- Junior High is a time in which children can be very mean. Everyone is hitting puberty, learning who they are, and changing friends left and right. Some children simply don't do well in this setting. If your child is not ready for junior high, or is too mature or too immature, you might consider home schooling your child for the length of junior high.
- For students who struggle with the freedom that junior high has to offer after the stricter regulations at an elementary school, a private school might be the best option. Most private schools have stricter dress codes and rules of conduct, so if you are concerned with your child rebelling or becoming too lazy in junior high, a private school might be the option. Children who are easily distracted might benefit from a same-sex private school during junior high, and parents who want to instill Christian morals and values in their children might send them to a church-run private school for junior high.
- Junior high charter schools are set up within the public school system, and students use vouchers to attend them. Each charter school has a specific goal in mind, or theme for their education. For students who are business oriented, a business specific charter school might be best for them. For students who have a specific goal in mind for their education, a charter school that has ideas or goals that equal theirs might be better than a traditional junior high, at which all students are accepted and share the same ideas.
- Magnet schools are schools that are set up with grants and scholarships. Junior high magnet schools have a set theme or idea that they are trying to be a magnet for--they try to draw in the students with the highest math scores, or the students with the highest behavior conduct. Cities like New York, Chicago and Los Angeles have magnet schools that are designed to pool as many of the hard-working and high-scoring students into one area as possible. Find magnet schools in your area, and look at your child's transcript to see if they would qualify. Most magnet schools provide excellent transitions between elementary school and high school, so for students who have trouble with a regular junior high setting, magnet schools might be an option.
- Alternative junior high schools also include fine arts academies. These are usually schools that students have to apply to get into, such as Missouri Fine Arts Academy or Pennsylvania Fine Arts Academy. At these schools regular subjects are taught in conjunction with the fine arts, such as music, dance or theater. Students spend most of their junior high years engrossed in fine arts and are required to participate in these fine arts. Teachers build curriculum around music, theater, art, and dance, and students use these areas to express themselves and to gain an education.
Home Schooling
Private School
Charter School
Magnet School
Fine Arts Academy
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