Some Reasons to Go the Virtual High School Route

Are you thinking of enrolling in an online high school program? Are you wondering if this is the way to go? Well, here are some reasons why people have decided to enroll in a virtual high school, instead of a regular school:

• Geography. There are people whose homes are far from the public school zone and where commuting from home to school will take a large fraction of the day. This will eat up a lot of time and energy from your child. This also makes involvement with afterschool activities a challenge. There are also cases where the family has to travel to a lot of locations during the year. The great thing about an online high school is you can work on your lessons anywhere, as long as you have a computer and an internet connection.
• Flexibility. With online high school classes, you are not limited to having your classes from Monday to Friday. There is more flexibility in getting learning opportunities for the child in terms of local and foreign travel, relating with people in the midst of the family’s daily routines and going to special classes such as karate or dance lessons. The student may also need flexibility because of his situation. He may be in a profession that involves unusual schedules (i.e. in showbiz or in sports). He may already be working and still want to earn his high school diploma. His missing out on a lot of school days may just add pressure for him to catch up on his peers and put on feelings of frustration when it comes to his studies.
• The desire to teach one’s own set of values. Going through the homeschooling route provides parents with the opportunity to teach their own specific set of beliefs and value system to the child.
• Health. The child may not be able to go into the public high school system due to health and physical limitations.
• The special needs of a child. A child may be a gifted child who wants to graduate high school early and get on with more rigorous challenges that college offers. With an online high school such as The American Academy, a gifted child can finish required coursework faster and earn credits to graduate early. Or, alternatively, the child has a problem with learning the “conventional” way and may need extra help. A virtual school also allows a student to earn high school credits he missed during regular high school. Also, a child may have special needs that the regular classroom setup (well-meaning though it may be) cannot fully meet.
• The desire to work at the student’s own pace. With an online high school, the student is able to customize his learning plan and work at his own schedule and pace, but still have the necessary supervision and guidance to ensure that they don’t fall way behind schedule.
• More family time. One reason why some parents decided to enroll their children to an online school is to ensure that they spend quality time together. In a regular school, the school hours, as well travel time, after school tutoring and other activities that interest the child, can prevent the family from spending as much time as they would want. By the time the child is home, he is already too tired to interact with other family members. By having their lessons at home, the children can complete the required coursework and still have time to enjoy each other’s company and do some activities together.
• Special interests. For children and teens who are pursuing their own special interests in the arts and sports, and want to have more time to focus on these, homeschooling is a great alternative. This allows them to do what they love and are good at and still get the education they need.

Aside from this, doing an online high school program can help the child become more technically savvy. In today’s Internet world, there is a great advantage to those who are proficient in using computer programs, internet communication and online learning systems.