Have You Had to Defend Your School Choice?

Have You Had to Defend Your School Choice?

As the parents of a virtual learner, have you ever found that you were in a conversation where you had to defend your school choice? We hear about this off and on from families and it can get frustrating having to defend why you chose virtual learning for your child.

Often times, people are just ignorant to the concept. They’ve maybe heard about it in passing but don’t really know the ins and outs of virtual learning. They don’t understand that your child is perhaps getting a better education than their counterpart that is enrolled in a traditional, brick-and-mortar school.

At My Virtual Academy, our programs are tailored to fit your child’s individual needs. They no longer need to feel that they have to keep up with the rest of the class if they are struggling to understand a concept. They are no longer pushed through with near failing grades just because the rest of the class needs to “move on.”

At My Virtual Academy, if your child is gifted and could use some additional challenges in regards to coursework, we have that covered too. The gifted will no longer have to sit back with boredom while the other 20+ students learn the material that they could do in their sleep. Students can learn at their own pace, however fast or slow that needs to be.

Not only is virtual learning a great benefit in that your student learns at their own pace, but they also can learn comfortably. They no longer need to worry about being bullied at school and picked on at lunch. When students are bullied, all focus goes out the window. All they are concerned about is how they will make it through the day. Will someone pick on them? Will someone embarrass them? That’s a terrible way to spend each and every school day. After all, in the traditional school, they see their peers more than they see their family so who would want to spend all that time being ridiculed and picked on?

At a virtual school, such as My Virtual Academy, we work hard to stomp out bullying. We realize that a lot of our students have faced those challenges in the past and we want their main focus to be on their school work, not on who is picking on them that particular day.

Virtual Learning

Another reason why a lot of families choose virtual learning is because their student couldn’t conform to the rigid hours of traditional school. Having a set 7 hour school day isn’t always realistic and going to work for all families. Some families have someone suffering from a terminal illness that needs care or lots of doctor appointments and hospital stays. Some families are on the road as truck drivers and the student needs to be able to do their schooling on the go. Others are following their athletic dreams and need to work in between practices and competitions. Virtual learning seems to be an excellent choice for those families and it relieves the pressure from the student because they aren’t “falling behind” like they would in a traditional school.

There are also a lot of students that have learning difficulties. Perhaps your child suffers from ADD, ADHD, or dyslexia. These are all common learning differences that can stop a student in their tracks in a traditional middle or high school. Students with learning differences may need a different approach or may need to take extra time. When they are learning virtually, that is okay and expected!

You may find that people question you on how your child socially interacts with others when they learn from the comfort of their own home. The myth that virtual learners don’t interact with other students is just that – a myth! They will still do group projects, interact with other students, and will have weekly interactions with their teachers and mentors. In addition, they can easily sign up for athletic teams, bands, dance class, etc. all through their local recreation center or through their local middle/high school, should they choose.

Online learningIn summary, virtual learning isn’t the “easy way out” or a “fluff” school. Our students work just as hard as any other students and they receive a better education because they are working on their time-frame, at their own pace, in the comfort of their own home. They are able to focus and dedicate the hours needed to complete their coursework, but do so as it fits into their daily schedule.

We love our students and families at My Virtual Academy and we are so happy you decided to have your student work towards their high school diploma with us. You made the right decision to give virtual learning a go and we hope you are seeing the positive impact it has had on your student! Never be ashamed that you spoke up and made the right move for your son/daughter. Should you need any additional resources or would like to connect to others in our My Virtual Academy community, head over to our Facebook page. Our staff updates it regularly and we’d love to stay connected!

If you know anyone who would like to switch to an online learning environment as you have for your student, have them call 800-297-2119 to get started today!

“It’s All in a Day’s Work.” An Interview With an MVA Teacher

“It’s All in a Day’s Work.” An Interview With an MVA Teacher

Teachers are the backbone of a student’s education. Along with parents/guardians, they help keep their students moving forward when life gets hard and they feel like quitting. We go to great pains when bringing a teacher on board at My Virtual Academy, and we may have a slight bias, but we think we have the best teachers around!

Take a moment to watch this edition of “What’s Up Wednesday” with Renee Weaver-Wright where she interviews one of our high school teachers, Mr. Jason Z.

Jason’s passion for teaching radiates in every word he speaks. Like the rest of our staff, Jason makes it a point to develop personal relationships with the students and takes a strong interest in making sure they succeed. One of his main objectives is inspiring each student he meets to achieve success in their academic lives, which usually translates over to their personal lives.

As a student, contact with your mentors, teachers, and supporting staff is vital to your success. Jason contacts his students on an almost daily basis. This contact allows him the chance to see what his students are working on, answer any questions they may have, give some help with the lesson plan they are working on, and direct them to a Curriculum Specialist if they need additional help.

In this interview, Jason points out that a key difference between traditional school and virtual learning: the teacher-student relationship. Even though you are face-to-face on a daily basis in a traditional school, you forge much deeper relationships when you are in a virtual setting. How and when you can interact is not dictated by the bells at the beginning and end of class. With virtual learning, communication happens much more freely and is more flexible. Teachers become more aware of the challenges and struggles their student’s are facing and they can help guide them along the way.

In addition to being an outstanding teacher, Jason is also the designated “Bell Ringer” at MVA. Want to know why we ring the bell? Tune in here to find out why we have this awesome tradition!

After you watch that episode of “What’s Up Wednesday” with Renee and Jason, reach out to us for more information. You care about your student and their success and we do too. Bringing students in and getting them to graduation is our main objective and your student will be no different. You can visit our website, follow us on Facebook and Twitter, or simply give us a call at 800-297-2119. We are currently enrolling for the 2021-2022 school year so call today!!

Teaching Your Teen Critical Thinking Skills

Teaching Your Teen Critical Thinking Skills

Think back to your grade school days, critical thinking has always been something teachers strive to teach their students. After all, it’s a skill that is vital in life. Critical thinking is when someone thinks independently, clearly, and rationally, by connecting ideas, forming their own opinions, analyzing, and then drawing a conclusion.

There are many opportunities to teach your child how to think critically, so don’t just leave it up to their educators. As human beings, we tend to be curious creatures and with a few strategies and talking points, you can turn an everyday moment into a teachable one.

Ask questions that can’t be answered with a simple “yes” or “no.”

Take a moment to think about the questions you are asking your child. Do you always keep things simple and get one word responses? Change up what you ask. Instead of asking if the sky is blue, try asking why is the sky blue. Just switching the question around a little bit will turn it from a no brainer question to one that they have to think about before answering.

Look to classic literature pieces.

Do you have a teen who loves to read? Encourage them to read the great classics, such as Shakespeare. Classic pieces have characters that are deep and rich. They are sure to get your teen thinking in a critical manner while they think about what will happen next in the story, what the characters motives are, and so on.

Teaching Critical Thinking

Relate questions to real life events.

As we mentioned, life presents opportunities at every turn for one to think critically. Watching the evening news, reading the newspaper, or even simply people watching at the local mall will provide plenty of opportunity to pose questions and have open discussions with your teen.

Ask questions such as:

  • What do you think that person was thinking?
  • If you were in their shoes, what would you do?
  • What were the dangers there?
  • Who were the helpers?
  • How would doing that benefit them?
  • How did their actions help achieve their goal?
  • What were the possible outcomes in that situation?

Questions like these will get them digging deeper and also will get them thinking about how they would respond if they were in a particular situation.

Teach them to sort through information.

A big part of critical thinking is knowing how to dissect vast information. Your teen will need to know what information will be crucial to them when forming their opinion and what information is just “fluff.” They will need to know how to read information given to them and find the useful and pertinent facts relative to their topic. They already do this to some extent when working on project or pulling out which information to focus on when studying for a test. Help your student further develop this skill by reading passages from newspapers or articles online. Ask them to read the story and then let you know their opinion and what information they used to form their opinion. This opens a gateway for a nice dialogue between you and your child.

Correct assumptions.

Remember, your teen’s brain is still developing which is why we are focusing on their critical thinking skills. They might have assumptions or misconceptions of what they are reading. This is a great time to talk with them should you notice their line of thinking isn’t factual. When you give them information that they might not have had or explain to them why their assumption is wrong, you are widening their horizons and broadening their knowledge so never miss out on that opportunity.

At My Virtual Academy, we are always striving to incorporate critical thinking into our lesson plans. With help from parents like you at home, your teen will have the skills needed to be successful for life after graduation. Looking to stay in-the-know with the MVA community? Make sure to “like” our Facebook page. Our staff is always sharing useful information about our school and ways to help your students.

Avoiding Distractions While Homeschooling

Avoiding Distractions While Homeschooling

One of the biggest perks about being a virtual student is that you can learn from the comfort of your own home. Unlike traditional school, we don’t care if you stay in your pj’s, are in your bed, or are lounging on the couch while looking over your coursework. You can be as comfortable as you want and learn from wherever you want. That’s part of the draw to virtual learning, right? While all of that is true, you have to have some self-discipline when studying at home because distractions are everywhere!

Studying at home with discipline

Your mind can wander. The television goes on. The neighbor’s dog barks. A loud car flies down the street. Distractions happen constantly around the house. With technology literally at our fingertips, it’s super easy to start browsing the internet or checking your social media accounts and before you know it, hours have flown by and no work has been done.

In a traditional school environment, you need to be physically and mentally present to succeed. Same goes for virtual learning. When your mind wanders or you get tied up doing chores or surfing the internet, it’s easy to start falling behind in your studies. Thinking that you will “catch up tomorrow” doesn’t always pan out so it’s really important to make the commitment and set some limits for yourself. Virtual learning definitely requires some discipline on the student and the parents to make sure time is carved out for learning.

At My Virtual Academy, your success is our number one goal. We design our courses so that success is knocking at your door. You just have to keep your eye on the prize and do your part. When you attend a virtual academy, you are always online. After all, that is how you complete your schooling. It’s vital that you stay motivated and distraction-free so that you can stay focused on the task at hand and keep your schooling on track.

Keep these tips in mind to keep yourself free from distractions:

Setup a study area

You need an area of your house that is dedicated to school. There should be a desk, lamp, computer, plenty of room to work, and other school must-haves like paper, pens, and pencils. This area should be free from distractions and be a warm, inviting area for you to study. Setting the stage for success is important when virtual learning and having a special area that is just for you and your studies is a great step in the right direction!

Turn notifications off

Since you will be learning virtually, you will be onlineTurn off phones during home school hours where there are sure to be tons of distractions. Try turning off your notification settings so that if you receive a notice from one of your social media accounts or a text message, you won’t be alerted and tempted to view it. Keep your study time for your studies. If you were at a traditional school, you wouldn’t be able to check your phone or Facebook in the middle of math class, so use that same mentality when studying at home.

Studies come first

Whether you reach out to a fellow virtual learner to get some help on an assignment or have another friend who gave you a call, make sure to stay on track and keep your studies first. Catching up with friends will have to wait until you have done your work for the day. Same goes for talking to a fellow student. You may find that your conversation wanders to things that don’t have to do with school but try to re-route the conversation and bring it back to school. Get through your work for the day then pick up where you left off.

Be successful with a schedule

As a virtual learner, the day is yours. You do not have to be to school by the time the first bell rings at 7:00am. There are no bells. You set your schedule. For this reason, it’s important to make sure you are responsible and carve some time into each day for your studies and coursework. Make a schedule and stick to it. View the time you scheduled for school just as important as any other thing you have going on because it is! Setting aside time for school every day helps you stay on course and not fall behind.

Plan out your classes and schedule

We are so happy we were able to share these wonderful little tidbits to help keep you on track and on the path to success. We can’t wait to see all of the great things you accomplish during your time at My Virtual Academy! Should you have any questions or are ready to complete your enrollment, give us a call at 800-297-2119. Our friendly staff is standing by and ready to help!

 

Benefits Of Being A Virtual Learner

Benefits Of Being A Virtual Learner

For many students, the traditional classroom simply isn’t the right fit. Perhaps they need a bit longer to grasp the material, compared to most in their classroom. Maybe they are bullied and dread going to school each day. Others may have encountered a health crisis either with them or a close family member and it makes it hard to make it to school on a regular basis. Whatever the situation is, when your 5-12th grader is having difficulties, please know there are other options out there when it comes to completing their schooling.

My Virtual Academy is a tuition-free school that allows your student to learn virtually, in the comfort of their own home. Many students benefit from being a virtual learner because they can learn at their own pace, whether that be fast or slow. Also, our programs are flexible and tailored to each student’s individual needs. Students love that they have more control over their education and do really well in this type of school, when they may have struggled in the past.

Online schools benefit many different types of students such as teen moms, those who travel due to sports, modeling, etc., advanced learners, and those who learn at a slower pace. With technology at everyone’s fingertips these days, being a virtual learner has never been easier! If your student doesn’t have the tools needed to learn at home, don’t fret – we provide it for them while they are enrolled!

Take a look at some of the benefits of virtual learning:

Customized Learning

We don’t make everyone follow the same coursework, regardless of their learning needs. This is not a “one size fits all” approach because that methodology doesn’t work for all students. Our curriculum takes into account each student’s learning needs and objectives. The customization allows students to excel versus feeling overwhelmed and defeated.

Flexibility

Flexibility of being a virtual learnerDoes your student learn at a rapid pace and feel that traditional schools aren’t challenging enough? We’ve got them covered! Does your child get anxious and stumble through things because they need more time, but are rushed to keep up with the rest of the class? We’ve got them covered too! Regardless how your student learns, we will work at their pace to ensure that they succeed. Having the freedom to learn at their own pace gives students the confidence they need to dive in and do their best work.

Early Completion

Is your student looking to graduate ahead of schedule? You’ve come to the right place! Since students learn at their own pace, early graduation is certainly possible for some individuals. Our staff can go over all of the options for your child, if this is something that is of interest to you.

Proficiency in Technology

Students will use a variety of online resources to complete their education, communicate with instructors, as well as with other students. As a result, virtual learners tend to be more technologically fluent and efficient than others their age in traditional schools.

Certified Staff and Amazing Mentors

When people say “it takes a village” to raise a child, that also rings true when it comes to their schooling. Not only will the parent(s) be a strong influence in their everyday schooling, but they will have weekly interaction with their certified teachers and will also be connected with a mentor that will help them and check in to see if they are staying on track.

Learning from the comfort of home

Work Where Comfortable

Some students cannot attend a traditional school regularly due to a variety of life situations. When you are a virtual learner, you can learn anywhere that has an internet connection! This freedom is priceless for many students, such as those who travel a lot for extracurricular activities or who may be in the hospital.

The Pressure is off

Students often feel immense pressure when they are in a traditional classroom. Will they be called upon to read in front of the class? Will they be asked to solve a math problem on the board? For those with anxiety issues or for those who have learning difficulties, day-to-day classroom activities can make for an anxious seven hour school day. Being a virtual learner removes those stressors and allows the student to learn at ease. Students typically exceed expectations when they are learning in a comfortable environment, at their own pace.

See If My Virtual Academy is Right for Your Child

My Virtual Academy is for students in grades 5-12. Our friendly staff would love to talk to you and see if virtual learning would be the perfect fit for your child. Imagine a learning environment where your student is free to be themselves and can learn without the pressures that typically face them at a traditional school. Becoming a virtual learner could be the perfect move for your student! You can browse our website by clicking here, take a stroll on our Facebook page, or call us at 800-297-2119 for additional information and to talk to our staff. We look forward to discussing how MVA could fit your needs.

Will Your Middle Schooler Benefit From Virtual Learning?

Will Your Middle Schooler Benefit From Virtual Learning?

For many students, the traditional classroom simply isn’t working and delivering positive results. Your middle schooler might be struggling with peer pressure, bullying, or learning disabilities that make it hard to keep up with the rest of the students. Think about how different each student is in a classroom. How realistic is it to expect every student to learn in the same way and at the same pace? It’s no wonder some kids get left in the dust or beat themselves up for not being able to keep up.

School doesn’t need to be a struggle. There are options out there besides traditional schooling and one of those options is virtual learning. My Virtual Academy is a tuition-free school that allows your student to learn virtually, in the comfort of their own home. Many students benefit from learning this way because they can learn at their own pace. Also, our programs are flexible and tailored to each student’s individual needs. Students love that they have more control over their education and do really well in this type of school, when they may have struggled in the past.

Online schools benefit many different types of students such as teen moms, those who travel due to sports, modeling, etc., advanced learners, and those who learn at a slower pace. With technology at everyone’s fingertips these days, being a virtual learner has never been easier! If your student doesn’t have the tools needed to learn at home, don’t fret – we provide it for them while they are enrolled!Middle Schooler on Bench

As if those reasons weren’t enticing enough, My Virtual Academy stands out above the rest because we:

  • Have accreditation by Cognia.
  • Ensure that our teachers, success coaches, and mentors make personal contact to direct each student at least twice each week. Tutoring assistance is always available.
  • Use the Edmentum™ software and have customized its Plato® classes for middle school student success. A team of middle school teachers and curriculum specialists have created our own customized Back On Track courses.
  • Have added a new two-pronged approach to learning to diagnose strengths and needs and deliver targeted instruction to help learners achieve growth and proficiency:
    • Reading, Language Arts, and Math – Exact Path individualizes learning to ensure students work at their appropriate grade level. Adaptive diagnostic assessments provide reliable growth measures while metrics from adaptive learning progress tacks the student’s progress.
    • Math, ELA, Science, and Social Studies – Study Island® promotes proficiency with over 600,000 practice and assessments built to state standards. Data from flexible practice sessions and customized classroom assessments track progress toward standards mastery.
  • Have curriculum that is interactive and media-rich with activities and learning tools to really engage students.
    • Reading tools include dictionary, slide narration, and click-to-speak
    • Highlighter tool for note-taking
    • Computerized note taking section
    • Translation tools especially helpful for ESL students
    • Scoring rubrics focused on learning and retention
    • Ability to replay and repeat lesson until mastery is achieved
  • Employ teachers that are State certified and monitor each student’s progress and track activity daily.
  • Keep parents informed and try to involve them in their child’s education.
  • Ensure our curriculum is aligned with State standards and can be accessed 24 hours a day, seven days a week on any device.

Let’s not leave your child in a classroom that simply isn’t meeting their needs. Taking the first step to make the change is the hardest, but it will be one of the best decisions you’ve ever made in regards to your child’s schooling.

Our friendly staff would love to talk to you and see if virtual learning would be the perfect fit for your adolescent. Imagine a learning environment where your student is free to be themselves and can learn without the pressures that typically face them at a traditional school. You can browse our website by clicking here or call us at 800-297-2119 for additional information and to talk to our staff. We look forward to discussing how My Virtual Academy could fit your needs.