A Parent’s Role in Online Learning: How to Support Your Online Middle Schooler

Changing a child’s learning environment can be exciting and successful while also being a little scary and rocky. Oftentimes parents or guardians of students simply aren’t sure of what their role should be. This is not surprising and we feel for parents who have gone through a difficult year of trying to be both parent and teacher while students were forced to learn online through emergency virtual learning.

Although this was the case for many because of the pandemic, this is not the case for middle school at BlueSky. We want parents to be involved of course, but they really are able to treat online learning at BlueSky like a traditional school in the sense that our teachers and administration will be there to guide students every step of the way.

To better give our families peace of mind and insight into what their role is for online learning, we have outlined how to best support your online middle schooler as a parent. We want parents to have the trust and confidence in us and know that we provide your student with teachers and counselors so that you can just focus on the most important role; parent.

A Typical Day of Online Middle School at BlueSky

Just like traditional school, middle schoolers at BlueSky are expected to be in attendance for their live sessions. This means that they will be online and participating in a virtual classroom. Virtual classrooms will have up to twenty students and one teacher. Although students are expected to be in attendance, the classes are recorded so that students can rewatch the lessons if needed.

Middle schoolers start their day with what we call advisory. It’s an opportunity for students to connect with their advisor and their classmates. After advisory students will have two to three live classes throughout the day during which they will be assigned homework and given time to work on assignments at their leisure.

During the typical school hours, students are able to work together one-on-one with their teachers to get additional help on assignments or course work. Our teachers are ready and willing to spend time with any student who wants a little more support.

We structure our days around providing students with the most support possible. Both for academics and social and emotional support. Our staff of professional and certified teachers and counselors are committed to being present and helpful for every unique student so that parents don’t feel like they have to take on additional roles.

How A Parent Can Best Support Their Middle Schooler

Our goal for our middle schoolers is that they have a productive and successful learning experience here at BlueSky. Parents can absolutely be a big part of their success! In order to best help your middle school succeed in online learning, there are a few things parents can do.

Set Up A Designated School Area

Working from home has taught many of us the power of a designated space. The same goes for at-home learning. Students will thrive if they have fewer distractions and setting up an intentional space for learning is the best way to avoid distraction. It can be as simple as a corner of a room.

Encourage Communication

This tip goes for both students and parents. Encourage your student to be communicative with their teachers by leading by example. Make sure to reply and read any messages that come through from teachers or counselors and stay involved by communicating with BlueSky. This will help to encourage your student to also connect with their support system at BlueSky and will have a big impact on their success.

Check-In With Your Student

The most successful students are those that have frequent but informal check-ins with their families. Check on your student regularly to make sure they’re doing well in their school work but also that they’re feeling mentally and emotionally balanced.

Use BlueSky Support

We are here to help! Utilize the support we provide and don’t be afraid to reach out to us with anything you need. Our goal is to help each and every BlueSky student have a positive and effective experience here.

Help Your Student Stay Organized

If your student works best with a paper calendar or by writing down their assignments, give them the tools to do that! Every student is different and sometimes a virtual organization system isn’t best. Hear your students out about what works best for them. Staying organized and having a system in place will help them tremendously.

If you’re curious about online middle school at BlueSky, reach out to us! We are here to be a support and a resource for our families and students.