Smart Schools offers a flexible learning experience that works around the student’s schedule and not the other way around. Online Adult High School, Accredited Diploma Program
Two questions we often get asked at Smart Schools are: Is my previous schoolwork going to count towards my learning at Smart Schools? What am required to learn? In this article, we’ll share detailed answers on these areas!
When you have a lot going on, it can be hard to set aside time to do school. If this is the case and you’re worried about failing at school because you can’t find enough time for school work, then read this! Here we share some reasons to create a regular routine that incorporates study time into your weekly schedule.
Enrolling with Smart Schools is a great decision if you need flexibility. As a student at Smart Schools, you can continue your high school education online and at your own pace, and our mentors and instructors are here to help keep you on track. But there are a few steps between applying and graduating. We are here to help you figure out what those steps are and ensure you feel supported as you go through the enrollment process.
All students have to start by filling out the enrollment form and paying their first month’s tuition or applying for financing. We intentionally keep tuition low and affordable so all students have the opportunity to graduate with their high school diplomas.
Once you’ve filled out your enrollment application, you will receive a call from a Smart Schools academic advisor. If you have completed your application during normal business hours (Monday - Friday, 8 AM - 5 PM Mountain Standard Time), you will receive a call within the hour. This call will help Smart Schools staff to identify what additional paperwork is needed to process your enrollment, and will help prospective students to understand how Smart Schools works and what their responsibility will be.
Once your paperwork is in order, you will be enrolled in your first class. This means you will be given login information to access the learning portal and you will have access to lessons. These lessons can be completed when it makes sense in your schedule. There are no required times you must log in, no sessions you are required to attend at a specific time.
For example, if you work a typical 9-5 job, it may make sense for you to carve out an hour at the beginning or end of your day to complete lessons and activities online. If you have kids, however, this might not be realistic. It might make more sense for you to complete lessons in the hours after your kids’ bed time. Regardless, figuring out a schedule that works for you is essential to finding success while learning online.
We’ve created blogs that address managing your time and setting up your learning space, so definitely invest some time and energy in setting yourself up for success. Our academic advisors suggest setting a goal to complete at least one class a month. This will ensure you are continuing to move toward graduation.
Great job making the first step toward earning your high school diploma! We are here to help!
Smart Schools helps adults 22 and over earn their high school diploma. The affordable program offers unprecedented flexibility, allowing you to pursue education from any location. Connect with us today at (844) 467-5278 to start your journey!
This is a blog series about mental health and online learning. We explore the many challenges students face through this series, whether learning online or not, how our online students can combat these issues and the support available for Smart Schools students when those problems grow too big to handle alone.
This is a blog series about mental health and online learning. We explore the many challenges students face through this series, whether learning online or not, how our online students can combat these issues and the support available for Smart Schools students when those problems grow too big to handle alone.
Through this blog series about mental health and online learning, we are exploring the many challenges students face, whether learning online or not, the ways our online students can combat these issues, and the supports available for Smart Schools students when those problems grow too big to handle alone.
Whether you are someone who is energized by being surrounded by others or are more introverted, the relationships you keep and cultivate in your life will have a strong impact on your overall mental health. If you are surrounded by individuals who engage in toxic behaviors or those who behave or communicate violently, then you will experience life in a different way from someone who is not. This is why the relationships and types of communication you have in your life are so important.
Jim Rohn, a motivational speaker, said that you are the average of the five people you spend the most time with. If your group is full of people committed to the hustle and grind culture or those who highly value achievement, you’ll likely find yourself committed to much of the same. If your friends spend more time focusing on fun or friendship, your life will hopefully be filled with similar values and events. We present these different things without judgment because your life should be filled with people aligned to your personal values.
In order to cultivate a group that pushes you to be your best, you have to first determine what your personal values are. Take a moment now to write down keywords that align to your values system - what is most important to you? How do you spend most of your time? What do you want your life and your future to look like? Knowing these things will help you to cultivate a life you love, and to ensure you are surrounded by the right team of people.
Once you have decided what matters most to you in your life, you can then look at the people who are in your life. Are there friends, family, or other relationships in your life that are in direct opposition to your core values? Perhaps these are people who you should consciously decide to spend less time with or to draw very specific boundaries in order to save your sanity and peace. Are there those in your life who push you closer to your values? These are probably relationships you should spend more time investing in or working to grow closer with.
Editing the groups of people who have close contact and can positively or negatively impact your life can dramatically change your trajectory. But sometimes when we look around at those closest to us and see lots of toxic traits and negative coping behaviors, it can feel like placing boundaries around our time means we will be completely alone. Cultivating relationships that have a positive effect on you can be difficult, especially if you’ve only ever known negative relationships.
First, know the difference between truly toxic relationships and ones that simply annoy you. For example, when a parent or friend tells you “like it is” or gives you feedback you don’t love to hear, that can be difficult, annoying, and even hurtful. Many people will say that their intention wasn’t to challenge you or hurt you. But even if their intention is to help you, that doesn’t change the impact. So when evaluating whether a relationship is toxic, look at how they respond when told how they have hurt you. If they excuse their behavior or blame you for your own sensitivities, this may be a toxic relationship.
Additionally, learn how to communicate non-violently. In Marshall Rosenberg’s book, Nonviolent Communication, he outlines how you can approach these situations. Start by identifying your own emotions. How do you feel - frustrated, lonely, unsupported? Then ask yourself why. Then, when you express your feelings, follow this format: “When you [said or did] X, I felt Y.” This book also includes great suggestions for empathizing with others and apologizing when you’ve done something wrong, but this is a great start for communicating your emotions to others.
When discussing relationships, it is important to acknowledge one feeling that is felt by human beings universally - loneliness. Every human has felt and will feel lonely throughout their journey through humanity. However, it is incredibly important to remember that you are never alone.
While knowing that loneliness is experienced universally is one thing, coping with those feelings can be entirely different. There is always support, love, and help if you reach outside of yourself. That may mean joining a club or a class - your school, library, or local community center can be a great place to start looking for free or low-cost options. Additionally, many people find great solace in the communities they create and find online. And anyone with a pet knows the healing powers of their snuggles when they are having a bad day.
But finding and creating community cannot fix all things. Sometimes, these feelings become too big to manage on your own. Reaching out to a therapist or counselor can help. While the stigma around mental health, therapy, and drug interventions have decreased in recent years, it is important to reiterate that these tools can help you. They do not represent a weakness or personal failure, but actually, strength that you have reached out at all. Finding the support you need means you are fighting, and that should be celebrated.
At Smart Schools, we recognize that there is a lot that goes into earning your high school diploma. If it was as simple as showing up to school and completing the work, everyone would have their high school diploma. And yet, every year, more than 1.2 million students drop out of high school in the United States. Most often, this is because students lack the support - familial, financial, or academic - to make their way across that graduation stage.
“...Every year, more than 1.2 million students drop out of high school in the United States.”
This is why we encourage all Smart Schools students who qualify to apply for and participate in Workforce. Workforce is a social program that is intended to provide the support you need to graduate high school and find success in your endeavors after graduation. While this program does not exist internationally and may vary from U.S. state to state, there are frequently social supports available to help eligible students.
Within Arizona, students ages 16-24 can receive assistance in completing their high school diploma, while also receiving other occupational supports and training. Workforce can help students access paid work experience internships, a great way to get your foot in the door. Workforce can also help students receive employment services, assistance with transportation, basic needs, and post-secondary tuition - completely free of charge.
In Arizona, the program lasts two years and provides personalized support during that time, as well as an additional year of follow-up support. Each student receives a case manager who helps them create a College and Career Blueprint, which will ensure that students are taking the appropriate classes and steps to reach their dreams.
If you are not located in Arizona but are still in a US state, your state may have a similar program. We would suggest that you google your state’s name and “Workforce” to find out what supports may be available to you locally and the requirements involved. Oftentimes, there are many different supports available that go unused because students are not aware of them.
Accepting help, especially from a social service, can be a challenge. Our society tends to look down on people who seek assistance, as there is a social stigma against “handouts.” But at the same time, we hold no such stigma against people getting a loan in order to buy a house. Children of wealthy parents have no shame about having their parents pay for their college tuition. And companies and non-profits regularly ask for donations without being looked down upon.
This is no different. Many of us were not born with wealthy parents who could provide our every need and want, and there is no shame in that. These social programs help to level the playing field and ensure that all students have a shot at succeeding.
Enrolling in Workforce in the state of Arizona is something you can do online or in-person at The HUB, our central Phoenix location. If you live outside the state of Arizona, your state will likely have enrollment processes that are accessible online, as well, but your Smart Schools mentor is available to help you navigate the process if it is too complicated for you to do alone.
Don’t miss out on the supports available to help you succeed! Take advantage of programs that will help you get closer to your goals.
Learning online is no easy feat. Especially when you are used to the traditional classroom, where a teacher is standing over you, telling you what to do and when to do it, being fully in charge of your schedule and your learning can be daunting. But for many learners, it can also be empowering.
Gone are the days of pointless busywork. With Smart Schools, every piece of your learning is directly aligned to what you need to know to do well on the final exam and to be prepared for the world beyond the classroom. Once you learn how to keep yourself on track and manage your learning, you will find success with online learning.
Figuring out when you are your most productive will ensure that you don’t waste countless hours trying to get through one lesson. For some people, they are most productive right after their morning coffee. They may find themselves flying through their work and checking off one thing after the other. If this is you, spend an hour or two completing lessons in the morning and you’ll save yourself hours of drudgery later on. But for night owls, they may find that dragging themselves out of bed early only leads to frustration. What should take five minutes may take an hour if you’re dragging your feet.
So figuring out when you perform best is crucial. Some people naturally know this about themselves, while others may need some help discovering their productivity peak. To figure out yours:
Track your learning over a two-week period, including how much time you study, how many lessons you complete, and your performance on those lessons and quizzes. Be sure to mix up the time of day and week so you can have a few different data points to pull from.
At the end of the two weeks, determine which hours of the day you completed the most lessons. Also, look at your overall performance during different hours of the day. When you are most productive may not be when you are most effective as a learner.
Draw conclusions from that data and create a study plan. If you are most productive between 9 and 11 in the morning, try to schedule your study time then. If you are most effective in the evenings, you may want to save that time for your most difficult subject areas.
In this way, you can use your own data to determine when you are most productive and to create a study plan tailored to you and your individual learning strengths.
Working for hours on end may work for some people, but many will find themselves burnt out at the end of lond study sessions. It doesn’t matter if you complete 15 lessons in a day if you don’t return to your studies for two weeks afterward. Ideally, you want to find a way to consistently complete lessons without burning yourself out on studying altogether.
Working in sprints is one way to ensure you’re effectively and efficiently studying for a set period of time, while also working in breaks to play games on your phone or watch your favorite TV shows. Basically, you will want to set a sprint time (even using a timer!) that will be a set period of heavy focus with minimal or no distractions, and once that time is up, stepping away and taking a legitimate brain break.
The Pomodoro Method is one such work hack - a Pomodoro (Italian for tomato) is typically a 20-minute block of dedicated work time, followed by a 5-minute break. This technique is used by workers across various fields, writers trying to get in solid writing or editing time, and also students. Don’t feel confined by the 20-and-5 structure though - you can use the information you learned in the previous step to determine what lengths of study time are most effective for you, as well.
Do you ever feel like you have so much to do that you get nothing done? This is a type of analysis paralysis that affects many people and is a phenomenon so common, it has been studied by researchers for quite a long time. It turns out that holding onto all of those items you have on your mental load actually takes up additional brain space you could be using to actually accomplish tasks.
That’s why we recommend a Closed Capture System (CCS) - basically, this is using whatever tools work best for you to capture every single item you have on your mental list. If you work best on paper, keep a notepad and pen with you wherever you go, and check off items as you go. Google Keep, your Apple Notes, or Evernote are good options for those that prefer a more digitized system.
Although less comprehensive, many people with ADHD have shared their methods for completing the daily tasks they often forget about on TikTok. One TikToker shared how she ties certain daily tasks (like locking her door) to others that provide a visual reminder (like putting on her watch) - so for example, she locks her door and then puts on her wristwatch. Then, if she has a mental lightning bolt throughout the day (“Did I lock the door?!”) she can look at her watch. If it’s on her wrist, that can help her confirm that she did, indeed, lock the door behind her earlier in the day.
This same method could be used for your studies - for example, you could wait to brush your teeth until after your studies are done for the day. That way, you don’t feel fully ready for the day until your studies have been completed.
Keep your eyes on the prize and your mind on your studies. By trying to do it all at once, you are actually making yourself less effective. We all know that texting and driving make us worse at both, so why do we assume we can complete our studies and watch TV (or text, or do other work)? While it can be a challenge to stay focused, avoiding multitasking will ensure that your time spent studying is as efficient and effective as possible.
Learning to manage your online learning time may not be the most fun thing you’ll do this week, but it may help you become a better student and actually finish your diploma faster. By following some of these simple tips, you can hack your brain and maximize the time you spend studying.
This is a blog series about mental health and online learning. We explore the many challenges students face through this series, whether learning online or not, how our online students can combat these issues and the support available for Smart Schools students when those problems grow too big to handle alone.
Grief is the reaction to a loss - whether from losing a loved one, a pet, or a job. No one processes grief in the same amount of time, and for some, their grief can be persistent. Grief is different from abstract loss, which is more related to the loss of routine or coping skills.
Know that there is no right way to grieve. For some people, grieving may look like crying or just struggling to complete your daily tasks. This is normal and healthy. Others may not react at all, pr they may even laugh. These reactions are also normal.
Grief will impact people differently but can absolutely have mental and physical effects on you. This might include difficulty with focus, memory, and mood. Try to treat yourself with grace.
If you are supporting someone experiencing grief, keep the impact of grief in mind and show understanding, support, offer reminders, and try not to take others’ grief personally. It would be best if you did not force them to talk about their loss. This can cause them harm. You want to be comforting while validating their feelings and asking honest questions about how you can support them. If you don’t know what to say, start by telling them that you are there for them and want to support them however you can.
We have previously covered the benefits of Arizona’ Workforce program for students who live in the state, and the options for students who live out of state, as well. Read more about the options available to you and how to find them in our previous blog post. There are many options out there to help students find academic and career success—you just need to reach out and find them.
Smart Schools has multiple current and former students who have done just that. These students have enrolled with Workforce through one of our many community partners, received a case manager who has helped them develop a College & Career Blueprint, and gained access to Workforce Experience placement (WEX) that connected them to paid internships and job training.
As they have developed their experience and knowledge, they have not only become better job candidates, but they have moved forward in their schooling exponentially faster as well.
By pairing WEX’s job placement with Smart School’s CREW (a program that allows students to earn elective credit while working, volunteering, or completing other activities), they are earning credits toward their high school diplomas, earning money to support their families, and gaining valuable experience, all at the same time. Many of our students are able to use this experience to get their “foot in the door” at the companies where they complete their internship, or begin a career in a new field, as a result.
Evelyn was a Smart Schools student who was working hard to earn her high school diploma. As a young mom, Evelyn decided to start coming to The HUB every day so that she had a safe place to bring her kids while she studied. She attended one of the Workforce enrollment events at The HUB with Chicanos por la Causa (CPLC) where she was able to complete the entire enrollment process and was passed to a case manager the following week.
Quickly, she was able to begin receiving support services. She was able to get her Smart Schools tuition paid through the program. She started receiving monthly gas cards to help her travel back and forth to The HUB to work on her classes. After Evelyn was in a car accident, the Workforce program was able to help her with rent so she could focus her income on fixing her car.
Since graduating, Evelyn has enrolled in a Medical Assistant program that works with CPLC and provides scholarships to their participants. The total cost for the course will be $3500 and CPLC will cover $3000. Evelyn will only end up owing $500. Workforce is also assisting with childcare so she can attend her classes until she is able to cover the childcare expenses herself once she is working in the field.
By taking advantage of this program, Evelyn is not only changing the course of her life, but she is providing the foundation for her young children, as well. Workforce allows students who are in a tough spot, or who lack the resources and support they need to get enough breathing room to make decisions for their futures. Don’t let a temporary situation, or even temporary hopelessness, to define you. Seek out support and find success!
Smart Schools helps adults 22 and over earn their high school diploma. The affordable program offers unprecedented flexibility, allowing you to pursue education from any location. Connect with us today at (844) 467-5278 to start your journey!
