Keep Learners Engaged with Summer Classes From iLEAD Online Charter School In Santa Clarita
The project-based and subject-integrated summer classes from iLEAD online, a tuition free charter school in Santa Clarita, offer kids a chance to have fun while getting ahead.
On a recent episode of Matt Watson’s “Eye on the Valley,” Strategic Arts Coordinator Sara McDaniels discussed how iLEAD Online’s summer classes can help Santa Clarita families give their kids an educational boost while also involving them in creative projects.
At the charter school in Santa Clarita, learners are challenged with project-based lessons that often integrate all four core subjects (language arts, math, science and social studies). The “Track C” summer classes, specifically, are month-long sessions which allow learners to receive credit more quickly than if they were taking traditional classes.
“I know that some kids — especially our high schoolers — they want to get ahead, they want to get their credits early, so that’s an option for that,” McDaniels acknowledged.
In addition to single-subject classes for the upper grades, McDaniels explained that iLEAD Online’s summer curriculum will also include “a whole range of classes that they have coming up that are for second through eighth graders,” which integrate multiple subjects.
McDaniels compared these classes to virtual “summer camps” where kids can utilize skills from “all four core academic subjects” to build a “fun culmination project.”
One of the classes offered by the tuition free charter school in Santa Clarita is called “Junk Debunked: A Journey of transforming Trash and Natural Materials into Treasure.”
After a month of instruction and creative learning, second and third graders will build an “artistic natural creation, junk masterpiece or conservation awareness campaign” using skills gained over the course of the class.
“There’s some really great options, and it’s going to be very interactive,” McDaniels said.
McDaniels compared this approach to other online curriculums, where interaction between students and staff is often kept to a minimum.
Unlike classes in which learners “just log online and pull off (their) assignments and work independently and turn them in by a certain date,” the iLEAD curriculum ensures learners get plenty of time to work through the details of their projects with teachers.
Matt Watson further explained how learners will have a number of staff to connect with throughout their summer iLEAD classes.
“With iLEAD Online, you not only get your facilitator — your teacher that’s there connected with your kid directly, … they also get an academic coach,” said Watson. “They’ve got tutoring, they’ve got multiple adults that will connect with them one-on-one.”
McDaniels explained that the “Track C” classes offered by iLEAD online charter school in Santa Clarita will begin July 1, and Watson recommended interested parties visit the iLEAD Online website to find out more about summer “Track C” courses.
