Kelley McConnell: Covid-19 and the case for cyber charter schools in Pa.

In a July 24 press conference, Gov. Tom Wolf spoke about the rise of enrollment in cyber charter schools due to the covid-19 pandemic. He stated that despite his uncertainty on the “pedagogy” behind online learning, school districts need to ensure that children are able to learn safely and recognized how online learning enables them to do that during this pandemic. One thing Wolf forgot to mention is that children deserve the right to a safe education all the time, not just during a pandemic.

Many young Pennsylvanians and their families choose learning options, like home school or cyber schools, to ensure a safe education. School choice provides physical, mental and emotional safety to students who are not having these needs met by their ZIP-code-based brick-and-mortar schools. This is something society has come to value in the turmoil of families struggling to make educational decisions for their children this school year.

During the same press conference, Wolf called the options of going back to school in-person versus utilizing virtual education in the fall as “two bad choices.” Our cyber charter school has been around since 2016, providing students with a high-quality education and serving more than 7,000 students across the state — students who do not think our school is a “bad choice.” It needs to be realized that the rights of families and students to choose a schooling option that best meets their needs should continue to be valued in a post-covid-19 world.

In order to ensure families continue to have a choice for their students’ education, it is important to remember that quality education takes quality funding. In Pennsylvania, the money follows the student. When a student chooses to enroll in a cyber charter school, the local district must then send the money allocated for that student to the cyber school. The local district is not paying for the child to attend a cyber charter school; it is simply passing along the money that is intended for that child. Moreover, virtual schools only receive 75% of the funding per student, ultimately shortchanging the student and the school responsible for providing the education.

At the start of the school closures in March, some anti-charter groups went as far as lobbying the Pennsylvania Department of Education to place a moratorium on cyber charter school enrollment, fearing that families would leave their local districts in favor of a more comprehensive online education. That is a prime example of politics standing in the way of education. School districts should be serving the needs of students, and when that isn’t happening, families should have a right to choose an option that works for them.

To our brick-and-mortar peers who are working tirelessly to adapt to online learning and to ensure adequate learning options for students, know that we see, we support you and we acknowledge your work. We know how hard it is. Please know that cyber charter teachers are not the enemy, and we are certainly not second-class educators. Yes, the majority of Pennsylvania students will find success in their local brick-and-mortar schools. However, this pandemic has shown the general public that there is a need for cyber charter schools in Pennsylvania.

Students with compromised immune systems deserve school choice. Students with depression deserve school choice. Students who are competitive athletes deserve school choice. Students with disabilities deserve school choice. Students who are pregnant or parenting deserve school choice. All students deserve the right to an education that works for them. If we can’t see the case for cyber charter schools now, then we will never will.

Here’s the lesson: School choice should be valued all the time, not just during a pandemic.

Kelley McConnell is director of data and student assessment at Reach Cyber Charter School.