IU1 Executive Director Charles Mahoney said the idea was brought to him this spring by Ringgold School District Superintendent Gary Hamilton.

Hamilton, who could not be reached for comment Wednesday, suggested to Mahoney that the IU create the cyber school as a way to save districts money.

Currently, public schools must pay tuition for students who attend cyber schools – bills that add up to hundreds of thousands of dollars for districts.

In addition to saving districts money, an IU cyber school would give them more control over what students in cyber schools are learning, Mahoney said.

He said between 15 and 18 representatives from districts in Washington, Greene and Fayette counties sit on the committee to come up with a plan of how the cyber school will work. It has met once and will meet again this month.

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IU may create cyber school by Dawn Goodman

From Observer-Reporter.com

Blendedschools.net is an online K-12 curriculum based on Pennsylvania educational standards, with more than 150 member districts statewide.

During an earlier presentation, Blendedschools regional representative Jon Rednak said member districts have used the program in a variety of ways, including creating their own cyber school, professional development, alternate and gifted education, and summer school and credit recovery.

The program also offers several language courses uncommon to high schools, including Chinese, Japanese and Arabic.

District administration officials say entering the Blendedschools.net program will save the district money.

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Blendedschools.net lets students earn a Dover diploma by Andrew Rusonis

From The York Dispatch

My friends and even my extended family don’t quite grasp the concept of online school. But as a recent high school graduate from Commonwealth Connections Academy (CCA), I can say that my time in a virtual charter school has prepared me for a very bright future.

Cyber schools have been in existence in Pennsylvania since 2003. Though relatively new, they are more advanced than they were even last year. CCA was able to give me a personal path to learning that finally piqued my interest in school.

This year I’ve taken classes that were not offered to me at the schools I have attended in the past. For example, art history and digital photography were just a few of the classes in my schedule. Digital photography has taught me some amazing tricks of graphic art. Art history was a great class, because I learned about my favorite works of art and the cultures that created them.

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Cyber schools: they worked well for me by Juliana Coleman

From PennLive.com