Ah, summer. The smell of freedom, chlorine, freshly cut grass, and…dropping math and reading levels? While students may enjoy the long break from school, research shows that their educational progress does not. The two to three month learning hiatus can lead to major setbacks for already struggling students, resulting in lower standardized test scores, unhealthy eating habits, and higher dropout rates, especially among at-risk groups. OnlineCollege.org has put together research highlighting the dangers of summer learning loss. Below are just a few of those dangers:
5 Major Benefits of Summer School
Summer school offers a great opportunity to retake a class for a better grade, catch up on credits, or take a fun elective. However, many students are averse to the idea of losing opportunities to travel, work a summer job, or play on with a sports team. Options For Youth’s FREE summer school program offers all of the above opportunities without sacrificing the freedoms of summer. Below are just a few of the benefits OFY offers.
Advantages of a Blended Learning Classroom
If you don’t understand what blended learning, don’t worry, you’re not the only one. We’re here to help! Blended learning is an educational model that uses different instructional methods to teach students, usually including traditional classroom settings, independent study courses, virtual learning (or online learning), and other innovative methods like social/emotional or experiential learning. More schools are embracing blended […]
Charter School Pros & Myths
As more students are enrolling in charter schools, it becomes important for parents to stay up-to-date on the educational options available to their kids. However, parents and students often misunderstand what charter schools are and how they benefit students and communities. In this article, we’ll address these charter school pros and myths. Here are three things that all […]
STEM Spells Success in Careers
Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics, also known as ‘STEM’, make up the fastest growing occupations in the United States. Currently, STEM job openings are growing by a staggering 17%! Compare that to all other non-STEM occupations which are growing at 9.8%. Therefore it’s clear that STEM Spell’s Success in Careers. Future Jobs Require STEM While […]
What is a Charter School?
Charter schools are growing more popular as an alternative to traditional public education, with a lot of headlines in the news. But there can be some confusion and misunderstanding around how they work. So what is a charter school? The Rise of Charter Schools The first charter school opened in 1991 in Minnesota, and since […]
California Parents Want Options – and so do California Students. Here’s My Story
This week, OFY alum, Braxton Turner, shares his struggle with finding a high school that was the right fit for him, and how it happened in a totally unexpected way. As a true advocate for educational choice, Braxton believes (and we agree!) that every student has a unique story, and every student deserves a quality […]
Four Major Benefits of Social/Emotional Learning
In the field of education, it has traditionally been assumed that students should leave their feelings at the door if they are serious about learning and want to be successful. Academic and social emotional issues are considered separate, and anything that doesn’t directly relate to students’ academic performance must be dealt with outside the classroom. […]
Mind the Gap – Why Summer Learning is Important
Everyone loves summer. As soon as the last school bell rings, students grab their backpacks and race out the door, leaving all thoughts of dangling participles, quadratic equations and conjugated verbs behind. And what happens next? Sometimes it’s camp or summer reading programs. More often it’s a lot of TV watching, video games, social media, […]
A Safe Space for All LGBTQ Students
For every student and parent, school should feel like a safe place to learn, grow, and succeed. Unfortunately, according to a 2007 survey conducted by the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, 86% of LGBTQ students reported experiencing harassment at school, three-fifths of students felt unsafe at school because of their sexual orientation, and one-third […]
