Ten of 15 Cyber Charter Schools in PA Are Operating Without A Charter, Close Them All

- Ten of 15 Cyber Charter Schools in PA Are Operating Without a Charter–Close Them All.- There is no good reason to continue lavishing taxpayer dollars on a system of education that provides subpar services at an exorbitant expense and is subject to runaway fraud. By Steven Singer, Common Dreams, Feb 5, 2018. *EXCERPTS:

*Cyber charters schools are an experiment that failed. It’s time to pull the plug and recoup our losses.*

First, let’s get straight exactly what we’re talking about here. Like all charter schools, these are contracted institutions.
In fact, that’s what charter means – they’re independent businesses that sign a deal with the state to teach kids.
So they’re publicly financed but privately run. And in the case of cyber charters, they agree to educate children online without the benefit of a physical building. Students access lessons via computer or other device, submit work electronically, get virtual feedback and assessment.

At best, these institutions are the grade school equivalent of the University of Phoenix – good only for independent, self-motivated learners. At worst, they’re the kiddie version of Trump University – a total scam. In Pennsylvania, 10 of the state’s 15 cyber charter schools are operating with expired charters, according to a report by the Philadelphia Inquirer. That’s incredibly significant – especially for an industry that enrolls about 35,000 students across the state...

CYBER CHARTER’S DISMAL ACADEMIC RECORD. To be frank, the latter option has to weigh heavily on state auditors. After all, it’s no secret that these schools are an educational disaster. On-line schools in Ohio, Georgia, Indiana, Nevada and New Mexico are all being closed by their respective states. Study after study consistently shows that cyber charters are much less effective than traditional public schools – heck! They’re even less effective than brick and mortar charter schools!

A recent nationwide study by Stanford University found that cyber charters provide 180 days less of math instruction and 72 days less of reading instruction than traditional public schools...

CYBER CHARTER’S COST TOO MUCH. But providing such a poor service to Pennsylvania students is only one reason these schools are problematic. They’re also ruinously expensive. They cost taxpayers more than $463 million in 2016-17 alone. The state charter law grants these schools as much money per pupil as brick and mortar schools, yet their costs are much less having forgone a physical building and all that goes with it.
So cyber charters get whatever the local per-pupil expenditure is. It doesn’t matter if a district spends $8,000 on each student or $20,000. Whatever the amount, that goes to the cyber charter...

MORE, https://www.commondreams.org/views/2019/02/05/ten-15-cyber-charter-schools-pa-are-operating-without-charter-close-them-all

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