A Parent's Guide to Online Middle School
November 21, 2024
Middle school is a pivotal time in a young learner’s life. It marks the end of the early learning years and serves as preparation for high school. Students in this educational phase are shifting away from one classroom to multiple teachers and demanding homework and study sessions.
Whether a student is learning at a traditional institution or pursuing a private online middle school like Dwight Global Online School, these transition years are crucial for development – academically, socially, and behaviorally.
Students and parents at Dwight Global have been excited to find their private online middle school offers an array of features and benefits. These include flexibility, customized online learning, global perspective, and more.
The following serves as a guide for parents embarking on an online middle school program.
Preparing for Online Middle School
Research is key when selecting any online school. To start, look for an accredited school like Dwight Global, a nationally ranked leader in online education.
In addition to licensing and reputation, parents should ensure the school has an outstanding reputation. Read reviews and search for news publications highlighting the private online middle school in consideration.
The best private online middle schools will offer students a rigorous curriculum. The program will challenge students and help them prepare for the next step of their educational careers.
“At Dwight Global, middle school students engage in an academically robust program where they are encouraged to collaborate, think critically and independently, and apply their knowledge to the world around them,” said Dwight Global’s Head of Middle School Sara Crucet. “Our focus on relationships and structured advisory and homeroom programs successfully and positively addresses students’ social and emotional needs.”
Once the right online middle school program has been determined, it is helpful to help students prepare for these formative years.
Strong Community
Middle schoolers thrive when their relationships thrive. Dwight Global addresses students’ social and emotional needs and the school provides a strong community in and out of the classroom.
Social engagement: Students at Dwight Global have opportunities to socialize, which offers students support for social and emotional growth.
Students participate in extracurriculars and clubs that offer collaboration with their peers. They are also invited to special in-person events, such as orientations, graduations, guest lectures, performances, and STEAM weekend.
Accountability: At Dwight Global, online middle school students have a combination of scheduled, twice-a-week, live classes and asynchronous, recorded lectures and seminars.
Teachers check in with students regularly, and progress reports are distributed. Students are expected to take responsibility for their work, which helps build character and fosters a work ethic that extends into high school and college.
Advantages of Online Middle School
Benefits of a private online middle school include:
Flexibility: Students attending a brick-and-mortar school are tied to the school schedule and location. There is a tremendous freedom in the online middle school option that many students and their families appreciate and need.
With an online middle school program, students can work academics into their everyday lives. Whether the student is a traveling athlete, an aspiring musician or actor, or their parents travel for work, online learning offers flexibility that cannot be matched.
Personalized Learning: At a private online middle school, students are offered a more customized learning experience. They can choose from a wide array of advanced courses and academic pathways. In addition, because of the nature of remote learning, students often find the method of studying that works best for them, be it a quiet, cozy corner; listening to music; or sitting outside with fresh air surrounded by nature.
Learning support: Students who are struggling can get extra guidance as needed. At Dwight Global, learning resource specialists offer one-on-one guidance throughout each semester. Teachers also offer extra time to those students who may need extra support.
Fostering independence: Students in private online middle school programs learn time management skills well ahead of many of their peers at traditional schools. This skill will be valuable in high school, college, or university, and beyond.
Global perspective: At Dwight Global, classmates are from all around the world. This opens students’ minds to the world around them at an early age, giving them an appreciation for the global community and offering them various views they may not have considered otherwise.
Middle schoolers thrive in the right online middle school. Find out more about Dwight Online Global School and its dynamic and highly respected middle school program here.