Rhonda Brownstein, the executive director of Pennsylvania’s Education Law Center, says that it is time to stop trusting the claims of cyber charter promoters. For years, they have promised that students would get “innovative” education and that wondrous things would happen when virtual charters became reality, but Pennsylvania now knows that none of that turned out to be true.
Pennsylvania has allowed unchecked growth of cyber charters. They have drained funding away from public schools while providing a low-quality of education.
She writes:
“Attorneys at ELC have heard from the families of many students attending cyber charter schools. Here’s what those families have reported: Students spending countless hours behind computer screens without any required human interaction; students with disabilities who are not receiving any appropriate academic instruction; and students who have been pushed into computer-based programs as a result of behavioral incidents.”
And she adds:
“Cyber charter supporters tout policy recommendations that focus on a theoretical version of the future without addressing the ill effects of Pennsylvania’s 13-year embrace of cyber charter schools. Some of those supporters go so far as to say that Pennsylvania is in jeopardy of falling behind other states in an imagined race to expand the number of cyber charter schools. But the truth is that, despite mounting evidence of the academic failure of these schools, Pennsylvania has blindly led the full-time cyber schooling movement for years. In fact, during the 2011-2012 school year Pennsylvania accounted for 16 percent of all students enrolled in full-time cyber schools in the entire country.”
“Pennsylvania has been experimenting with students in cyber charter schools under the guise of “innovation” for more than a decade. We no longer need to hypothesize about the results. Cyber charters do not work for the majority of the students they enroll.”
Diane Ravitch's blog 
The Keystone State Education Coalition has a document which shows the absurd lengths the ALEC guided Pennsylvania state officials are going to charter schools every advantage in order to undermine public schools.
“$4 billion taxpayer dollars with no real oversight”
http://tinyurl.com/mqrhoft
Of the 32,000 Pa Cyber School students only about 3,200 are getting an education. So Pa taxpayers are paying $320,000,000 for $32,000,000 worth of education.
Special Ed? Most of IEP ‘s are about the same. Most of the parents of IEP students are a no show to the IEP meetings.
This should be a procecutable crime naming all in the administration of this fraud.
The Pa cyber school experiment is a similar malady as the sub – prime mortgage fiasco. A breakdown of morals perpetrated by the greed of a few.
Pa cyber teacher, retired, JIT
Some of this may be true but as for IEP’s the public school system would not give one to my child. They refused extra support and even refused to evaluate my child. The public school system refused to address my sons’s learning issues. Rather the head of curriculum stated that it was my fault because I didn’t read to him. That isn’t true I read to him just as much as I did for my daughter. My daughter is in advance classes. After leaving the public school system I discovered my son had a visual perception disorder and an auditory processing disorder. I went back to the public school system with my child and they refused to address this issue. So, back to online charter school where they address some of the challenges my son faces with an IEP. The person that is ahead of the curriculum in the area we lived is the reason many of my kids’ friends left the public school. This man should be fired. Oh yeah, in third grade my daughter was tested for the gifted program she received a 100% but he said she moved too slow. If they do away with charter schools or other options for student’s the public school system better be looking for a great deal of lawsuits based on there absent mindedness; when it comes to the student’s needs. This man has no education in curriculum he was not even a psychologist. Students and parents need options. How many student’s are in a public school system and go to a building but are not getting an education at least 4 out of my five nieces and nephews are behind in school compared to our school. You have kids that don’t do nothing in a building and you have some that don’t do nothing in their homes. However, the communication between parents, child, and teacher are greater in the on-line charter school. People judge these places without actually attending. I can give an opinion because my children went to both. They both have problems doing away with either one can have a drastic affect on the children. I have worked in both environments. It should be illegal for our state to take away any option.
Where are the parents? Parents have to enroll their students in these online scam schools. They have to monitor their children s’ performance and determine if they are being successful. But we also know that many parents lack the required knowledge and skills (and many are immigrants who lack status) to advocate for their children. In Florida, we have the behemoth Florida Virtual School. On their website they state, “As you work through the modules of your course, you will connect with your teacher to take exams online and discussion-based assessments over the phone. You do the work at your own pace* and on your own time, but you’ll talk with the teacher via phone at least once per month.” How is it possible for a student to learn when interacting with a teacher, who probably does not know the student’s name let alone how he or she learns, once a month. My son took a Spanish course online through Florida Virtual. He learned virtually nothing. The teacher could never remember his name when she made her required monthly call, and she was of no use to his achieving his learning outcomes. Moreover, there were over 75 students enrolled in this one section of the course. But our state has decided that in order to graduate, every Florida student will be required to take at least one online course in their K-12 years regardless of the quality of ,or lack there of, the course and teaching. This stems from Jeb Bush’s agenda for education reform (see -http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/11/27/usa-education-bush-foundation-idUSL1E8MR08N20121127). Supporters of Bush’s Foundation for Excellence in Education include such notables as Michelle Rhee and Joel Klein. If readers of Diane’s blog think that the push for brick and mortar charter schools is an issue, then please pay attention to what is happening with the corporate push for online education. It is much cheaper to educate students online than face-to face. As long as parents enroll their students in these schools, these schools will continue to grow and become a monster force in education. Even without parent’s support of these cyber-schools, schools are coming to realize how much cheaper it is to switch students to “blended” courses. One school in Davie Florida, Nova High School, is placing students in virtual labs because they do not have enough face-to-face teachers or chairs for each student. It also saves the school a great deal of money because they still receive their per pupil expenditure. Parents need to come together and understand these issues and how it is affecting, not only their own children’s education, but our society at large. Until then, businessmen, and corporate machines will dominate the decision making that so deeply impacts students’ learning outcomes.
Lots of people fall for promises and online scams
Can someone provide test data for these virtual students to verify that they are not learning the material, not learning as well as in class students, and may be returning to brick and mortar schools while the virtual school keeps the money? Our carpe diem schools in Indiana make the same promises and propose to have only 4 teachers for a school of 260+ students. Research indicates that students with poor time management skills, lack of motivation and reading difficulties may not do so well on on-line courses.
The highschool where I’ve worked for 9 years is attempting to double our present enrollment (almost 2000 more kids), while decreasing the number of teachers by at least 25%. How, do you ask, can this miracle occur? On-line and blended (hybrid) classes is the secret to this amazing feat.
The right way to use online learning is to extend the reach and coverage of the teachers you already have, into subject areas where maybe they are less expert or where you want access to demonstrations and resources beyond what the local school can deliver. IE, to do things like provide more differentiated instruction, or to use complex interactive models, under the guidance of a teacher.
Anyone who thinks you can sit 60 typical kids in front of computers with one adult in the room and expect to get good results on the intended task is a fool.
Just as el said. Exactly!
Pa cyber teacher, retired, JIT
Easy teachers are paid per “successful” completion. That’s how the pay was described when I looked into working as an instructor this summer.
Blended is definitely the way to go! You need person contact, but a virtual component can be extended or retracted based on the abiliy and responsibility of the student. Some students should not have any virtual component. Unfortunately most of those students are currently enrolled in pa cyber schools.
Cyber teacher, retired, JIT
These schools are not a monster force. They are there for options. You have the same issues in the public school system. There are children who do the work and some children that get passed on. However, the communication between parents, child, and teacher are greater in the online facility. I can say this because I worked in each environment and my children went to both. I would like to know if you are educated in these facilities or is this just you mouthing off about something you do not no anything about? If a child is not doing well in either environment it has to do with lack of communication and support. This happens in all forms of education. Instead of calling the home schools monsters why don’t you look at their structure. They have to follow a more rigid curriculum and structure than regular public school. Have you ever worked at either of these places? Have you had children in either of these places. Then, how can you judge?
Misty, virtual charter schools are mostly Ponzi schemes. They do not provide a good education. It is home schooling with state tuition for the for-profit sponsor: a gold mine. But not for the kids.
Thanks, Diane, for all the information on the cyber charters & virtual schools failures, fantasy-peddling and phoniness–all in the spirit of their money-making, rip-off ways.
The good news is that here, in Illinois, 18 school districts denied a K12 connected virtual schools company charter application. Further, through the action and information provided by an Aurora, IL parent and community organizer–one Mr. John Laesch (an Education Hero if ever there was one!)–a state legislator (Linda La Chapa Via) sponsored a bill providing for a one-year moratorium on virtual schools (Illinois unfortunately has a Charter School Commission which–yes–can sadly override a school district’s denial of charter), which–passed! And–more good news!–the company withdrew the 18 applications, their board president resigned (personal reasons given), and, hopefully, the company has backed out of Illinois…for good.
Just some GOOD, positive food for thought for your readers! Push back, guys, and DON’T give up–it’s ours to win for our kids, because yes, WE can!
I really don’t know why these cyber school administrators are not prosecuted for the obvious deception they are perpetrating.
They knowingly fascilatate a system that is clearly failing most of the children in their school.
The cyber school model only serves a few very well. It is costly and it is removing opportunities from students and limiting their choicesvas they fall more and more behind.
Cyber teacher, retired, JIT
This all depends on the cyber school your child attends. It also depends on how involved you are with your child’s education. This is true for regular public school. There are many on-line charter schools that are not scams. However, if you think your child is getting the best education in a public school you might want to check out his/her reading level. Ask for their comprehension level. Ask to go to a class and see what students are having trouble and how they are helping them. Do you really know how to read their PSSA scores? Do you think no news is good news. Then you maybe mistaken. I can tell you this because I have worked within both types of schools. They both have their good and bad qualities. If they do away with options student’s that can not evolve in one type would have no option. If you don’t want to cyber school don’t but you have no right to take it way from children that need it. My son was having trouble in regular public school. He couldn’t read. They said it was my fault. Wouldn’t even give him evaluation. He is now in a scam free on-line charter school. His reading is improving. The regular public school system wanted to push him through without learning to read. He is just one of 5 other kids I know who left for the same reason. Before you try and run down home schools or on-line charter schools you better get hard facts. Because everything that has been written is only an opinion. These opinion of mine are true events, I was there, and I experienced them. Did you?
Re: Test data for cyber charter schools in PA….none have met AYP as part of NCLB. Even more astounding, check churn and graduation rate.
Also why doesn’ anyone look at the failure rates within each class.
Over the course of a year half the students leave and nearly half of the remaining students are failing. 95% of the students turn all their assignments at the end of the quarter. No time for teacher feedback and very little learning takes place.
There are students that excel in this environment. There are situations where this is the right and best place. The problem is they represent less than 10% of the total school population.
Most do absolutely nothing and some are coaxed into getting credit and passing if the standards are lowered far enough.
The only way these school survive is to advertise. Some to the tune of half a million dollars. So target populations that are disenfranchised with their public school or worried about school violence.
Cyber teacher, retired ( JIT)
Regular schools do not meet AYP either. Most schools have trouble reaching these goals. All the regular public schools, in my area, face children leaving because they do not help the children in need. 5 schools within our area did not meet their AYP. If they meet AYP then they have no need for title services. You keep saying negative things about on-line charter schools but you have not compared any of your results with the regular public school system. Why don’t you compare the two then let us know which is worse.Give us some facts on the public school systems. When getting my degree, I had to compare the two. Both had great improvement but both also had not improved. There was negative things and positive for both. However, I did find that the regular public school did not address learning concerns as well as on-line charter schools. Did you ever think that on-line charter schools do not meet AYP because most of the kids are there for a reason. Maybe a disability, behavior issues, or mental disability. There parents switch them their for a reason. It is easy to judge when your child is not in need.
Here’s a response to the article from a teacher/administrator at a PA cyber school. I have not verified this, just sharing it.
“Cyber School presenting a choice — Pat Parris 2013-06-05 09:18
Rhonda,
I only read your article today because I was in Quebec last week with a group of students on a French immersion trip. I am a teacher and administrator at a cyber school in Pennsylvania. I found your article unfair and misleading.
Students on language immersion trips can stay current on their school work and travel the world at the same time with the aid of a laptop and internet connection. We live in a changing world that is requiring our students to change with it. Cyber Schools are schools of choice. Parents who have a negative experience at cyber school can choose another form of education. This is not the case with traditional schools. They have a default population who are assigned as part of the compulsory education act.
I also take exception to the idea that students learning through cyber education are not collaborating. We have 1100 high schools who are members of a student government organization at our school. We have 50 student senators who create and implement projects like… two proms on both sides of the state, talent shows, a protected social media discussion board, Students against destructive decisions event, Yearbook, numerous fundraisers, and trips to Washington DC, Harrisburg, Panama, China and Quebec. We also spend a week with 20 high school students each year to complete the Points of Light Youth Leadership Institute training to implement service learning projects in communities across the state. We complete team building and leadership training at blended education centers.
Many people make judgements about cyber education before actually visiting one. We welcome you to visit us before you write your next article.”
I like your post. It is true many people judge what they do not know or understand.
Yes Mr. Paris has much to be thankful for in supporting cyber school education.
He has enjoyed and reaped many benefits from the pa cyber school experiment.
His lovely wife and dedicated teacher, who is truly amazing, works for the same cyber school. Like many of these cyber charters some persons within certain circles within the school are privileged citizens. They get to make their own rules by association and abiding loyalty to the CEO Dr. Hank. She gets to work from home while other teachers are required to commute, she works partime for full time pay. Oh, by the way, his daughter is the director of marketing. Quite the family affair. Again this is just the tip of the iceberg. You should look at the markup of the board, how available the minutes are to the public, the rosy compensation package Dr. Hanak has.(Wonder if he really has a doctorate, from where?)
The trips Mr. Paris speaks of are not much more than glorified gym classes. He speaks of immersion, hardly. In most of the cases students don’t even notify their teachers that they are involved in the trip before they leave. I know I used to teach at the school he “teaches ” at. Really there aren’t that many students that go, but Mr. Paris and the same “Leadership” teachers get their little vacation year after year.
The only ” innovation” going on in cyber school is how creative the administrators are at deceiving the system. Technology gimmicks, creative accounting, and the like. It is deliberate, premeditated, distortions of the truth perpetrated on the backs of Pa children. They are the silent victims.
Pa cyber teacher, retired, JIT (just in time )
Yes! Because the current system is failing them at their B & M school.
Parents are looking and hoping for something better and the cyber school sales force is promising them something better. And who is providing a way to discern a good program from a bad one. No one is.
Politicians are more concerned with ideology of busting unions than the harm these unregulated schools are doing in destroying lives of young Pennsylvania ‘s.
One cyber school could be investing millions into a quality program while another could be putting it into advertising and a slick web page. You really can’t see the difference.
The actual learning components and learning environment are hidden from view and purposely guarded from scrutiny. They can measure the time in their portal, but the information is too damning to them.
Many flaws could be easily detected but the PDE is reluctant to dig deeper. The PDE actually makes the cyber schools worse in many instances because they apply and require B & M solutions that simply do not fit or apply to a cyber school environment.
A cyber school is a method of instruction that can not satisfy all the elements of a B & M school, period. To imply that it can is a lie!
To the marketing arm of the cyber school, the student is not a child of the community, it is a commodity to churn through the cyber school system. It is the marketer that benefits. Humanity has sunk to an all time low. It is not what is best for the child, it is about closing the deal.
It is all about the numbers, school retention and growth. Not student comprehension and learning. A sad set of circumstances in Pa. I thought the idea was to develop a foundational innovative model that was better. From this innovative model students and parent would flock to it. But the current set of circumstances say forget about developing a better model, success is only measured by growth. So more and more money is directed to advertising instead of the education program because it is easier to count bodies than itbis to assess value added student performance.
The Truth be told…
Pa cyber school teacher, retired, JIT
And what about the parents of students in Philadelphia that are FORCED to practically beg for a slot in the so called “Charter School”, which is not other that the new public school way only that you don’t have to live on the specific zip code to be able to attend and, like me, ended up with no pubic school around and are FORCED to go to the school district so they find a spot on a low quality overcrowded school for your MENTALLY GIFTED program student just for them to feel afraid and falling on their current place? If it is not cyber school and I cant afford to pay private…..what did you do then?