Need to Catch Up or Get Ahead? The Benefits of Taking Online Classes Over Summer

Students who love learning might not need a reason to sign up for an online summer school class; others, though, will see it as an opportunity. Online summer classes can be the most advantageous to those who are looking to get ahead and those who need to make up some credits. There are several benefits to enrolling in summer school, and doing so online gives students the flexibility to still enjoy their time and freedom.

What’s better? Students don’t necessarily need to be a “homeschool” or online charter school student to sign up for online summer classes. This type of summer school can supplement a traditional school education to help students achieve their goals before starting the new school year.

Why Summer?

Summer is bonus time when it comes to school. The extra months between school years are enough for students to change the trajectory of their academic careers—whether that means getting ahead enough to graduate early or making up credits to graduate on time.

The benefit of online learning is that students have fewer distractions. Online classes—any time of the year—provide an environment where students learn on their own, without friends or classmates to steal their attention. Extracurricular activities are usually paused in the summer, so students can dedicate their focus and energy to just one or two classes, rather than a full course load plus sports and clubs.

Online summer school learning also offers flexibility. Students don’t need to worry about skipping out on all the summer fun they have planned. Their classes and assignments will typically fit around whatever their schedules entail.

Catch Up on Credits

Failing a class and missing credits can stop students from moving on to take more advanced courses or even prevent them from graduating with their friends. If a student failed a class during a previous semester, summer offers the perfect time to make up that credit and keeps them from falling behind.

Taking an online class during summer is ideal for students who need to tackle a subject they usually struggle with. Students can learn at their own pace and spend more time on areas that prove challenging for them. Even with online charter schools, the student to teacher ratio is generally smaller, which means students can have more tutoring and one-on-one attention to finally nail the course or courses they need to make up.

Get Ahead

As an immediate benefit, taking a general education course over summer will free up a student’s schedule once school starts in the fall. This gives them room to take more advanced courses, like APs and honors courses, or even college courses if they’re able to sign up for dual enrollment. It also offers them the chance to take extracurricular classes that might have conflicted with required courses.

Students can work with their counselors before deciding on the summer classes to enroll in to make the most of their course load and rack up the credits needed for graduation. Very often, online charter schools will also connect students with a counselor or administrator to help them navigate transfer credits and state requirements. So, if your student is capable of taking multiple classes over summer—especially over multiple summers—there is great potential that they can graduate early.