How Summer School Works in Online School

March 25, 2024 byConnections Academy

5 min to read

Online summer school student looking at her ipad

Parents and even students may hold some misconceptions about summer school, like that it’s only for students who fall behind during the regular school year. While summer school does help students who need to catch up on certain subjects or redo courses, there are many benefits for any student who wants to take classes over the summer, whether they want to avoid the summer slide learning loss, explore new interests, master challenging subjects, recover lost credits, or work towards early graduation.

Students who want to pursue summer school may avoid looking into it because they think they have to attend summer school in person. But with busy summer vacation or work schedules getting in the way, it may be challenging to find time to attend in-person summer school classes in a brick-and-mortar school. This leaves many families wondering whether it’s possible to do summer school online.

Can You Do Summer School Online?

Families who want the benefits of taking classes over the summer but who need more flexible scheduling options may be asking: Is there online summer school?

The good news is that there are online summer learning programs for students in all grade levels. Pearson Online Academy offers a flexible online summer school program for students in grades K–12 with courses on a wide range of subjects taught by qualified teachers.

How Does Online Summer School Work?

Summer school courses are just like regular school courses but condensed into a shorter timeframe. How long online summer school classes last varies by program, but typically courses run for six weeks, beginning shortly after the end of the regular school year.

Online summer schools often offer flexible start dates, no set class schedules, and a self-paced curriculum, allowing them to enjoy summertime fun, part-time jobs, internships, or any other activities while also working learning into their day.

Online summer school programs provide an enriching academic environment with courses that meet both basic graduation requirements and expand upon course offerings at their local school. Online summer learning also provides students with the opportunity to collaborate with other students from across the nation.

Who Should Attend Summer Classes Online?

All students can benefit from summer school. Programs are especially beneficial to:

High school students that need credit recovery courses or original credit courses to meet graduation requirements
Students interested in the NCAA who can take NCAA-eligible courses to stay engaged in the curriculum while having time for practices, competitions, and workouts
Students in at any grade level who are interested in continued learning, enrichment, or intervention support on specific subjects over the summer
High school students who want to graduate early

5 Benefits of Online Summer School

For parents and students thinking about enrolling in online summer school, here are five key benefits:

1. Avoid Summer Learning Loss

According to research, “summer slide” causes students to lose up to 34% of the prior year’s learning over summer break.

Online summer school keeps students engaged with teacher-guided learning to help avoid summer slide, offering hundreds of course options ranging from core subjects like math and language arts to enrichment classes like art and music. Students can even start learning a new language! Students can explore other subjects and interests that they wouldn’t be exposed to during the regular school year.

2. Reinforce Knowledge and Get Ahead

Many online summer school courses can help reinforce knowledge in core subjects like reading and math to help students catch up with their peers if they have fallen behind during the normal school year.

High school students can also take advantage of honors and Advanced Placement®* courses to get ahead in their learning and improve their GPA.

3. Make Up Missed Credits

For students that didn’t earn the required credits after taking a course needed for graduation, summer schools like Pearson Online Academy offer credit recovery courses. Pearson Online Academy summer school credit recovery courses adapt to each student’s needs by focusing on areas of weakness to ensure success.

4. Maintain Routines

A key benefit of summer school for students is maintaining a routine throughout the summer. Children thrive when they follow a daily routine and know what to expect each day. Online summer school helps students maintain a routine they know from the school year and keeps their study skills sharp, all while giving families the flexibility to mix in different summertime activities.

5. Graduate Early from High School

Students who take online summer school classes may have the opportunity to graduate early and get a head start in college. High school students can take core credit classes over the summer instead of waiting until the next school year. They can also take honors and Advanced Placement®* courses that can help make their transcript more impressive to college admissions departments.

Is Summer School Right for Your Family?

Online summer school can be a valuable and worthwhile experience for students who want to continue strengthening and developing their learning skills. Get your questions answered about Pearson Online Academy’s summer school program and check out their full course list and how to enroll.

Be sure to supplement any online summer school program or summer enrichment activities by encouraging your student to read all summer!

*Advanced Placement® is a registered trademark of the College Board. Used with permission.