Supplementing Your Child's Education with Accredited Homeschooling Programs

Looking for ways to improve your child’s education from home? Supplementing education with online homeschooling may be the perfect solution.

With the right accredited homeschool program, you can catch students up, help prepare them for college, and fill any gaps in traditional homeschooling that are plaguing your learner—all from the comfort of your home.

However, not all homeschool programs are created equal.

We’re here to help you find the right program for your child. In this article, we cover the advantages of supplementing your child’s education with accredited homeschooling programs and how it can affect learning outcomes.

Why Supplement Your Child’s Education with Accredited Homeschool Programs?

How valuable is an accredited homeschool program to your child? Some data suggests it can drastically boost your student’s academic performance. According to the National Home Education Research Institute, students who learn from home score anywhere from 15-30 percentile points above public school students on standard academic achievement tests.

What’s more, even if you’ve already set up a sturdy homeschooling program for your child, online supplemental programs can help you fill in the gaps in at-home learning.

Here are some challenges many parents face as they’re homeschooling and some ways an education supplement can help:

Time Constraints

Simply put, teaching full-time takes a lot of time and effort for parents. Parents don’t always have time to give students the attention they need. Supplemental online learning helps pick up the slack when a student’s learning schedule just gets too demanding.

Advanced Subjects

Student education often outpaces a parent’s knowledge. In these cases, parents are left scrambling to learn or relearn concepts on the fly. Instead, accredited online supplemental programs can keep pushing students forward after a parent has laid the groundwork for learning.

College Qualification

When you’re homeschooling, it can be hard to know if you’re preparing students for postsecondary success. The right accredited supplemental online program will be set up with seasoned academic leaders who know what it takes to chart a course to college. This gives you the confidence of knowing your students are on track for higher education.

Learning Pace

Not all students learn at the same pace. Some concepts will come easily to one student and be a challenge for another. In all cases, supplemental online programs can help students catch up or graduate early. Better yet, the best programs will be equipped with self-paced learning programs that adapt to the learner’s needs and help them jump ahead quickly.

Brick and Mortar vs. Online: How to Choose the Right Homeschooling

If you’re eyeing an accredited supplemental homeschooling program for your child, you’ll face a hefty decision right away. Do you go with a traditional brick-and-mortar program or an online school? More and more, parents have been picking up remote learning options. Here are a few reasons why:

Less Abrupt Learning Changes

It’s not always something parents consider, but moving from homeschool to a brick-and-mortar program can be a drastic shift in a student’s lifestyle. Students who aren’t prepared to move to a physical classroom away from home can be easily overwhelmed. Online programs allow for a smooth transition to accredited learning without asking students to uproot their lives.

Fewer Overcrowded Classrooms

If a student moves from at-home education into a crowded classroom, their learning can suffer. Unfortunately, many brick-and-mortar public schools are overcrowded to the point where they’re unable to give students the attention they deserve.

Luckily, online learning is poised to fill in the gaps. Research suggests students can even learn material 40-60 percent faster in online settings than in a traditional classroom. If attention is a concern, you may want to consider an online school that focuses on small classes and more personalized learning.

Stronger Performance

Sadly, many traditional public schools simply have a poor record of student academic performance. In fact, a recent report found that only one-third of public school third graders are proficient in key subjects.

By contrast, research suggests online programs could push students forward. One study found that students retain 25-60 percent of educational material online, compared to 8-10 percent retention in in-person classrooms.

Why Is Online Accreditation Important?

If you’ve decided to choose an online program to supplement your child’s education, it’s worth making sure it’s accredited first. Here are some reasons online accreditation is crucial to your student’s success:

It Weeds Out Shady Online Programs

One danger of online programs is that some may be set up as diploma mills or offer low-quality curricula. That’s one reason it’s crucial to choose an accredited online supplemental homeschooling program. Before an online K-12 program earns accreditation, school leaders need to prove to regulators that their program is reliable. That means you can trust that the educational content your student digs into is beneficial and accepted by other programs.

It Signals Higher Quality

When an online supplemental learning program is accredited, it’s a sign that the curriculum meets the standards of strict regulators. That means you gain the peace of mind that a student will not only be learning, but they’ll also be submerged in coursework that has earned a nod of approval from learning experts.

It Opens the Door to Post-Graduation Opportunities

Accreditation doesn’t just weed out ineffective programs, but it also helps schools know they can accept credits from other credible schools. That means accredited programs are more likely to have credits that will transfer from school to school. For your student, this helps because they don’t have to worry about doing work and being left without credit when they move on or graduate.

Start Supplementing Your Child’s Education with a Trusted Online Program

Looking for an online supplemental education program you can trust? Method Schools could be the right fit for your child. Here are some reasons Method Schools’ homeschool program stands out:

• Curriculum is fully accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC)
• Coursework is aligned with the NCAA and UC A-G system
• Our school is staffed with distance learning experts
• We focus on small classrooms, targeted learning, and self-paced coursework

Want to learn more about how Method’s online program can help your student? Contact one of our distance learning pros today.