![]() ![]() That could look like a Spanish immersion program or a rigorous, literacy-based curriculum. Pennsylvania families can choose from more than 180 public charter schools, including several cyber charter schools. Each school has a charter which explains the school’s purpose and what specific community need it serves. What distinguishes charter schools is that they have extra freedom to innovate with learning methods and are accountable to authorizing bodies for results. Like traditional public schools, charter schools are public, free, and typically have no requirements for entry. Pennsylvania Charter SchoolsĬharter schools are another important option for Pennsylvania families. Find out more about public schools in your state at the Pennsylvania Department of Education. Open enrollment is a valuable form of public school choice, expanding parents’ options and ensuring that their zip code isn’t the sole determiner of their education.įor a real-world example, check out Lancaster School District’s guidelines for both intradistrict and interdistrict transfers. So, Pennsylvania parents wanting to transfer their child to a different public school than the one they are assigned should contact their local school district about whether this is an option for them. Open enrollment refers to whether parents can send their children to any public school, regardless of where it is located. In Pennsylvania, the state allows each district decides to set its own open enrollment policies. Did you know that, on average, Pennsylvania spends $17,142 per public school student each year? These schools are operated by districts, free to attend, open to all students, and funded by taxpayers. Robert Lysek is CEO of Executive Education Academy Charter School, a K-12 public charter school serving the Lehigh Valley, and president of the Pennsylvania Coalition of Public Charter Schools.Most Pennsylvania families choose traditional public schools. ![]() We need to come together to reform education so all public schools - district and charter - can succeed. The pandemic has illustrated the importance of educational options for families. We remain ready to discuss meaningful funding reforms that could address the financial challenges we all face while protecting educational options for thousands of families. Leaders of public charter schools - both brick-and-mortar and cyber - have supported fair and reasonable funding reforms for years. Their answer is to cut funding and close charter schools. It’s easier to complain about charter families leaving district schools than to improve their services in an effort to keep them. Unfortunately, it seems district leaders would rather demonize public charter schools and charter families than tackle their real financial problems, such as their growing pension expenses. ![]() Charter schools are working with government agencies and businesses to address this “digital divide.” Many charter school families in underserved communities, unlike families in wealthy school districts, don’t have access to high-speed internet or devices that allow them to learn virtually. Like district schools, brick-and-mortar public charter schools had to transition quickly to online learning. Perhaps they are ready to acknowledge the unique costs faced by public cybercharter schools - unique costs that they previously have denied existed. Those same district leaders now are asking lawmakers for more money, not less, to teach students online and offer virtual learning programs. I find it amusing that, just a few months before the pandemic shut down schools, district leaders were in Harrisburg pushing lawmakers to cut cybercharter school funding, saying they could educate large numbers of students online and do it better and cheaper than cyber schools. The pandemic forced district schools to do something they have resisted for 20 years: embrace virtual learning. ![]()
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