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| Media Alert - Article Unfairly Attacks Our Schools |
February 18, 2010
Dear Families,
Like all of you I have seen many articles in the newspapers full of misconceptions regarding cyber education. But an article that ran in today’s Daily Courier has to be one of the most outrageous.
Southmoreland School District Superintendent John Halfhill is claiming that our public cyber schools are doing a disservice to their students because of the school’s PSSA test scores. He also feels our schools are a drain on school budgets with no positive results.
Particularly disturbing is a quote from one district official: "Down the road these kids will be out in the workforce and they won't be able to perform to the standards,"
As we know, most children who come from their home district into our public cyber schools they are generally one to two grade levels behind. Also if our cyber schools miss one benchmark then the school will not meet Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP). But as long as districts meet the standard within a grade band then they can make AYP. If the same standards were used for our cyber schools then many of the cybers would have made AYP!
We cannot let these outrageous claims go without a response! Several district officials are quoted, but, once again, there is no attempt to get our side of the story. These unflattering and unfair portraits must be countered by the substance of what our children experience every day as public cyber school students. We need to continue to respond to this and every story casting our schools in an unfair negative light.
If you live in the area of the distribution area of the Daily Courier, please write to them and let them know how cyber schools have helped your children! You can send your letters to lkeffer@tribweb.com
Please keep your letters to 200 words and include you contact information or the paper will not consider your letter for publication.
As always, thank you for helping promote and dispel the myths surrounding our public cyber schools.
Keep moving forward!
Cindy Strausburger
President
Cyber schools called 'disservice' to students
By Rachel R. Basinger
FOR THE DAILY COURIER
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Southmoreland Superintendent John Halfhill said cyber schools drain public school districts' budgets with no positive results.
He said hidden costs equal more than $8 million in just one year for the 17 school districts in Westmoreland County.
Halfhill used data collected from the state Department of Education Web site regarding PSSA results of cyber charter schools for the 2008-09 school year to back up his claims during a presentation to board members last week.
He said the advanced/proficiency rate for Westmoreland County schools significantly surpass the rate for cyber charter schools, which generally post rates below the state average.
Halfhill's research suggested that 10 cyber charter schools are failing, with 48.4 percent of the 9,295 students scoring advanced or proficient in math, below the adequate yearly progress target of 56 percent, and with 60.5 percent of students scoring advanced or proficient in reading, below the AYP target of 63 percent.
He added that of the 10 cyber charter schools listed in the study, only one was identified as having made adequate yearly progress for one of the past two years. Three of the 10 schools have never made the target, and one of those schools has been under corrective action for four consecutive years, he said.
Halfhill said that one school is in the first year of corrective action II, which would indicate five years without making AYP, and another school is in the second year of corrective action II, which would indicate six years without making the target.
"We're paying for students to attend schools where the students and the schools are not performing," Halfhill said. "I think it's a disservice they're providing to kids who choose to go there."
Last school year, Southmoreland paid $500,000, or about 5 mills, for 50 students who elected to attend charter schools, Halfhill said.
"Down the road, these kids will be out in the work force, and they won't be able to perform to the standards," Director Catherine Fike said.
Halfhill said he presented this data to the Senate majority chairman on the Education Committee last year, with no results.
"I did give it to (state) Senator (Kim) Ward, and she seems to have jumped on this," Halfhill said, "but my next step is to submit a right-to-know request to the cyber charter schools to find out how much they spend on advertising, claiming that it doesn't cost a thing."
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