Summary: As prices continue to go up, more and more teens are starting to enter the workforce. Whether to sustain themselves/their families or to explore their passions, it is difficult to juggle working and studying. Online school at Primavera ensures that you are able to have the best of both worlds.
II. Limits of Traditional School for Working Students
III. Do I Even Need a High School Diploma?
IV. How Does Online School Help Me Get My Diploma While Working?
F. Accommodating Teachers and Staff
V. What Else Can I Do to Balance Work and Online School?
D. Ask for Help When You Need It
Introduction
Working students everywhere are asking themselves, “Can I work and finish high school at the same time?” The answer is yes. Modern problems require modern solutions, and online high school is the modern solution for you!
Students always have a lot to juggle: schoolwork, hobbies, friendships, and other extracurricular activities. Adding a job into the equation can make the balance feel impossible but sometimes having a job is a necessity. Maybe you want to monetize your passions, explore how far your athletic or artistic abilities can go, or maybe you want to contribute more at home and/or have some pocket money for yourself.
Working students who go to traditional schools are usually stressed in one way or another. They feel like they either need to catch up on work or with school, sometimes spending sleepless nights just trying to get back on track. One always has to give way to another, and more often than not, students give up their education for their work. But if you enroll in an online school then you can have the best of both worlds. Online school allows your schedule to work around you, not the other way around.
Limits of Traditional School for Working Students
The traditional school model does not account for modern problems or gives students space to fully explore their passions. They try their best, but they are unable to accommodate all kinds of students. Working students need full flexibility and personalization of their education.
According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, more and more teens are joining the labor force. Arizona follows both federal and state laws, allowing 14–15-year-olds to start working within limited hours. 16–17-year-olds have looser rules when it comes to working, but these rules still exist.
Traditional schools fit a certain type of student the best. A student who is fully supported by their family and lives at home. It works for students whose sole responsibility is to go to school on weekdays and study on weekends. But not all students have this as their reality. Many have part-time jobs, family businesses, athletic/artistic commitments, and/or family responsibilities.
Working teens in a traditional school feel even more stress considering:
- shifts that start before school starts/right as it ends
- doing homework after a long day at work
- pressure to choose between going to school or missing a paying shift
Do I Even Need a High School Diploma?
It is very common to choose work over school as a working student. The need to get an income may be more urgent than the need to get a high school diploma. But getting a diploma can open more doors for you.
It can lead to higher paying positions and higher education opportunities. Getting a high school diploma can offer you a sense of security no matter what life throws at you. Whether you chose to pursue further studies, trade school, work, or the military.
How Does Online School Help Me Get My Diploma While Working?
Online school offers you the flexibility and personalization that traditional school is just unable to provide to all its students. Here are other ways that online school can give you the perfect balance that you need as a working student.
1. Study Whenever
- Online school lets you choose your own schedule. Study when it suits you. Your time is valuable so how you arrange your schedule is very important. Make sure that you give space for the time that you need to work and to rest, of course. This flexibility can help you pick your shifts/when to work, give you time to grow a business, and/or travel without feeling like you are falling behind.
2. Study Wherever
- All the world becomes a classroom as long as you have internet and a tablet or laptop. Your learning does not have to be limited to the same 4 walls. You don’t need to worry about how much time it will take for you to go to school or how much time it will take to get to work after school.
3. Lessen Distractions
- Getting to choose when and where you study lets you eliminate as much distractions as you can. When it’s time to study you know it’s focus time. There are no noisy classmates that you must wait for to settle down before starting your lesson.
4. Study at Your Pace
- The flexibility and personalization of online school does not just stop with where and when you choose to learn. It continues with the pace of what you learn. It focuses on how much you master a lesson, whether you need to slow down to fully understand certain concepts or when you can speed up when topics come easily to you. This removes the feeling of wasting time in class repeating lessons you already understand. It also reduces the feelings of stress or rushing to keep up with your classmates because your pace is the only one that matters. Of course, there are still chances to socialize with your classmates, but these are in a more controlled environment. You don’t have to worry too much about falling behind when you have a heavy work week because you can make up for it next week. You can always make time to catch up.
5. Credit Recovery
- You can take the chance to catch up or even get ahead of your schedule without needing to add a whole other school year to your timeline.
6. Accommodating Teachers and Staff
- Primavera offers students and teachers various channels to communicate with one another. Our qualified and compassionate staff are always happy to help you balance school and work. They can also help you plan for the future while making sure that you make the most out of your education.
Online school lets you take the reins of your education, giving you the freedom and flexibility to learn on your own terms. It lets you make time for your other commitments but still holds you accountable academically and gives you the support you need when you need it.
What Else Can I Do to Balance Work and Online School?
An online school can take you far, but you need determination and grit to make it all the way.
1. Do One Thing at a Time
- It’s easy to get overwhelmed when you think of all the things that you need to do for both school and work. Try your best to focus on one thing at a time. When you start a task, focus on only that. If a task feels too daunting or big, try breaking it down to smaller and more manageable steps. This will help increase your focus and give you space to do each task to the best of your ability.
2. Time Management Discipline
- Find the perfect scheduling that fits you. Some working students prefer to start their days by working and save their school stuff for the evenings. Others prefer to finish school in the morning and work at night. You can even try out a sandwich method where you split your work/school for the day into two sessions and place school/work between these two sessions.
3. Study Where You Can
- Remember, you don’t need to be in a classroom to learn. Some athletes and performers spend their time off the stage/court getting schoolwork done as they wait for their turn. Every moment counts!
4. Ask for Help When You Need It
- Don’t hesitate to reach out to the people around you when you need help. Make sure to tap your support systems when you need extra support from family, friends, and co–workers. Primavera’s teachers and staff are also always happy to help in any way that we can.
5. Learn from Other Working Students
- Primavera has become the home of many working students, athletes, artists and more! Get inspired by their stories and learn even more pro tips on balancing school and work. Read about artist Ari Clark who has been commissioned to create art for various bands and brands, even creating some tour merchandise for the European tour of the rock band Doll Skin. Athletes Sean Barnhill, a D1 hockey player, and Lorelai Innes, accomplished Jiu Jitsu fighter, speak about their incredible passion for their sports and the importance of getting a good education.
If you want more tips, you can check out this blog right here about balancing high school and a job.
Ending Notes
For working students, online school means the end of feeling behind in one way or another. It removes the pressure and stress of constantly having to catch up with either school or work. No more late nights trying to catch up on homework or trying to multitask school and work at the same time. There is no need to sacrifice one for the other anymore because both are equally important.
Working as a student helps you develop skills that educators try to establish in the classroom. Hard and soft skills such as time management, discipline, perseverance, conflict resolution, and more are strengthened through the experience of working. These are essential skills that colleges and employers value.
So, yes, you can work and get your high school diploma. Once you do, not only will you have a diploma, but a resume with work history and self-management skills that not many of your peers have.
Online school gives you the room to explore work opportunities and follow your passions which will lead you to discover what you really want for your future.
FAQs
1. Can a high school student have a job in Arizona?
- Yes, teenagers can start working at the age of 14. 14-15-year-olds have stricter guidelines when working as compared to 16-17-year-olds, but the rules are still there for both age brackets.
2. Can I work and finish high school at the same time?
- Absolutely! You might find it difficult to juggle work with a traditional brick and mortar school, so you should definitely research about online high school. Schools like Primavera Online School are just as rigorous as a traditional school but grant you the flexibility to make your study schedule work around you and not the other way around. At Primavera you’ll also get an award-winning curriculum that doesn’t put you to sleep, but keeps you engaged and has a lasting impact.
3. Can I switch to an online school mid-year if my current schedule isn’t working for me?
- Yes, you can. Most online schools, like Primavera, offer rolling enrollment. This means that they accept students anytime within the year. To read more about what you need to do to transfer into an online high school in the middle of the year, check out this blog here. It may sound like an overwhelming major change, but we break down the steps and simplify things for you.
