Enrolling in Cyber School at CCA is Easy

Commonwealth Charter Academy (CCA) is a tuition-free public cyber charter school for grades kindergarten through 12 that is available at no cost to all students and families in Pennsylvania.

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Mother and son looking at a CCA laptop

Although enrollment is easy and you can get started with just your name and an email address, there are cyber school eligibility requirements that every student and family who wants to join the CCA community must meet.

Take a few minutes to familiarize yourself with these cyber charter school eligibility rules, and always feel free to contact our enrollment team at 844-590-2864 with questions about enrollment.

CCA’s Eligibility Requirements

Like all Pennsylvania public schools, cyber charter schools follow rules established by the state Department of Education, as well as state laws that govern who can enroll in public school.

CCA admits students and conducts all educational programs, activities and employment practices without discrimination on the basis of sex, race, religion, age, national origin, ancestry, creed, sexual orientation, disability or any other legally protected classification.

CCA uses academic records from a student’s previous school and works with the student’s family to determine grade placement. Typically, a student must have completed a grade level before being advanced to the next one.

Students who are under suspension from another school may enroll at CCA, but the principal will determine if and when they can attend school-sanctioned events. Students expelled from another school may enroll in CCA only if CCA’s president and CEO and the chief administrative officer of the student’s previous school agree to the enrollment.

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Age Limits

Every child who is a resident of a Pennsylvania school district is entitled to a public school education until they graduate from high school or turn 21. Students who turn 21 during the school year are entitled to finish that term. Children must meet the kindergarten admission age of their resident school district. To meet public cyber school eligibility for first grade, children must be 6 years old by Sept. 1 of the school year for which they are enrolling, or have completed a public school kindergarten program.

Proof of Age

You will need to provide proof of your child’s age when you are ready to enroll at CCA to verify your online school eligibility. Your child’s official birth certificate or U.S. passport is acceptable as proof of age.

Required Documents

The following documents will be needed to meet cyber school eligibility requirements. If you do not have one of the documents, please contact the enrollment team at CCA by calling 844-590-2864 or email [email protected] to discuss your options.

Charter Enrollment Form. This tells your school district of residence that you have officially enrolled at Commonwealth Charter Academy.
Proof of Student’s Age. Your child’s official birth certificate or U.S. passport. If you don’t have either document, please contact our enrollment team for other acceptable forms to verify your child’s age.
Proof of Residence. Parents must provide documentation, such as a utility bill, mortgage statement or rental agreement to prove they live in Pennsylvania.
Proof of Immunization. This often can be accessed through primary care provider’s patient portal or can be forwarded to CCA by your previous education provider.
Academic Records. Transcripts, report cards and, if needed, 504 plans and individualized education plans. These documents will be requested from your previous school by CCA if you do not have copies.
Any Custody Order. Only biological parents or court-appointed guardians are permitted to register a child for school. If there is a court ordered custody agreement, by state law, only the parent who has primary physical custody or a court-appointed guardian can enroll the child.
Designated Learning Coach Form. This form is needed only if you want an adult other than those identified on the birth certificate and/or custody order to have access to your student’s academic information. Additional learning coaches also can be added at anytime after enrollment.

Geographic Area

You must live in Pennsylvania to be eligible to attend cyber school at CCA. If your family moves, even if it is within the same school district of residence, it is critical to inform CCA to ensure proper billing of school districts and proper instructional technology subsidy for families.

Although cyber school provides for flexibility and travel while completing coursework, families planning to travel or visit a relative for longer than three weeks must contact their student’s principal before traveling for that length of time.

CCA reserves the right to request an updated Proof of Residence at any time, if there is reason to believe a student is no longer living at the address provided. If a family is unable to provide proof that they are living in Pennsylvania and the family is not homeless, CCA can remove the student from the school’s active roles.

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Immunization Records

To meet cyber school eligibility requirements, all CCA students must provide a copy of their immunization record. Pennsylvania’s school vaccination requirements are listed in detail here.

Certain vaccines are required for entrance, and new ones are added in seventh and 12th grades. If your previous school cannot forward your child’s records or if you do not have an immunization record, you and your family doctor can complete a form providing this information.

Prior School Attendance

You can meet cyber school eligibility criteria whether you previously attended a public, private, international or alternative school or were home-schooled. No previous schooling limitations are placed on enrollment.

For previous home-schoolers, CCA requires the affidavit of the supervisor of a home education program signed by a representative from the local school district approving the student for each year of home schooling, as well as the home-school evaluator form/letter for each year of home schooling. Only home-school credits that are approved, or would transfer to the local school district where the home-school program was completed, can be transferred to CCA.

Enrollment Completed

Once you have fulfilled all of the cyber school eligibility criteria, the next step is to attend a mandatory Great Start Orientation Session, which prepares families for success at CCA. During the enrollment process, a regional enrollment ambassador will contact you to schedule an in-person or virtual session.

Attending CCA will be an adjustment for the student and the family. At the orientation program, students familiarize themselves with our learning management system, and parents, who serve as learning coaches, will learn more about their responsibilities.
CCA also provides family mentors, who are seasoned learning coaches with children enrolled at the school. They can help you and your children with nonacademic questions. Your family mentor will contact you after enrollment, and you can contact your family mentor at any time.

Once enrollment is complete, CCA will provide your child with a computer, a voucher for a printer and an internet subsidy to make learning from home easier.
Please don’t withdraw students from their current school. We make it so easy to enroll in cyber school that this is a step you don’t need to worry about during the enrollment process. When your enrollment is complete, our enrollment team will notify the student’s district of the change.

Need More Information on How to Enroll at CCA?

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If you are a Pennsylvania family interested in learning more about how you and your child can meet cyber school eligibility requirements and begin thriving in a school designed for flexibility and a customized education, help is just an email or phone call away.

You can learn more about what your family can do to meet cyber school eligibility criteria so your child can learn from the safety of your own home on a family friendly schedule by using this form to request information.

If you know that CCA is the right fit for your family, fill out this form to start your application.