While most Schuylkill County students went back to school last week, Danielle Sterner can't wait to start another year of cyber school today.
Sterner, 11, of Pottsville, is entering sixth grade and her fifth year at Commonwealth Connections Academy, a K-12 public cyber school with an office in Lehighton.
"I'm looking forward to school," Sterner said Wednesday. "I'm really excited about my science class."
The state Department of Education recognizes the cyber charter school as a public school. More than 8,000 students statewide are enrolled, with 125 from Schuylkill County, according to Thomas Longenecker, the school's assistant chief executive officer. He said enrollment from Schuylkill County has been increasing over the last couple years.
"Cyber education isn't for every student, but the parents who do choose us tell us that they are happy because of the personalized education," Longenecker said, adding that classes progress at each student's level. "We have a lot of flexibility, that's the other thing parents tell us. We consider ourselves a service organization first because of the way we serve our families and we just expertise in education."
Longenecker said the school has a retention rate of 87 percent, much higher than the national average for cyber schools at only 60 percent.
He said he believes both public and cyber programs will continue to grow.
"We believe there will be a blending of both in the future," he said. "That's the neat thing about the way society is evolving. Education can meet the individual child's needs."
Lisa Westcoat, Sterner's mother, said the personalized education program is what attracted her to the school. Her daughter has attended CCA since second grade.
"It's a great program for us. She has flourished," Westcoat said. "Our experience with them has been wonderful. The teachers are loving, concerned and just offer a wealth of information."
Students enrolled in cyber schools earn diplomas the same way they do in a traditional public school. The only difference from a public school is the delivery of the curriculum.
"She adjusted well right away," Westcoat said of her daughter. "I think the biggest difference is that the distractions in normal schools have been taken away and the child can just focus on learning."
The cyber school supplies its students with almost all equipment. Westcoat said no school shopping is necessary and the only think she needs to supply is notebooks, pencils and other smaller items.
Each student can be loaned a laptop and printer, and CCA also provides a reimbursement to subsidize the cost of Internet access. The school has supplied Sterner with an art kit, books, math tools and the all equipment for science projects.
Westcoat said she first heard about CCA through a commercial on television and her daughter was excited to try it out.
"She was all for it," Westcoat said. "It's a more personalized education. Between the school and myself, there is zero change of her being left behind."
Just like at a public school, Sterner's morning usually begins about 8 or 9 a.m., and school lasts until about 2 p.m. The state minimum is five hours, Westcoat said, including a break for lunch about noon and whenever breaks are needed.
Before enrolling in the cyber school, Sterner attended classes in the Pottsville Area School District. Since Westcoat still pays taxes to the school district, Sterner is eligible to participate in sports and other extracurricular activities offered at Pottsville Area. She has played tennis there while enrolled in the cyber school and said it's something she might pick up again.
Westcoat said she recommends parents try cyber school if they are looking for alternatives to public school.
"Most of the skeptics have never tried it," Westcoat said. "The biggest thing being criticized is socialization, and Danielle makes friends wherever she goes. There's no opportunity for bullying or any of that nonsense."
All the safety issues discussed in schools today are also eliminated, she said.
Westcoat also noted that parents have to be involved in the learning process if they choose a cyber school.
"It's not for everybody. Some children need school socialization and sports and others don't," she said. "Some just need to learn and this cuts out the distractions."
Westcoat said she believes many of practices at cyber schools represent the future of education.
"I think the change is coming and I think it's a good thing," she said.
CCA has been at its Lehighton location since 2008 and now has about 49 teachers working there, Longenecker said. The school expanded into Schuylkill County with the purchase of JEM Car Museum, West Penn Township, in June.
The building was bought for $1,125,000 and will be used to expand the nearby office in Lehighton. The goal is to move into the space in October 2014 and expand its teaching staff to about 60, Longenecker said.