SusQ Cyber Charter School

Susq-Cyber Charter School is a small, public, cyber charter school whose headquarters are located in Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania. The school offers grades 9th through 12th. Students residing in any region of Pennsylvania may enroll in the school. The curriculum and instruction is internet based. Teachers are available to pupils, during traditional school day hours via phone and internet. Susq-Cyber Charter School is one of 14 public, cyber charter schools operating in Pennsylvania in 2014. In 2016, enrollment was reported as 103 pupils in 9th through 12th grades. All students are assigned a Distance Learning Monitor who checks their progress and remains in contact with them through emails, on-line chats through the programs or by phone. Teachers are available to tutor students, to review their problem areas, and to set up plans for achievement that the student can follow between tutoring sessions. Tutoring sessions may be held on line using Elluminate or teachers may meet with students either at the testing centers or at various locations throughout the state which include libraries in the students home area, at university library facilities or at community centers.

SusQ-Cyber Charter School
Address
240 Market Street, Suite 15,

Bloomsburg
,
Columbia County
,
Pennsylvania
17815

United States
Information
TypePublic cyber charter school
MottoPennsylvania's First Cyber Charter School
Established1998
FounderBerwick Area School District, Bloomsburg Area School District and Milton Area School District in conjunction with the Board of Trustees
School boardlocally selected Board of Trustees
OversightCentral Susquehanna Intermediate Unit 16, Pennsylvania Department of Education
PrincipalPatricia Leighow, Chief Executive Officer (2014)
Staff11 non teaching staff members[1]
Faculty15 teachers (2014),[2] 15 teachers (2011)[3]
Grades9th through 12th
Number of pupils103 pupils (2016)[4]
LanguageEnglish
AccreditationPennsylvania Department of Education
Websitehttp://www.susqcyber.org/

History

In 1997, five local school districts met with members of the Central Susquehanna Intermediate Unit (CSIU16) to discuss establishing a cyber entity. Three of the original five school districts approved the charter that created the SusQ-Cyber Charter School in 1998 (Berwick Area School District, Bloomsburg Area School District and Milton Area School District). In 2002, Pennsylvania Act 88 required all charter schools to be chartered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education.[5] The overriding focus was for the school to deliver an educational program to primarily at-risk high school students who are trying to obtain their high school diploma. In 2003, the SusQ-Cyber Charter School was re-chartered as a public school district for grades 9-12 for an additional 5 years. For its first five years, the school was open exclusively to students in the CSIU16 region. In 2005, enrollment opened to all Pennsylvania students who meets the residence and age requirements of Pennsylvania law.

Initially, the school provided courses that were not available in their traditional district's high school. Over time the program has evolved to serve students who are underserved by the traditional local public schools. This includes students who are pregnant and students who need to work to support themselves, for example. Other students have medical problems such as auto-immune deficiency, cancer, or asthma that lead to them missing a significant number of schools days, due to illness or therapy appointments. Another group of students are gifted. They seek cyber school after leaving their traditional school to accelerate their studies. They may have entered college with advanced standing, but have a course requirement outstanding to earn their high school diploma. Some public school principals have reported referring potential drop out to the school to finish their public education and earn a high school diploma.[6]

See also

References
  1. National Center for Education Statistics (2014). "District Details 2011-2012 school year".
  2. US News & World Report (2014). "SusQ-Cyber Charter School Overview".
  3. National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data - SUSQ Cyber Charter School, 2012
  4. Pennsylvania Department of Education (November 14, 2016). "Susq Cyber Charter School Performance report Fast Facts 2016".
  5. Pennsylvania Department of Education (2014). "Cyber Charter Regulation". Archived from the original on 2014-03-25.
  6. Susq-Cyber Charter School, Susq-Cyber Charter School Annual report, November 2008

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