Pennsylvania Online High Schools

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

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

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

One-third of Tuscarora’s cyber students currently attend Pa. Cyber School, one of the largest in the state with an enrollment of around 9,000. Pa. Cyber School also has 42 students enrolled from Chambersburg Area, 14 from Shippensburg Area, 10 from Greencastle-Antrim and eight from Waynesboro Area.

Statewide, about 27,000 students are enrolled in 11 cyber schools, which Fred Miller, communications coordinator for Pa. Cyber School, said is about 1 to 2 percent of the entire student population of Pennsylvania.

Miller said that families who choose to enroll their students in a cyber charter school usually fall into one of three categories. Some families that come from smaller school districts with less course elective offerings will sometimes choose a cyber school because they offer a broader range of classes to take.

For the rest of the article, go to Cost of cyber charter schools going up as popularity increases

WEST CHESTER, Pa., Aug. 3 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — The Pennsylvania Leadership Charter School is pleased to announce that it has met the state’s Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) designation. PA Leadership is a state-wide, tuition-free cyber charter school. Students receive books and computers, then complete their work, interact with teachers and meet with their classmates via the Internet. PA Leadership is one of Pennsylvania’s four cyber charter schools to make AYP.

To achieve AYP, the school was required to meet 25 targets set by the state. The targets measure academic performance on the PSSA testing, student participation in the testing, and the school’s graduation rate.

For the rest of the article, go to PA Leadership Charter School Meets All AYP Performance Targets for 2010

Cunkelman, who was swept into office in the November election on a pro-consolidation ticket with two other candidates, testified he heard reports that as many as 50 Laurel Valley students could be pulled from the classroom and enrolled in a cyberschool program, which costs the district up to $14,000 a year per child.

“I don’t think I should be held hostage by these people when considering the whole district. That’s blackmail,” Cunkelman testified.

Estimates are that at least 30 and as many as 50 Laurel Valley students could attend cyberschool, meaning the district would have to pay up to an additional $700,000 this year.

A study conducted by the school board last year found that by merging the schools the district could save up to $1.2 million but as little as $800,000.

For the rest of the article, go to Ligonier Valley talks break down

Conestoga Valley School District has a virtual academy in which about 20 students go through an online course of instruction.

But many more district students are enrolled in similar cyber charter schools for which the district annually spends $500,000. Now, district officials are looking at a plan to get more students to enroll in its own cyber school and recoup some of those costs.

Currently, 49 students in the Conestoga Valley School District are enrolled in state-certified cyber charter schools, for which the district must pay roughly $8,700 per student. Yet at the Conestoga Valley Virtual Academy, yearly costs max out around $5,200.

For the rest of the article, go to Conestoga Valley School District may boost its virtual academy

There’s still some tweaking to do, but after three years of researching, cyber school in Red Lion is now in its infancy.

Red Lion Area School District students who attend cyber school will be able to receive a diploma from Red Lion, instead of through programs not affiliated with the district.

“It was like an albatross around the neck trying to find a solution for kids going elsewhere for cyber education,” said Jared Mader, district director of technology.

At a recent meeting, Mader presented key points such as goals and benefits about the new cyber education. One major benefit comes from Red Lion partnering with Bridgewater Online Academy, saving the district more than $4,000.

For the rest of the article, go to Red Lion to begin its own cyber schooling

The Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School has won a five-year renewal of its charter from the state Department of Education, enabling one of the state’s pioneers in online schooling to stay open.

“Charter renewal is great news for the thousands of Pennsylvania families who depend on our school, and a much appreciated validation of the hard work, expertise and dedication of the hundreds of Pa. Cyber teachers and other employees,” said CEO Nick Trombetta in a news release issued today. “Unlike school districts, we charter schools must demonstrate our effectiveness every five years or we cease to operate.”

For the rest of the article, go to Pa. Cyber Charter School gets 5-year renewal

The number of our of work Americans continues to rise and it is getting harder and harder to get a job, especially if you do not have a high school diploma. Many Americans are trying to put themselves in a better position to get a job or even gain post high school education and the first step for many is to get a GED or or general high school equivalency diploma. It is easier than ever before and big news is that GED are accessible by U.S. mail or online. Online GED work is more popular than ever before and GED acquisition on line makes it convenient for millions that have internet access either at home or their local library. With a high school equivalency diploma being a minimum requirement for most jobs today; for branches of the military, many State university systems and many employers, it is essential to gain a minimum GED to move forward in today’s down economy.

For the rest of the article, go to GED Online High School Equivalency Diploma in California, Texas, Florida, Pennsylvania Increase; GED Funding Down; GED Leads to Higher Pay