If the words “summer school” send chills down your spine, you’re probably not alone. For many, summer classes often evoke visions of being trapped in a hot, stuffy classroom while your friends enjoy all the freedom summer has to offer.

Five ways summer learning benefits students

In the past, parents, students, and school faculty believed summer school was for children who needed to remediate the previous school year or who required a little more attention to address their behavior challenges. Today, summer courses are an opportunity for students in elementary, middle, and high school to enrich their summer.

Benefit 1: Ease educational transitions

Summer classes can help with educational transitions. Leaving elementary school to enter middle school, making the leap from middle to high school, or moving from a traditional brick-and-mortar school can all create disruptions to a student’s routine. Summer learning can help kids who struggle with transitions to develop healthy and effective study skills, improve their organizational skills, or just help them feel prepared for the next step in their educational journey.

Benefit 2: Discover new interests

The beauty of summer learning is it doesn’t need to follow a specific plan. Summer programs allow students to tailor their education to their exact needs and, more importantly, their aspirations. While many students participate in core grade-level courses, the summer is an opportunity to explore educational interests children might not experience in the traditional school year. They can take a world language or explore an elective like marketing, photography, animation, criminal justice, fashion design, forensic science, game design, medical terminology, sports officiating, or more.

Benefit 3: Accelerate education

Summer courses allow students to work ahead in preparation for a busy school year. Grade-level specific courses, including English, math, social studies, and science, provide a foundation for the upcoming semester, especially helpful for students exploring passions outside of the classroom. While a wide variety of elective, world language, and micro course offerings allow students to challenge themselves while earning additional credits.

Benefit 4: Build confidence

Researchers believe after working hard at anything, taking a break reduces stress, enhances focus, and increases productivity. Science also shows extended intervals—like a multi-week or even months long summer vacation—can create mental decay in students known as the summer learning slide.

Summer learning provides the opportunity to bridge the summer learning gap while balancing time off. Students gain what they need to feel confident about entering their next grade level while focusing on their summer goals (and tans).

Benefit 5: Beat boredom

We’ve heard it before: children thrive in routine. Structure keeps students engaged and helps children develop self-discipline. School provides a regular routine and social connections. Additionally, the school year often coincides with sporting and performing arts seasons, filling the hours, days, and weekends for children.

Summer break, especially when it lasts two plus months is a long and disruptive break in routine. Summer learning provides routine, encouraging students to continue healthy study-habits while combating boredom that inevitably appears sometime around week two of video games and binging TV.

How long is summer school?

Summer school is typically a compressed version of the traditional school year. After all, summer is only two to three months, shorter if your child attends a year-round school. Most summer classes last one to four weeks. In some cases or school districts, summer courses last the entire summer break.

Laurel Springs School summer program includes full-year or semester-long courses, lasting 12 or six weeks respectively.

Will summer courses conflict with our summer plans?

For families with plans to experience the world—or at least a good campout, student-athletes with two-a-days, or performing artists participating in summer intensives, online, self-paced summer courses offer learning that matches their lifestyle. Coursework that can be completed at any time of day and the lack of required classroom time ensures students’ outside passions can coexist with academics. All they need is a few hours and an Internet connection.

Summer vacation. It’s time for relaxing, resetting, traveling, and learning. Online summer courses at Laurel Springs School drive students in third through 12th-grade to grow academically outside of the traditional school year. Connect with our team to enroll your student in our summer program.

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