The school year is over, and your kid didn’t get the report card you were expecting. Their marks weren’t great. Or worse, they didn’t pass some of their classes.

The only solution for them to get their credits and bring up their grades is summer school, right? Wrong! Find out what alternative option you can turn to instead of summer school.

The Problem with Summer School

Registration

One problem with summer school is that there is a short timeframe for registration. If your kid misses that timeframe, they won’t be able to attend that year — whether it’s online or in-person. For the TDSB, summer school registration opens in May and closes in early June. By the time the spring term is officially over, it will be too late to sign up. 

Scheduling

Another problem that can come with summer school is scheduling. Both in-person and virtual classrooms have mandatory attendance in summer school. Students will not get a chance to pass and get the grades they need if they can’t commit to the schedule. This can be challenging for students with summer jobs, family vacations or other activities planned at the same time. 

Learning Environment

Summer school might not be the best learning environment for your kid. If they struggled to keep up with their grades because they couldn’t cope with academic pressure or distractions in the classroom, then putting them into summer school might not yield positive results. It could exacerbate their problems, giving them a shorter timeframe to achieve their goals. 

What’s the Alternative? 

So, what’s the alternative to signing up for a summer school program. A simple alternative is to sign them up for courses through this online school as soon as possible. It’s an accredited virtual school inspected by the Ontario Ministry of Education. The courses available follow the provincial curriculum and result in credits for an Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD). Courses are facilitated by trained and certified teachers who can answer questions and provide valuable feedback.

Students can sign up for courses that they failed to get a second chance at a passing grade. They can also sign up for courses that they received poor grades in. Repeating the course will give them an opportunity to improve their understanding of the material and boost their grade. 

What Are the Benefits of Online Schooling?

Online school programs offer a lot of benefits in comparison to regular summer school. These are just some of the benefits you might appreciate as a parent:

  • No registration deadline. You can sign your kid up for online courses year-round, and they can start their course at any time.
  • Flexible scheduling. Your kid does not have to follow a strict schedule to do their coursework. With online schooling, students have the freedom to choose when they want to do their coursework. So, if they have a summer job during the day, they can do their coursework afterward. If they’re busy during the week, they can do it on the weekend. 
  • More time. Your kid can take up to 12 months to complete a course they’ve signed up for. 
  • Vacation time. You don’t have to put your summer trips on hold because of your kid’s coursework. As long as they have the right gadgets for remote work, they can tackle their online course during your family vacation.

Summer school isn’t the only option for your kid. Choose an alternative this year.