Navigating the Transition to High School: Insights for Homeschoolers and Educators

One of the first big changes in a young student’s life is making the jump to high school. It’s also a big change for parents and educators navigating the transition with them. 

The move to high school brings a variety of challenges and changes for everyone: increased academic demands, added social and emotional anxieties, and new opportunities for extracurricular activities and elective courses.

For parents and educators, the biggest challenge can be helping students prepare for high school and all the changes that come with it. This preparation, however, can help everyone experience the change together, hopefully reducing friction and angst. 

Parents and educators can help students prepare for high school in a few different ways, including:

• Laying the groundwork for a smooth transition
• Finding and choosing appropriate high school academic material
• Adapting the learning environment to reflect a more serious and mature educational approach

Helping students approach this major life transition with the right attitude and mindset is important because it will teach them how to deal with change throughout their lives. 

Challenges and Changes

Academic Demands

Compared to their previous academic experience, new high schoolers should expect a more rigorous and demanding workload. This is because their rapidly growing teenage brains should be expected to handle abstract reasoning better and they should be able to stay focused for longer periods. All of this translates to higher capacities for homework and classwork and the ability to successfully complete longer and more involved projects. 

At the same time, high school offers a greater opportunity for students to explore their own unique interests. Rather than stay entirely within a strict core curriculum, high school students should be encouraged to take electives and pursue extracurricular activities that they enjoy.

Extracurriculars

High school is a time for students to pursue interests and activities outside the basic requirements necessary for graduation and this pursuit should be encouraged by parents and educators to create a more well-rounded educational experience. For those interested in attending competitive colleges, extracurricular activities can help provide differentiation for college admissions, build a student’s leadership credentials, or showcase service and commitment to their community.  

Surprisingly, homeschoolers tend to pursue more extracurricular activities than non-homeschoolers, with 98 percent of homeschooled students participating in up to 5 extramural activities each week. 

Many high school students tend to gravitate to after-school activities that line up with their interests, including music, sports, or art. If they don’t (or haven’t yet), don’t worry! It’s never too late for a student to take up a new hobby or pursuit. Whether it’s a public, private, or homeschool high school, there are plenty of great places to find new friends with aligned interests, including clubs, co-ops, and intramural sports. 

Electives

Electives are also important to developing a well-balanced secondary education. They help set the stage for new interests and career paths, and they help increase academic engagement.

One of the best ways to identify suitable electives is to examine past strengths and weaknesses. 

For example, if a student has previously shown strong proficiency in math and science, a physics elective might be worth considering. If they consistently get good grades in social studies, an elective on the Revolutionary War might be a good option.

Homeschool high school generally affords students greater flexibility to pursue electives than public school. First and foremost, homeschool students can pursue electives that public or private high schools might not offer. They can even design their own elective courses based on curricula they find online, expanding their learning pathways and keeping them engaged and motivated. 

Social and Emotional Challenges

Entering high school is a big shift, regardless of the educational setting. While higher academic demands are universal, the social and emotional challenges of high school will vary greatly depending on the student’s situation.

There are many reasons for this. Many families will homeschool their children through primary and secondary school, while some prefer to homeschool through middle school, and then transition to a public or private high school. Others prefer to send their children to public or private schools, and then homeschool them through their high school years. Still others will send their children to public or private school for the duration of their primary and secondary education. 

As a result of these various scenarios, there are a variety of experiences a student might face:

Homeschooling K-12. In this situation, students face the least amount of change in transitioning. The transition is a bit easier as the homeschool environment doesn’t change that much, even though the homeschool classroom might. Likewise, social anxieties are reduced, since the student’s circle of friends doesn’t change that much. The biggest source of angst for these students is often the increased academic workload. This scenario is similar for students who attend public or private school for the duration of their primary and secondary education. 

Homeschooling first, followed by public or private high school. These students will experience a high amount of social change all at once, in addition to higher academic expectations. Navigating a much larger and more complicated social environment can be emotionally difficult and students going through this experience will need guidance and understanding from parents and educators.

Public or private school, followed by homeschooling.  In this situation, students may feel like they have a changed social experience, compared to what they are used to. This can be good for some students, especially those who are more introverted. Highly extroverted students will want to maintain important social ties and friendships. Thankfully, homeschool environments now present as many social opportunities as traditional high school.

Each of these scenarios presents unique challenges and demands for student and their parents or educators. Getting involved with a support network or homeschooling co-op can help with identifying these challenges and their solutions.

Ultimately, educators should strive to provide a high-quality education, regardless of the setup. Therefore, students of all stripes will face similar academic challenges. 

Helping Students Prepare for High School

Creating a Smooth Transition

Ideally, preparations for high school should begin as early as 7th grade. Academic expectations should be gradually increased to make a smooth transition from middle school to high school.

Educators should regularly inform students of how expectations will change in high school. For example, late assignments may be tolerated to a degree for younger children, but less so for adolescents. Educators should also periodically remind middle schoolers that their future classes will be longer and require more focus.

It’s important to have open and honest discussions about the transition with children and pre-teens for a couple of reasons:

• To set realistic expectations for their success.
• To assuage any fears they might have.
• To help them begin to define their education for themselves.

One skill that middle schoolers should work to develop is effective time management. High school will place greater demands on their attention and will require a diligent, organized approach to working and studying.

Watch or listen to our episode on time management.

Finding and Choosing High School Level Materials

It can be a good idea to start teaching from some high school level materials early. This is especially true if your child is exceptionally strong in one or more academic areas. 

Fortunately, the internet provides a wealth of appropriate resources. Here are a few examples:

• Demme Learning is of course one of the best resources for curriculum support and has a wide selection of skills-based products and materials.
• WeAreTeachers has links to numerous free teaching resources, including classroom ideas and printable downloads.
• OpenLibrary, part of the Internet Archive, is an incredible resource for digitally borrowing books and textbooks. 

In generations past, the hardest part of forming a curriculum was just getting the materials together in the first place. Today, educators are more likely to face the opposite problem – having to choose between too many different options.

To that end, educators should think of themselves as curricula curators. Be prepared to critique and examine every teaching resource you see, so you can discover what works best over time.

Additionally, you can involve your students in the curation process as well. Ask them how they feel about different course materials: Are they clear? Helpful? Organized in a useful way?

Developing this skill will help students become more independent self-learners in the future, and by showing students different materials, you can learn what works best for their individual learning styles.

Adapting the Learning Environment

Adapting the learning environment to high school requires a lot of flexibility and change. It may be a classroom experience or an individual experience that is structured as a more independent learning environment.  

Parents can help their students thrive in these new environments by helping them anticipate change, manage expectations, and think about their futures in a proactive way.

Embracing the Homeschool High School Journey

Although the transition to high school can be tough, it is also an exciting opportunity for growth and change.

Life is full of big changes like this. Rarely do we live five years without making a major life transition. And life is more exciting when we do go through such a change.

Helping your students make the jump to high school will help them feel more prepared for making the big jumps for the rest of their lives.

To learn more about transitioning your student to life after high school, check out this episode of The Demme Learning Show where host Gretchen Roe chats with Alice Reinhardt about transcripts, goal setting, and the conversations you want to have with your student as they enter this major life-change.