LOS ALAMITOS, CA — As summer approaches, many students at Los Alamitos High School are considering taking classes over the summer. Students take summer courses to get ahead, to fulfill graduation requirements, or to open up their schedule for next year. Registration is open now for many institutions offering online summer classes.

For Los Al students to take an offsite course during summer break, the class must meet the A-G and UC requirements. Students also need to fill out an off-campus coursework request and turn it into the office or email it to [email protected] for school approval before registering. However, there is a separate process to register for Pacific Coast High School classes. PCHS, Silicon Valley High School, and Apex Learning Virtual School are popular places for Los Al students to take summer classes.

Pacific Coast High School

PCHS is a public high school in Tustin, California that offers A-G, UC, and NCAA approved online courses over the summer. Common classes that Los Al students take at PCHS are PE, geometry, world history, U.S. history, economics, and government. For those who missed the Griffin Connections deadline to sign up for history over the summer, PCHS is another option. 

PCHS also offers Algebra 1, Algebra 2, trigonometry, and pre-calculus. Los Al sophomore Sydney Mastick took geometry through PCHS the summer before her freshman year. 

“It was a really positive experience, I found it as an efficient way to finish the course and get ahead in school without spending an entire year on the material,” Mastick said. She added that the six-week course allowed her to work at her own pace and reach weekly goals to stay on track. The average workload was three to four hours per day with reading, practice problems, and weekly quizzes. 

Although she liked the organization of the class, she disliked the isolation that came from learning online. Mastick also mentioned that the quizzes often didn’t match the week’s work. 

“For myself it was beneficial, yet I would only recommend it to students who know they are good at math in general and can work well without the support of a teacher,” Mastick said. “Many questions will go unanswered unless you email the overall teacher.”

This summer’s PCHS session is July 3 through Aug. 9, and the deadline for online registration is May 19. 

Silicon Valley High School

SVHS is a private online high school that also meets A-G, UC, and NCAA requirements. Their courses are self-paced, so students can sign up anytime during the year. They just have to finish by Los Al’s summer course deadline. Students connect online with real SVHS teachers who grade assignments and offer assistance. A SVHS course costs $125 per semester. SVHS offers accredited English, math, science, world language, history, PE, and elective courses. 

Sophomore Tristen Tanimura took biology through SVHS last summer, so she could take AP Computer Science, a class that interested her more, during the school year. This summer, Tanimura is taking U.S. history there. 

“I really liked the fact that SVHS was self-paced, and the workload wasn’t too much to handle,” Tanimura said. “It allowed me to work around other commitments that I had during the summer.”

The SVHS biology course includes a quiz after every lesson on the videos and readings. Each chapter has an assignment, a lab, and a test. Unlike PCHS, SVHS’ quizzes and tests reflect the lesson material well. Tanimura recommended the course to other students but explained that communication was difficult. 

“The teachers weren’t the most efficient at responding to emails about the content or logistics of the program,” she said. While the SVHS course is organized, students work almost completely independently. 

Apex Virtual Learning School

Los Al partners with Apex to offer world history, U.S. history, government, and economics during the summer. Students sign up through Los Al Griffin Connections and complete the course work with Apex. Griffin Connections registration has closed, but Apex offers many other classes during the summer.

The cost is $380 per semester. During summer, each semester is nine weeks. Students can begin Apex courses at any time of year, but summer courses are scheduled for May through July. 

Apex offers part-time and full-time online courses. Government and economics are even available during the school year. Seniors who take online government and economics at Los Al use Apex to complete the course. 

Val Martinez, senior, took U.S. history through Apex during the summer because they chose to take another AP class during the year instead.

“My experience was pretty alright. It is a site that really depends on the people who use it,” Martinez said. “I’ve had friends who prefer to learn from an actual teacher since they feel they can easily cheat [on Apex], but others have said they like it and learned more at their pace.”

The Apex U.S. history course is mostly online, with a manageable workload, Martinez said. However, like Mastick, Martinez added that the quizzes were difficult because few questions were based on the readings. 

Conclusion

Los Al students contemplating these options should recognize that they will need to learn concepts and complete work in a shorter period of time than normal. Summer courses fit a year of learning into a few weeks; taking a condensed class sacrifices learning all the material thoroughly. 

Online learning isn’t for everyone, as it requires more self-discipline than learning in a classroom. Those looking into summer courses should speak with their parents and counselors before deciding on which online platform is right for them.