What Are Cyber Schools and How Do They Work?
CCA believes in partnering with the entire family to help your child succeed.
In the United States, 50 million students attend public schools. Parents and guardians understandably seek the best possible education for children, and attending cyber school could be the answer. Cyber schools provide a comfortable and safe approach to teaching, allowing students to learn from home.
If you’re thinking of enrolling your child in cyber school, give them the flexibility to learn as an individual with Commonwealth Charter Academy.
- What Are Cyber Schools?
- How Does Cyber School Work at CCA?
- How Is CCA Different From Traditional Schools?
- What Is Cyber School Like at CCA?
- How Parents Get Involved in Online Learning
- CCA Online Lessons and Curriculum
- How CCA Cyber Charter School Can Work for Your Family
- Contact CCA to Learn More About Our School!
What Are Cyber Schools?
Cyber charter schools are tuition-free public schools open to all students. While they follow state academic and financial reporting standards, they have more curriculum, calendar, classroom, and teacher flexibility.
Parents look for positive environments where their children can thrive. Online education at CCA provides learning flexibility and individualized attention to each student sothey can learn at their own pace.
How Does Cyber School Work at CCA?
A CCA diploma is the same as one from any traditional public school. However, CCA goes beyond meeting educational standards. We believe that student success is a team effort, so we provide the highest support to students and their families. Newly enrolled families work with veteran parents to navigate the transition to online learning, and families encountering challenges can make an in-person visit to one of our many family service centers across the state.
Our students collaborate with diverse peers across the state during live virtual class sessions. They can also take advantage of over 900 social and educational field tripsannually. CCA students have vibrant and varied opportunities to participate in clubs and extracurricular activities.
How Is CCA Different From Traditional Schools?
A customized education that meets students where they are makes CCA the cyber charter school of choice. Cyber charter schools in Pennsylvania are public schools. A CCA diploma is a public school diploma, just like you would earn at a traditional public school. Factors that differentiate CCA from traditional public schools include:
- Personalization: CCA school staff work with students and their families to identify each student’s skills, customizing a unique education plan that sets them up for success.
- Individual attention: Our teachers provide the highest levels of support. If students excel in one subject and find another challenging, CCA offersextra support and advanced learning to build a learner’s confidence and instill essential skills.
- Flexibility: Students can attend live online sessions to be guided through lesson content by certified teachers, complete daily lessons asynchronously at their own pace, or mix both approaches. CCA learners can choose when and where they learn, empowered to make decisions about their education and school-life balance.
What Is Cyber School Like at CCA?
At CCA, the whole family is part of the education process. Parents, guardians, or family members of CCA students serve as learning coaches, working alongside our teachers to create a learning roadmap, track progress, and monitor their workloads.
Students who need extra help can attend tutoring sessions, and those who need an additional challenge can choose from an array of accelerated courses. We also accommodate students with special education needs and English learners.
How Parents Get Involved in Online Learning
CCA connects and involves parents in several ways:
Caretakers
At CCA, we refer to the student’s parent(s) or legal guardian(s) as caretakers, who have the following responsibilities:
- Enrolling the student and satisfying enrollment requirements.
- Education and educational decision-making.
- Notifying the school if the child is experiencing issues with technology, or has challenges with coursework or online education.
Learning Coaches
The role of a learning coach is typically filled by the caretaker — however, the learning coach can be any designated adult who performs tasks such as supporting teacher instruction, overseeing the student’s work, and communicating with CCA teachers. A student at CCA also can have more than one learning coach.
Learning coaches have great flexibility in scheduling daily routines. CCA’s learning management system monitors attendance and ensures assignments and requirements are complete.
CCA Elementary School: Supporting Young Learners
CCA students in grades K to 5 need great support from their learning coach, teachers, and family members. Learning coaches work closely with CCA teachers to create a flexible schedule that includes engaging activities and study breaks, incorporating at least 25 weekly learning hours.
You can expect to spend about five hours daily monitoring coursework and helping with lessons. Learning coaches work together with CCA teachers and their elementary school students to:
- Create a flexible schedule that includes activities and study breaks.
- Perform many offline schoolwork activities like reading, writing, and completing assignments.
- Spend 15%-30% of the school day at the computer.
CCA Middle School: Fostering Independence
When students enter grades 6-8, the role of the learning coach evolves. Middle school students develop more independence in and personal responsibility for their own studies.
Students transition to subject-specific teachers, and you will work with them to create and follow a schedule that meets the student’s needs, including roughly 28 hours a week on their studies. Learning coaches and teachers will help middle school cyber students learn to:
- Follow a schedule that fits a student’s individual needs.
- Combine online lessons and traditional schoolwork in their classes.
- Spend 50%-75% of the school day on the computer to attend virtual lessons and complete assignments.
CCA High School: Setting and Achieving Educational Goals
CCA high schoolers take an active role in their education. They have more control over their schedule and activities, working with learning coaches and teachers to prepare them for life after high school. Learning coaches take on a more advisory role, spending about 30 minutes daily overseeing students as they complete at least 28 hours a week on schoolwork.
Learning coaches work with high school students while they:
- Spend at least 28 hours a week on schoolwork.
- Learn primarily online through independent learning and virtual classes.
- Spend 80%-90% of their school time on the computer.
CCA Online Lessons and Curriculum
At CCA, we strive to deliver a customized learning experience so that each student has the tools to follow their chosen career path, including Advanced Placement (AP), honors, and dual-enrollment options. We encourage students to explore interest-based courses such as languages, web design, and trade school skills.
From grades K through 12, the CCA curriculum includes core math, science, social studies, and English language arts courses. Students can also take elective subjects from as early as kindergarten. We start considering students for honors courses from third grade, participating in challenging online coursework to meet their academic needs.
The high school curriculum guides students into a successful future, whether they continue higher education, attend vocational school, enlist in the military, or enter the workforce. The core curriculum remains the same, but students can choose from various electives ranging from cybersecurity and entrepreneurship to 3D modeling and astronomy.
How CCA Cyber Charter School Can Work for Your Family
When you approach each child as an individual, the whole family benefits. Enrolling your child at CCA means they receive a quality education at no cost to you or your family. They will enjoy a customized learning path that engages them, meeting their educational needs, skills, and interests. Beyond the academic benefits, you and your child become part of a supportive family that prepares every student for success.
Contact CCA to Learn More About Our School!
If you want to learn more about how your child can benefit from a personalized education in a public cyber charter school, CCA is here to help. Please feel free to talk to us about the benefits of our customized learning and varied curriculum. Learn how our cyber school works and how we work with your family to deliver the best possible education for each student.
Contact a CCA parent to learn about the experience firsthand, or enroll your child and start your journey with CCA today!