Welcome to the newest addition to our school website – the Garfield Online Blog! This section, written by the Garfield Online team, is intended to provide encouragement, validation, and practical solutions for some of the most challenging aspects of participating in a home-based public school program. We are honored to be a small part of the village supporting your family in this journey.
Up first, one of the toughest questions on the docket: What do I do if my student is not on grade level?
We get it. This is a reality that has been brought to our attention by many of the families enrolled in our program. Children are not “one size fits all.” Families who enroll with Garfield Online typically do so to gain the ability to tailor their student’s education to their student’s unique academic needs. However, after completing enrollment, families often feel overwhelmed with communications and assignments from the school that seem to place a significant emphasis on the level of work their student is completing – how frustrating.
We’d like to make one point clear: while Garfield Online is a distance-education public school that values a student’s ability to complete grade-level work, we simultaneously understand that most children have strengths and weaknesses across subject areas. Everyone learns at their own pace. Our goal is to help bridge the gap between where your student is and where your student could be — which is likely a goal you have as well! We want to help you move the needle forward, at a pace that fits your child.
Let’s begin by acknowledging the dedication and care homeschool families put into their student’s education. We know that parents/guardians want what is best for their child, and we understand the reasoning behind focusing on material at your student’s current academic level – building confidence and ensuring foundational skills are solid. However, we grow concerned that continuing to teach only below-grade-level lessons can unintentionally keep your student from ever catching up to their peers.
Think of it like a high school baseball player who, after struggling repeatedly at the plate, is only allowed to practice hitting off a tee. While this may help with some mechanics and the player is sure to experience success in this practice, hitting from a tee won’t prepare them to face real pitchers or advance their skills to the level required for a team. By the end of the season, the player will have made no real progress! Similarly, while it’s vital to address the academic gaps of each student, all students need consistent exposure to grade-level material to develop the skills and confidence to succeed. In sports, it is common for a person who is struggling to put more time and effort into practicing… However, when it comes to academics, we sometimes expect students to achieve the same results by doing less.
Here is where the practical solutions come in. If you have a student who is performing below grade level, continue reviewing and filling in foundational gaps (let your student practice hitting off of the tee a few times), but also introduce grade-level concepts alongside (pitch them a real ball every now and then). This way, your student has the opportunity to progress and won’t be left further behind as time goes on.
Depending on what level your student is at, here are some generic structures that could be used:
- Option 1: 20% Grade Level Work + 80% Intervention/Review Work
- Option 2: 30% Grade Level Work + 70% Intervention/Review Work
- Option 3: 40% Grade Level Work + 30% Intervention/Review Work
- Option 4: 50% Grade Level Work + 50% Intervention/Review Work
- These ratios may also be reversed, so your student is completing more grade-level work than intervention work, if this feels appropriate to your unique situation.
The Garfield Online team is here to support you. Please check with your student’s grade-level teacher for the availability of extra resources that can be used to help your student, such as:
- Tutoring
- IXL Interactive Online Learning
- Lexia Reading
- i-Ready Math
- Generation Genius Science
- Curriculum Recommendations
Thanks for being a part of Garfield Online, where we believe education should be STUDENT CENTERED, PARENT LED, and TEACHER SUPPORTED.