Pennsylvania: Those Disgraceful, Failing CyberCharters
I recommend that you get on the email list of the Keystone State Education Coalition if you want to know what is happening in Pennsylvania. Lawrence Feinberg posts informative articles about the schools of that state. You can contact him at lawrenceafeinberg@gmail.com.
One ongoing scandal in Pennsylvania is the story of cyber charters. Pennsylvania has 14 cyber charter schools, and 13 of them are on the state’s list of the lowest performing schools in the state. Cyber charters have low graduation rates, high attrition, and low scores. While Pennsylvania has many underfunded districts, the state is very generous with its failing cyber charters. From the years 2013-2016–four years–the state paid $1.6 Billion to these “schools.” In 2016 alone, the state handed out $454.7 million to cyber charters. All of that money is extracted from the budgets of public schools because the money follows the student, from good public schools to low-performing cyber charters. Most cyber charters are operated for profit. And they are very profitable! But not for their students.
Understand that the cyber charters receive full tuition for every student they enroll, even though they have none of the expenses of brick-and-mortar schools. No maintenance of grounds, no heating or cooling, no nurses, no library, no gym, no lunch room, no meals, etc. Yet they collect the same tuition as real schools. Their CONTINUE READING: Pennsylvania: Those Disgraceful, Failing CyberCharters | Diane Ravitch's blog
