Child Education and Technology in 2021: Choosing the Right School for Your Child
Attending school is an important part of a child’s life. Education is key to a successful and progressive life. But attending a traditional school isn’t applicable to everyone. Some families move frequently due to the nature of the parents’ work. The move can be from state to state or to a different country altogether.
Fortunately, there are ways for children of frequently traveling families to get proper education and meet the educational requirements to pursue higher education in the future. Here are two excellent options:
Charter School
Charter schools have been around for 20 years and were created to serve a special student population. This gives parents more options for their children’s education.
Because of its success and continuous impressive learning outcomes, charter schools have adapted an online approach to broaden the availability of this educational method. A modernized online charter school and a traditional charter school are also public schools — they are tuition-free and publicly funded. The key difference is charter schools follow charter policies aside from the state law.
But physical charter schools have different requirements than online charter schools. While both types of charter schools approve students who reside outside the school’s district to attend their school, online charters do not have a cap on the number of students that can enroll in their school.
With the face-to-face charter shooting method, a student applicant will be given a seat provided that there is an available slot to accommodate them and that they are eligible for the grade level they are enrolling in.
The enrollment in a face-to-face charter school is on a first-come, first-served basis. And in cases where the available seats are fewer than the number of applications coming in, by law, the selection will be done by conducting a randomized blind charter school lottery. This restriction and condition are non-existent in online charter schools.
On top of that, online learning is becoming a norm in the educational system. Other countries, not just the US, have begun offering online classes to their students, from preschool level all the way to post-graduate level. This also allows children whose parents move states for work, to continue their schooling with virtually no interruption at all.
Charter schools also offer a huge benefit to students with disabilities, allowing their parents to have more options with their children’s public school education. This is just one of the many advantages and benefits that an online charter school offers to parents and students with special needs and those who prefer online learning.
In light of the events of the last couple of years, online learning has become the primary option for parents and students themselves, in order to continue their education despite the on and off lockdowns and pandemic restrictions. This means the learner can take their studies anywhere and can attend school even if they have to move from one location to another.
International School
Parents who travel for work often worry about how their children can continue their schooling and find a school that has a familiar environment for their children. This is a huge concern especially for families who will be staying in a foreign country for more than a year.
Fortunately, there are international schools (IS) to accommodate students who prefer a traditional school environment and learn the curriculum in their own language. Enrollment is easy as international schools accept new students every year. The students come from all over the world, including locals whose parents opt to send their kids to an international school.
However, when sending your child to an IS, except that there will be fees involved. These fees are on top of the tuition, so it is best to inquire what is and isn’t included in the tuition cost, as this can vary from school to school.
Some international schools also require a deposit, which is refundable once the child graduates or withdraws from the school. There are other fees to consider, including a re-enrollment fee to reserve a current student’s seat for the next school year which is actually part of the next school year’s tuition cost.
But before that, there are also application fees and registration fees to consider, and these fees may or may not be required depending on the school policy.
Choosing the right educational method and school for your child is a big decision. Your decision will be affected by various factors such as mobility, location, availability, fees, and the tools used to deliver the information. Whether you prefer a charter school, traditional or online, or are looking to send your child to an international school while you stay overseas, it’s important to involve your child in the decision-making process if they’re old enough to do so.
This will allow them to understand what the available options are and learn the difference between the options that they have. The more they know, the more prepared they will be, and the more satisfied you are going to be with the choice that you and your child have made.
Otherwise, when choosing a school for your young child, consider their strong suit, your family’s long-term plans, and the type of environment that you can see your child flourishing, whether it’s a traditional environment or a digital learning environment.
Meta title:Future-Ready and Tech-Enabled Learning are the Ways of the Future
meta desc: Picking the right school for your child isn’t an easy one. Choosing between public, private, and distance-learning? We’ve got the information to help you right here.