people. This might be a sports team, a club, or a church group: whatever it takes to ensure that your child is still making friends and staying involved with people.

Online high school has a number of very real advantages, and with time, it will become a seamless part of your everyday life--just like attending a brick and mortar school for the first time. If you're considering this choice for your child, be aware that it may take time to make the change, and that it will require commitment on your part as well as theirs. It is, however, a commitment that's well worth it.