Distance Learning or Homeschool — Is it for me?

Pam Dion, marketing & communications director for Advantages Online Private School , offers advice on whether distance learning and homeschooling might be for you.

Distance learning is not a new trend. It is the new way. If the traditional classroom or home schooling don’t meet your needs and/or personal standards, it’s entirely possible that you can find what you’re looking for online.

Online education, or distance learning, delivers a flexible and mobile learning environment, some like Advantages offer a self paced study program.  You can complete course work anywhere you can log in.  It fosters responsibility and creativity that the new world market place demands.  Students learn how to work in the 21st Century, becoming computer literate and proficient as a “side-effect”, while having their individual educational needs met.

Many families that cannot, or choose not, to attend a traditional “brick and mortar” classroom, have often turned to home schooling.  While this is still an option for many families, there are problems associated with this type of schooling.  Advanced curriculum can be intimidating for a parent to teach and assess.  Selection and purchase of the “right” curriculum can be difficult and cumbersome in materials, when it comes to meeting state standards and college requirements.  Record keeping and transcripts are questionable.  Finally, the student isn’t accountable to anyone but the parent.  While this works for some kids, it doesn’t work for many.

At Advantages Online Private School, we feel that today with the internet, distance learning has become a better way to educate.  Students still complete their school work at home, at their own pace, on their own time.  But they work with licensed teachers, instead of keeping their parents accountable for their work and grading.  No longer is the parent responsible for selecting the right curriculum, delivering appropriate assessments, grading, and all the record keeping.  No longer is the need for mail order books, and DVD’s and selecting from the confusing options of home school materials and hope that you have “the right stuff” and all the storage space for purchased materials.  By using an online school such as Advantages, the curriculum is delivered via the internet, instruction and assessments are too.  The school reviews and maintains official transcripts and all records to ensure that the student is meeting the requirements for graduation. Parents can rest assured that their child is attending an accredited school and being taught by licensed teachers and upon graduation, their child is eligible for college entrance.  Weekly reports from teachers and academic advisors keep parents apprised of student progress and academic standing.

If looking into an online school, Advantages Online Private School encourages you to ask the follow questions:

1. Is the school accredited by a recognized accrediting commission?

• Ask them to show you and follow up with that commission.

2. Are the teachers and school staff licensed in their fields?

• Interview them first. You should know who is teaching your child.

3. What are the graduation requirements?

• This should be posted on the website, and should meet or exceed what’s required for college entrance.

4. Are instructors, school staff, and technical staff available by email and phone?

• Make the calls. Do they answer your questions? Are they readily accessible?

5. Are transcripts officially accepted by colleges and universities?

• The school should be able to provide official and unofficial transcripts with an identifying school number upon request.

6. What additional curriculum is offered?

• Make sure your selected institution offers Advanced Placement (AP), Honors courses, Foreign language, and test preparation, as well as credit recovery and ESL programs to make sure all your needs will be met.

7. Is your program personalized or will the student become just an enrollment number?

• Some schools have thousands of online students. Look for one that meets your needs. Advantages Online Private School, for example, is a small private school providing a personal experience. You may want a larger school or a free public online school. You have options. Know what they are before registering.

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Advantages Online Private School is the answer for students on the move. Offerings at Advantages include middle and high school curriculums that are aligned with national standards for college acceptance as well as test prep courses such as SAT, ACT, CAHSEE, and Algebra Readiness.

Advantages is accredited through Northwest Association of Accredited Schools (NAAS), one of the six acknowledged accreditation agencies in the United States. Visit us at AdvantagesSchool.com or call us directly, toll free, at (866) 962-2677.