Cyber school here we come

[misty]

Shannon hates her school. And to tell you the truth, I'm not fond of our district myself. So......I think we are going to take the plunge & start her in cyber school next year. I'm so nervous. I just don't know how well it will work for her. If she'll have enough self discipline to stay on task as it demands. PA has a great cyber school system so I know the education will be a good one. I've looked into it a bit in the past, just in case. They also give you the computer, books, & access to teachers for help via phone or instant messenger, all for free. I believe they reimburse you part of the money for internet service as well. I'm going to set up an appointment soon. They give you a face to face appointment & go over every thing. I just have to get her out of her district, away from the bomb threats, metal detectors, fights, etc. How can a kid really learn in that environment is beyond me. The primary schools are good but the Jr high & high school are scary places to be.

[charliegirl]

With cyber school, she will have assignments that are due at a certain time and she will be accountable to someone other than you, right? That has got to help. You don't know how many times I wished my son had to answer to someone other than me when he didn't want to buckle down and do his work.

Good luck. I don't blame you at all for wanting to get her out of there. Any school is risky now and the larger schools are really scary.

[misty]

Yes. She'll have to log in by a certain time each day & stay on for so many hours. They can work at their own pace, but need to do their online assignments. The teachers will know if she doesn't. Basically my job will just be getting her out of bed & logged in. I won't be teaching her at all. The teachers there are available all day to be emailed, called,or IMed if Shannon needs help. My biggest concern at this moment is Shannon's IEP. I have no idea how they address LD's, but they are part of PA's public school system so I imagine the same rules & laws apply as if she were physically in school.

[lcdc1]

Wow that sounds interesting. Keep us posted on it so we see how it works with the LD/ADHD stuff.

[lillian]

Wow, this is a big move! What grade is Shannon in, now?

[misty]

Shes in 7th, Lillian. She'll finish out this year & then start 8th grade in Cyber school. Our district is getting so bad, its scary. Shannon & I had a long talk tonight. The bomb threats & gang fights are getting worse & worse. At the other Jr high in our district there was a huge riot recently where even some teachers were beaten up. One of the intermediate schools (grade 4-6) a principal quit because the kids are so bad. The high school is the worst yet. there are almost 2,000 kids in the high school & fights, bomb scares & riots are the norm.

[misty]

Heres some of what I found on their website:

The PA Cyber offers online instruction through Virtual Classroom (VC), a cutting edge learning tool that enables real-time voice interaction, whiteboard sharing and even breakout sessions to enhance a students learning experience.

Through VC, PA Cyber students attend real-time classes online with live instructors. Classes meet several hours a week for instruction and have independent assignments, tests and quizzes to complete on non-instructional days.
The benefits of VC include:

* Flexibility in scheduling, live teacher instruction and feedback, as well as the opportunity to work independently.
* The opportunity for students to interact with the teacher as well as classmates by oral and written communication.
* The ability to record all classes are recorded and archived for reviewing purposes.
* The ability to offer variety, the latest technology, classroom and teacher support, and guidance for student success.


students, parents and PA Cyber staff can work together to produce an overall educational experience that meets the highest standards. The PA Cyber Learning Management System is hosted at our internal secure facility in order to maximize uptime and assure that our students have access to the resources that they need, when they need them. The infrastructure is built upon and utilizes the Blackboard Learning System®.

Grades 5-12

Students in grades 5-12 receive their own laptop computer. PA Cyber partners with the Hewlett-Packard Company (www.hp.com) and CDW’s Government Division (www.cdwg.com) in order to provide best-in-class laptops

Printing and Imaging:

PA Cyber will supply the latest model HP all-in-one to accommodate the printing and imaging needs of our students. Each unit includes one black and one tri-color ink cartridge.

Internet Access:

More often than not, the students’ curriculum choice will dictate the Internet service that PA Cyber will offer. For example, those students who choose to participate in the PA Cyber Virtual Classroom will be provided some form of broadband access, due to the bandwidth requirements of the program, via either Cable or DSL depending upon geographic location.

students in grades 8-12 are required to complete 990 hours of instruction. We recommend that approximately one hour be spent on each subject per day, which is about five hours per day. Each student is required to attend school 180 days per year.

Your progress would be monitored through your Instructional Supervisor (IS) on a weekly basis. The manner in which it is monitored greatly depends on the type of curriculum that is chosen at the time of enrollment however, you would be able to see any grades for work submitted at any time via the Internet.

How is my attendance monitored?
Your attendance would be monitored by your Instructional Supervisor (IS), a Pennsylvania certified teacher, using an internet based system. Reports are frequently generated to determine which students are not meeting the attendance requirements. If a student is not meeting those requirements then the IS will contact the student and parent immediately to address the situation.

Classes may not be scheduled for incoming students until the student's academic transcript, home school evaluation, and/or IEP, 504, or evaluations (if applicable) are received.

Special education services are provided according to the primary educational needs of the child, not the category of disability. The types of service available include: (1) learning support, for students who primarily need assistance with the acquisition of academic skills; (2) life skills support, for students who primarily need assistance with development of skills for independent living; (3) emotional support, for students who primarily need assistance with social or emotional development; (4) deaf or hearing impaired support, for students who primarily need assistance with deafness; (5) blind or visually impaired support, for students who primarily need assistance with blindness; (6) physical support, for students who primarily require physical assistance in the learning environment; (7) autistic support, for students who primarily need assistance in the areas affected by autism spectrum disorders; and (8) multiple disabilities support, for students who primarily need assistance in multiple areas affected by their disabilities.

Related services are designed to enable the child to participate in or access his or her program of special education. Examples of related services include but are not limited to, speech and language therapy, occupational therapy, physical therapy, nursing services, audiologist services, counseling, and family training.

[jj]

Wow! I think this cyber class sounds awesome! I don't blame you at all for pulling her out next year. I tell you what, I bet there are a lot of kids that get picked on that will be using this option.

I'd be really curious to know just how many parents are letting their kids do this.

[charliegirl]

Do you have any idea of what the homeschool evaluation is? We don't have that in NY.

[puzzled]

Misty when I was doing my online classes through University of Cincinnati, they used the Blackboard Learning System. I had at least one English Comp class that was interactive, we used java and could see what the teacher was writing on the white board, and answer questions....we had a scheduled meeting time.

I loved my online classes. I have received things for an Ohio version of that kind of school too. Haven't looked into it, though some days it is tempting.