Dear families, 

I hope everybody enjoyed the holidays!  It looks like we're going to be busy this year fighting off threats to our public cyber schools.

The best tool we have is still personal contact with you legislators. Many still do not have a clear idea of what public cyber schooling is, how it functions and how critical it is for the educational success of our children.


Cyber School Myth Busters

There is a tremendous amount of misinformation being peddled by public cyber school opponents in support of the Beyer bill. Unfortunately, some of the spin is getting traction because cyber schools are new and many people do not have a clear understanding of how they work.

So next time you visit or talk with your representatives in Harrisburg, you should be prepared if some of these mistruths find their way into the conversation.

The following are a series of scenarios and that we hope will help you present the case for public cyber schools with the right information. 

Please take the time to study the material. With all the facts in hand, it is virtually impossible to deny that our schools are legitimate, successful and viable!  We are going to post this on our web site so you will be able to have it anytime you need it!

Follow this link to download:  http://www.pacyberfamilies.org/uploads/Cyber School Myth Busters.pdf

Scenario 1 - Your legislator tells you that Rep. Beyer's bill is all about accountability.

Answer: Cybers are as accountable if not more than traditional public schools. They must meet every federal and state requirement their counterparts do, including all standardized testing such as the PSSAs. Where they differ is that unlike a brick and mortar public school, a public cyber school can have its charter revoked by the state Department of Education if it's not performing. The ultimate judge, however, is the parents. If they are not satisfied with the cyber school, they can leave. Imagine if parents were allowed the same with traditional public schools!
 
Scenario 2 - Your legislator tells you that cybers are leading to tax increases and increased costs, that they are essentially unfunded mandates.

Answer: This is the mother of all "fuzzy math." School districts spend considerably less to educate cyber students than traditional students.  More importantly, those funds are already in their budgets. School districts do not have to come up with "new" money for cyber students. In fact, they only have to spend 80 percent of your school taxes to educate your child.

Or, for every $100 you pay in school taxes, only $80 is going toward your child's education. Plus, the state reimburses the districts additional 30 percent of the total cost. That's a pretty good deal, which makes it that much more shameful when school districts try to claim otherwise. We will not allow our kids to be scapegoats for tax increases.
 
Scenario 3 - Public cyber schools shouldn't cost as much as traditional schools. After all, you don't need buildings and buses.

Answer: Public cyber schools technology costs and curriculum/materials costs are much higher than at traditional public schools. Also, public cyber schools are not exempt from other costs their brick and mortar counterpart must manage, including school nurses. Again, cybers are public schools, and what they don't spend on Astroturf and swimming pools they put into instruction, teacher certification, textbooks, computers, etc...

Also, an independent study, conducted in 2006 for the Bell South Foundation, determine that cyber operating costs are about equal with those of brick-and-mortar schools.

Lastly, if it were true that cyber were cheaper to operate, then the funding formula in the last scenario clearly makes it so because the districts are
spending less to educate cyber kids.
 
Scenario 4 - Cybers have too much money lying around in reserve.

Answer:  Many do have high levels of reserve funds because many school districts delay and sometimes even refuse to transfer the funds for cyber student. No school can function responsibly unless it has the necessary funds to operate.

If you only get paid once a month, and sometimes the check is delayed indefinitely, it would be wise to have a sizeable chunk of money in reserve so you can pay your bills and feed your family.
 
Scenario 5 - Cyber schools are underperforming. Many of them did not make Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP).

Answer: Last year, Pennsylvania's 11 public cyber schools met 42 of 45 academic performance targets. Cybers often take students who are one or two grade levels behind, children for a number of reasons do not thrive in the traditional school setting. Because of the cyber option, those children do not fall through the cracks. Also, some 660 traditional public schools failed to make AYP, yet no one has called for funding cuts to their districts and schools. This is clearly a double standard.
 
Scenario 6 - Cyber students are not socialized. They don't learn how to interact with other kids because they sit in front of the computer all day.
 
Answer: Public cybers provide many activities, including academic and social outings, clubs and field trips. Cyber school students are also engaged in a wide variety of extracurricular and community activities with their peers, including sports, music, theatre, dance. The flexible scheduling of cyber schools often gives kids more opportunities to socialize and interact with their peers.

Call your Senators 

PA State Senator John Pippy (R-Allegheny) will be introducing legislation that allows a child whose parents have been called or ordered to active military duty to enroll in Pennsylvania public cyber school if they have a residence in the state. Currently, if a military family is stationed in another state but owns a home in  Pennsylvania  their child is not eligible to attend cyber school in Pennsylvania. The senator is circulating a request for co-sponsors in the state senate.

Please call your state senator and ask him to co-sponsor this legislation.
You can find your state senator by going to our website, www.pacyberfamilies.org and clicking on our legislative directory.


Letter in the Harrisburg Patriot

I was lucky enough to get a letter to the editor published in the Harrisburg newspaper last week. I have had several favorable responses, so I have included it below.
 
Thanks for all you do to support our public cyber schools!

Stay energized!
 
Jenny Bradmon, president
 


January 4, 2008

Cyber schools' value

Rep. Karen Beyer's legislation on public cyber schools (news article, Dec. 6) is a thinly veiled attempt to set limits on school choice and put at risk more than 20,000 Pennsylvania families who've found a solution to their children's educational challenges through cyber schools.  There are many legitimate issues pressing local school districts; public cyber schools are not one of them. Rep. Beyer, R-Lehigh, would have you think they're a massive drain on school budgets. They account for less than1 percent of what we spend on education in Pennsylvania, and, school districts spend less money per pupil on cyber students.

Public cyber schools must meet every academic and attendance requirement their traditional counterparts do. They are also required to meet AYP and PSSA rules.

Rep. Beyer has refused to let the facts get in the way of her agenda. This agenda apparently is protecting the status quo by stomping out innovation and competition to do the bidding of the same group of bureaucrats who push property taxes higher and higher while academic achievement goes lower and
lower.

There is no other credible explanation for her actions, because public cyber schools are legitimate, thriving and successful.

JENNY BRADMON President, PA Families for Public Cyber Schools