As many parents learn to navigate how to homeschool their kids, Great Lakes Learning Academy, an online public school, has some advice on what parents and their students can expect this fall.
GLLA Superintendent Heather Ballien tells us their school is just like any other school: they still have six classes a day or students can schedule them throughout the week so it’s more flexible. Plus, they still have teachers who do all the instruction, counselors, social workers and special ed teachers and principals.
The first thing they recommend to families is to let students take a brief break after a lesson and walk around for a bit so they can come back refreshed and focused.
Ballien says it’s also important to let your kids be independent learners and in charge of the pace and understanding of their material, so they can be motivated and in charge of their learning.
“I would encourage all families to make sure that they establish a really solid line of communication," she says. "Three-way communication (students, parents, schools) is going to be vital no matter where they go to school. So just keep that in mind, that you have to have that strong communication with your child's school in order for this to be a successful venture."
Ballien tells us the biggest change for them will be not having their in-person field trips where families and students could normally interact, but they plan on making adjustments and figuring out fun ways to do that virtually.
