Pennsylvania Online High Schools

Penn Foster High School

WAYNE, Pa., Aug. 30 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — On Wednesday, students from Agora Cyber Charter School will begin online classes for the start of the 2010-2011 school year. Agora Cyber Charter School teachers and staff have been traveling across Pennsylvania meeting their students to prepare them for an exciting and productive school year using the award-winning K12 curriculum. The virtual school is a high-quality, tuition-free public school that creates an individualized online learning experience for each child.

For the rest of the article, go to 2010 School Year Begins for Students at Agora Cyber Charter School

“We have a really diverse group of kids … but we’re probably overrepresented in kids who are academically precocious,” Brady said. He added that Avon Grove attracts students “who don’t do well in athletically oriented schools.”

James Hanak, the CEO of Pennsylvania Leadership, said students in any of the state’s school districts can attend a Pennsylvania cyber charter school. Many students enrolled in the Internet-only program at Pennsylvania Leadership live in low-performing school districts, he said.

According to Carolyn Fell, the Pennsylvania Leadership communications director, other students who attend the Internet-only program haven’t made it in traditional public schools because of bullying.

For the rest of the article, go to Charter schools carve a new niche in public education

Commonwealth Connections Academy

By the middle of last year, Cole knew something had to change. He wanted to be able to practice with his band Time Out, so he asked his parents if he could enroll in a cyber school. The question caught his dad off-guard.

“My wife and I grew up with traditional school,” he said. “Everyone we know does that, too.”

But after several phone calls and reviewing many options, the Sipes decided to let Cole try The Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School.

Unlike thousands of York County students, Cole won’t be heading to class this week. He will be staying home to take online courses, a choice that more students are making.

For the rest of the article, go to An endless summer for kids?

The school hopes to offer blended classes in the future, with students taking online courses both at home and in school.

With the amount of students leaving the traditional school setting to attend one of the Pennsylvania cyber schools, the district is striving to keep students registered within the district by providing the cyber education.

Since the 2001-2002 school year, cyber-school tuition costs for the district have risen over $500,000, and a solution to those numbers is to offer something similar within district itself.

“I was a little nervous at first,” instructor John Sharp said of the online courses held at the high school. “I didn’t think that they (the students) would have enough time and I wasn’t sure if they would work in this environment, but I think that this has gone well. Extremely well.”

For the rest of the article, go to Laurel Highlands district’s online courses pass summer test

MUNCY – Muncy School District has developed online courses taught by certified staff members that are much cheaper than cyber school expenses, according to school officials.

The administration recommended and the school board approved Monday night payment for a pre-approved online course.

The course costs $1,500 for one to five students and $2,400 for six to 10 students.

For the rest of the article, go to Schools see benefits of online courses

Aug 13, 2010 (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette – McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) — The Allegheny Intermediate Unit and the union representing the 47 educators who work for its PA Learners Online Cyber Charter School have agreed to a one-year contract — an agreement both sides claim is the first of its type in the state and possibly the nation.

The contract is unique not only in the fact that it covers cyber charter employees, but it also includes incentive pay in the form of bonuses for teachers if the school achieves Adequate Yearly Progress on the state Pennsylvania System of School Assessment exams and it has just three salary categories rather than numerous steps.

For the rest of the article, go to Cyber charter teachers OK pact

GREENSBURG — The projected financial benefit from closing Laurel Valley Middle-High School will shrink significantly if all of the students who appear headed for cyber school actually enroll, it was revealed in court Friday.

Ligonier Valley school board member and New Florence resident John Maier testified that 24 students have already registered for cyber school. It also was learned that 50 additional students are in the process of registering.

Calculating an average cost of $10,000 per student, the rush to cyber education could cost the district several hundred thousand dollars.

For the rest of the article, go to Closure may be costly

CV pays more than $8,000 for each district student that enrolls in a private cyber school. But it costs the district only about $3,700 for each student enrolled in the CV Virtual Academy.

For the coming school year, CV expects 75 students to be enrolled in cyber schools, with 18 in the district’s own program.

The 57 students in other cyber schools are projected to cost the district $462,325, which CV must pay to the programs.

If the district can recruit more students into its own cyber school, the savings could be significant.

For the rest of the article, go to Conestoga Valley School District to hire charter school recruiter