Pa. cyber schools offer alternative education

By JENNIFER FITCH

WAYNESBORO, Pa. — Back-to-school sales had just gotten under way when the Richardson family received books, supplies and a pair of computers on its doorstep. Hannah Richardson, 7, uses one of those computers to enter a virtual classroom. Once logged in, she speaks into a microphone to communicate with her teacher and dozens of other students enrolled in the Agora Cyber Charter School. "Hannah's never physically met her teacher," said her mother, Mary Laura Richardson. Hannah's parents withdrew her from the Waynesboro Area School District midway through kindergarten. Hannah felt uncomfortable in the traditional school environment, and her parents felt the child was not being challenged in her best subjects. Hannah's brother, Sam Richardson, 5, has started kindergarten studies in cyber school. Matthew and Mary Laura… Sam and Hannah Richardson identify bones in the human body as part of their cyber charter school curriculum. (Jennifer Fitch/Staff Writer)

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