High school credit recovery Algebra1 and Spanish1 during summer?
My child who is a freshman in an OUSD high school is rebelling by refusing to complete her assignments in Spanish 1 and Algebra 1. She has a therapist now and I’m also working with the school to try to help her but she may end up with some Fs this June. I understand that it’s up to her in the end but if she does want to make up Algebra 1 and Spanish (or French) 1 during the summer, I’d like recommendations for summer school programs, whether online or in-person. OUSD has a lot of good people working in it but it’s so overwhelmed and underfunded. I’m not sure they’ll have enough credit recovery classes for my daughter to catch up if she wants to. I’m not at all wealthy but I’m willing to pay some money if that will get my daughter accredited online or in-person classes in which she can get the support she needs to pass these classes during the summer. She has no learning problems other than this rebellious refusal to do the work. I really think that she is going to want to graduate on time with her friends and to be accepted to a university upon graduation, so I hope she can catch up during the summer.
Thanks for your recommendations.
Parent Replies
This is not exactly what you asked for but one option for catching up on Spanish credits would be to take a class at Laney or another community college. One semester of college language class generally counts for 2 years of high school courses. Since she's having a rough time with school work right now maybe not doing too much this summer but planning on the community college route for language credit if she decides later that she wants to graduate UC eligible may be a good solution. Of course you should check with her HS counselor about this to make sure it would work for her.
Fusion (locations in Berkeley and Walnut Creek) is great for this situation. They have a 1 to 1 teacher/student model that ensures they are able to engage every student. My son left OUSD and now attends full time but there are many that sign up for just one or two classes. He loves going to school there. Enrollment is year round so she can take the classes over the summer- either virtual or in person. They are really good with students that have a history of school refusal or anxiety.
Community college is free for HS students and they offer summer classes - I'll be that might work for your daughter? Good luck!
I don't know if it's in your budget, but I'd like to recommend Tilden Preparatory School as an option for your daughter. My child started there when a traditional school setting stopped working for him (for a variety of reasons). Tilden is a one-on-one school, and because of that, it's very flexible and perfect for summer catch up (as well as year-round school). There are campuses in Walnut Creek and Albany, but if that's too far for you, teachers can also easily meet with students online. For my kid, the change in academic setting was life-altering. He went from feeling anxious every day at school, to being able to focus on his studies and move at his own pace. In some cases, this meant being able to move much faster than he was able to in a regular school. The teachers are very familiar with all kinds of kids. If it helps, my child has really enjoyed his math and Spanish classes.