Tips for Turning Your Teen into a Successful Virtual Student

A Different Type Of Summer School

Education, High School, Uncategorized, Virtual School | 0 comments

Reality is setting in for your high school junior. They have realized they won’t graduate with their friends if they continue on their current path, and it is time to do something about it. They are in the same boat as countless others across the nation who need the chance to better a poor grade or make up a missed credit. This is not a dire situation and we can help!

The summer months present the perfect opportunity for your teen to enroll in a credit recovery program. My Virtual Academy district partners offer a unique program that allows students from any high school across the country to take a high school class within an eight-week time period.

Students love completing their credit recovery classes online because of the scheduling flexibility it allows, plus they can do their studies from the comfort of their own home. Our classes utilize the Edmentum curriculum and once enrolled, they will be assigned an academic coach. The coach will contact the student twice a week to answer any questions the student has, discuss their progress, and provide advice and guidance. Parents will also be continuously “in the loop” as the academic coach will contact them twice a week to keep them informed of their students’ progress. If a student is struggling with the material and in need of a tutor, a certified teacher can provide support via phone.

After the student completes the eight-week course, they must take a final exam via zoom. Should the student live outside of that area, they may take the exam at their current school with an approved counselor from the school district.

Courses are very affordable for current students in grades 9-12. While our school is an affordable option for those looking to recover credits, we maintain a high level of standards and meet all State and Common Core requirements.

My Virtual Academy has been awarded accreditation by the North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement (NCA CASI), the Northwest Accreditation Commission (NWAC) and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Council on Accreditation and School Improvement (SACS CASI), the regional accrediting agencies that span the AdvancED global network.

Contact Us

If your teen is in need of credit recovery so they stay on track for graduation, now is the time to enroll. Don’t let their dreams of earning their high school diploma slip through their fingers simply because they need to make up a few credits. For more information on credit recovery, visit our website, call Jennifer Dorcy at 586-791-4110 or email at jenniferd@atsedu.net.

Whats So Big And Bad About Math?

Creative Learning, Education, Mathematics, STEM, Uncategorized | 0 comments

Many, many moons ago, a family was on vacation in Canada. The parents decided to take the family (mom, dad, and 4 youngsters) to see one of the 7 Wonders of the World – Niagara Falls! The beauty that beholds the Earth there is breathtaking. The water rushing over the edge, dropping hundreds of feet below. You can feel the strength and majesty of the Falls just by standing next to it. While everyone else was googling over the wonderment that is the Falls, one of the little girls in that family was tired and bored. She didn’t understand why they had to sit and stare at water. She wanted to go play and do something, anything, else. The little girl stood up and shouted at her parents, “What’s so big and bad about Niagara Falls anyway!?” People around the family laughed and the dad replied, “Honey, one day you’ll look back and laugh. You are too young to understand it now, but you are lucky to be here on this trip and should appreciate what’s around you.”

What’s so big and bad about Niagara Falls?

Often times, we find things in our lives to be tedious and “boring” because we don’t know what we’ll do with the information that we’re learning. Will we ever need to know how chemicals react? Will we ever use the information taught to us in algebra? Will we ever need to recall the names of the early explorers?

Your teen may have questions like those running through their heads as you are reading this. They may be annoyed that they are forced to study various subjects in school, such as math. They may be wondering, “What’s so big and bad about math?” We’ll tell them right now!

An easy way to let your teen know how important math is in their daily life is to relate it to something they are interested in and often times that is money! They know they need money in order to go out with their friends, put gas in their car, etc. They know they’ll need it in the future because they probably have envisioned a lavish lifestyle for themselves and that doesn’t come without a price tag attached. Knowing how to handle money and track it is all about math. They’ll need to know how to do percentages, balance a check book or ledger, pay bills; the list goes on and on!

Some teens might think that because they don’t plan on entering a field related to STEM upon graduation they won’t need to use math after graduation in their line of work. This couldn’t be farther from the truth. People don’t refer to math as the “universal language” for just any old reason. Math is used in all lines of work and actually, if your teen plans on attending a college or university, many won’t allow them to take certain classes until they have a few math classes and other prerequisites under their belt.

If someone just passed through their math class and made it by the skin of their teeth, they might have a hard time with everyday tasks that life presents. For example, they need math skills in order to calculate distances when they are on a road trip. Math skills come into play when cooking, baking, telling time, and even with keeping score when they play sports. Numbers are everywhere in our lives and it’s so important that they take learning math seriously.

When you learn math, you learn how to manipulate numbers but the skills you learn in math aren’t stagnant to just that subject. When your brain learns how to solve math problems, you sharpen your logic skills along with your quantitative reasoning. These skills come together to help you throughout your life to become better at making decisions. You can logic things out and come up with a solution to problems that you’ll face.

A solid foundation in math will set your teen up for success at every stage of their life. It is a skill that simply cannot be done half-heartedly or taken lightly. At My Virtual Academy, it is our mission to have every student succeed. We work diligently with each student to ensure that their academic needs are being met. Our vision for your student doesn’t stop when they leave us after high school graduation. We take pride in ensuring they leave our school with the skills needed to take on the world.

Would your 5 –12th grader benefit from learning virtually in the comfort of their home? Visit our website by clicking here and see what we have to offer. You can also reach us at 800-297-2119 where we can answer any questions you may have. We look forward to hearing from you!

Quick Tips On Note Taking: Take Notes Like A Pro

Education, High School, Study Tips, Test Preperation, Uncategorized | 0 comments

One of the most useful skills you can master when you are a student is effective note taking. It’s a skill that will benefit your student not just in their schooling days, but well into their professional adult life. Note taking helps people retain information longer, better understand the information they are being taught, and improve the recall of information.

Think about it – if notes are written in an unorganized, sloppy way, it will be hard to make sense of them at a later time. Add the fact that your handwriting may be messy if you are writing rapidly and the notes you took are basically useless.

On the other hand, good note taking helps you to:

Remember concepts
Understand topics in a better way
Connect the dots between topics
Engage in active listening to your instructor
Think about what you are writing

Top Note Taking Methods

#1: Summaries

In the Summaries Method, notes are broke down into little summaries. To do this method, you would take notes during a tutorial as neatly as you can. After the tutorial, review your notes and jot down key things you need to remember, including key vocabulary terms. At the bottom of the notes, write a summary that highlights the key points of your notes. People like this method because they can quickly scan the summary to see if they need to delve deeper and review that days notes in preparation for a test since all of the main points and concepts are called out.

#2: Outlining

In this method, you will use headings and bullet points to organize your notes. When you have topics that have a lot of details and nuances, this is the method to use. It keeps your notes nice and organized, and shows a clear relationship between the topics and subtopics. To use this method of note taking, begin each section of notes by listing the main topic at the top of the page (this is your heading) and add bullet points under each heading for each subtopic and/or supporting facts. You may end up with several different indents of bullet points, depending on how much detail needs to be noted.

#3: Mapping

If you have a lot of information and you want to show how various topics are related, then the mapping method is best to use. It is a visual way to put order to a chaotic topic. Your page of notes will be organized by topic then will branch off into subtopics with additional branches citing detailed information.

#4: Charting

When covering topics that have a lot of facts or relationships, charting is an easy way to keep your information organized. This type of note taking is very clear and easy to follow. Key pieces of information are called out for each topic. To do this method, divide your paper into equal columns by category. Use the space below each column header to jot down supportive facts.

Excel with Excellent Notes

At first, notes can look like a bunch of chicken scratch but after spending some time rewriting or organizing the notes, they will prove to be helpful study materials. Have your teen try out some of the note taking methods we mentioned and let us know what they thought by leaving a comment below.

For more tips and tricks head over to our Facebook page, and if you have any questions regarding our program and how we help middle and high school students, visit our website or give us a call at 800-297-2119.

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