2016 PA Leadership Families for Cyber Charter Schools Day on the Hill.

My students and I went to Harrisburg yesterday to advocate for Cyber Education.

We had 14 students and two teachers participated in the Day on the Hill this year.

Half of these students distributed over 10 packs of 100 letters to representatives and senators on the importance of Cyber Education as an educational choice.  A highlight of the trip was lunch, when a clergyman started a rap to promote public education right at the table where our students were sitting. I  enjoyed watching the awkward faces of my students during this impromptu serenade. 

The other half of the students were members of our SLIC committee. SLIC stands for Student Legislative Initiative Committee. We had been working with Senator Smucker for two years to develop legislation that would help students decide the next step after high school. We had recently finished this legislation and titled it “The Stepping into Careers Act of 2016”. Yesterday we were introducing the bill for sponsorship. Unfortunately, since Senator Smucker will become Congressman Smucker he is no longer able to introduce the bill. However, at the end of the day the SLIC committee was able to get on the hearing schedule with another House bill that is similar to our act. This bill is being introduced by representative Seth Grove, and we are scheduled on June 15th to speak at a hearing in Harrisburg. 

Congratulations to the SLIC committee members and our Student Government Senators for making a difference at 2016 PA Families for Cyber Day on the Hill.

Photos.

https://goo.gl/photos/PHddVu5S888522UdA

Letter to Governor Wolf of Pennsylvania

Governor Wolf,

I am a Cyber Charter School Teacher whose job is threatened by a lack of funding in the former budget. I am 60 Years of age, and have dedicated the past 12 years to developing cyber education. I have written a BLOG about my advocacy that can be found here. http://cyberschoolpa.blogspot.com/

I am writing to you today to support HB 1460. I recognize that this bill is not everything that you are looking for as the new leader of our Commonwealth. However, I think it is a good compromise that will keep school doors open for millions of teachers and students. These people are not responsible for this budget impasse. Should they be punished for it?

Respectfully, 

Patric L.  Parris 

Please vote no to HB 530 and cuts to charter & cyber charter schools

Dear Senator, State Legislator, and Governor,

 

I am aware of the efforts in Harrisburg by my elected state legislators, House Representatives, and Senators to undermine the support for PA public-charter schools and to cut funding to the charter-education model that serves individual Pennsylvanians who cannot thrive or succeed in their local school district. Charter students are public-school students, too, and their education and successes are just as important as their district counterparts.

 

Please vote NO for the School Code/HB 530.  Also say no to unnecessary cuts to charter & cyber charter schools. Do not use a procedural vote to cut charter & cyber charter school funding.

 

I am asking that you please give your support to equality and fairness in the allocation of public-school state funding and, in doing so, provide the freedom of educational choice to all Pennsylvania parents and students.

 

Creating legislation against charter schools makes PA’s educational communities feel like second-class citizens when they do not deserve to be treated or served as such. Please do not cast a vote that will further distance or delay our state’s need for the school choice and individual-student accommodations provided by PA charter schools.

 

Please update me on how you plan to support Pennsylvania charter and cyber-charter schools so that my family and I can feel confident about the future of school choice. I look forward to your response.

 

 

Sincerely,

 

 

Patric L. Parris

An open letter to Pennsylvania Legislators

It looks like we are going to get hit. I got this last night from our CEO. Please write / call the leaders in the Senate and House to let them know that you oppose cuts that have been proposed by the governor (as much as 30%), House Bill 530 (4-8%) and other proposals that attempt to treat charter schools as second class public schools. Here is my sample letter.

 

 

 

 

Dear Senator, State Legislator, and Governor,

The current plan to cut charter school funding to the lowest common denominator will hurt charter schools severely. Our school, PA Leadership Charter School has 2500 students. We do not advertise, and we do not have an economy of scale to operate at just under $6000 per student. We will be forced to increase class size, lay off teachers, and move to turn-key solutions that will eliminate teacher and student interaction. How can this be helping students? I oppose cuts that have been proposed by the governor (as much as 30%), House Bill 530 (4-8%) and other proposals that attempt to treat charter schools as second class public schools. Raising the Education budget from $350-$400 million at the expense of charter school is a mistake. I am aware of the efforts in Harrisburg by my elected state legislators, House Representatives, and Senators to undermine the support for PA public-charter schools and to cut funding to the charter-education model that serves individual Pennsylvanians who cannot thrive or succeed in their local school district. Charter students are public-school students, too, and their education and successes are just as important as their district counterparts.

I am asking that you please give your support to equality and fairness in the allocation of public-school state funding and, in doing so, provide the freedom of educational choice to all Pennsylvania parents and students.

Creating legislation against charter schools makes PA’s educational communities feel like second-class citizens when they do not deserve to be treated or served as such. Please do not cast a vote that will further distance or delay our state’s need for the school choice and individual-student accommodations provided by PA charter schools.

Please update me on how you plan to support Pennsylvania charter and cyber-charter schools so that my family and I can feel confident about the future of school choice. I look forward to your response.,

Can you please get back to me on this?

Please consider writing your legislator about this. Some of the most innovative public charter schools are the smallest. Governor Wolf's budget cuts target these schools, and will punish them severely for innovation. You can send a template email at this site in 5 minutes. 

If you are feeling more ambitious, then you can find your legislator by typing in your address here. Please consider sending a quick email to him. Also send a note to the governor, and your state senator at these links. 

• the governor
• state senator

Pat Parris

The PA Budget cutters should read this first before cutting the education budget.

Dear Legislator, 


I have been a distance-learning educator for over ten years. During this time, I have seen many students who have been genuinely helped by this form of education. 
One thing that makes our learning platform different is access to quick responses from a teacher. Our students benefit most from this individual attention that we are able to reassure them with. They use the Open Source Moodle platform, and we communicate with many of them each day.  Our Moodle Platform is equipped with an instant messenger to help students at formative times when they begin to struggle. This access to a learning coach will be greatly diminished by a funding cut. 
I meet with students in groups every day in a multi-media classroom. My students have formed life long friendship with other students through this setting as well as looking to their teachers as mentors. I have been able to conduct these classroom sessions while in Panama, China and Quebec. The opportunity to tutor students in this setting will be greatly diminished. Teachers will have less time for synchronous instruction if funding is cut. 
Over time we get to know our students through their writing and responses in the classroom. We can access their group interaction, as well as their knowledge and skill in academics with the technological tools of multi-media classrooms, internal email, instant messaging and highly interactive lessons.  
If our students use distance education as a form of correspondence school, then they could have been doing this in the early 20th century. While it is true that we could still develop a relationship with them through their writing, it is not a reason to spend this kind of money on learning though the Internet. There is nothing new about correspondence based learning. The Cyber Charter Schools of today use technology to rapidly reach students at critical times of learning. We can catch them at thresholds of learning to ease the transition from one concept to another. We can foster a mentoring relationship with them when we celebrate milestones of accomplishment together, and can correct or redirect them when they need it. Most importantly, we can prepare them for the 21st century in a way that could have never been accomplished in the 1900’s. 
Our students are learning to reason with technological change. This is quite different from traditional education that clings to a process that is based upon rewarding compliant behavior. In a global world of change, someone needs to be testing new methods of learning that will eventually become mainstream. As other countries catch up with our standard of living, the process of preparation for the real world of work must change with it. 
Will we regret the cuts in this funding when other countries do a better job of preparing students to interact in a world where computers are the universal language? Pennsylvania will be rewarded for their leadership in connecting real world change with the skills necessary to face it. Our legislators in Pennsylvania should follow in the footsteps of our forefathers and do the right thing. Our Commonwealth has a stellar record of advocating for woman’s suffrage, homeschooling, equal rights, and family values when they were not popular. Over time our citizens will embrace the principles of educational choice and funding which follow the student instead of the system. Who is to say that this is not the next great revolution in education, and Pennsylvania is leading the way. 
For another point of view, please read this article.http://www.dailylocal.com/opinion/20150226/another-view-defending-cyber-charter-schools

The truth about cyber charter schools

The truth about cyber charter schools

Cyber school on Snow Days

At traditional schools when there is a lot of snow the teachers and students take off work. According to the Washington Post the government loses $71,000,000 for each snow day that happens. In Cyber School when we get a snow day the students do not get off school, and the teachers continue to teach. There is no loss in productivity. The current climate change trend seems to be adding more snow days in the North East United States. This means we are likely to see more and more snow days. When teachers teach from home or students learn on their computers at home, snow days are just another school day.

When we add up the number of snow days already this year we can calculate quite a savings. For many schools there were a total of six snow days this year. This represents 4.26 billion dollars of savings in traditional schools. What could education do with 4.26 billion dollars of productivity? When the government shuts down there is no proven economic loss over the long term. When schools close there can be brain drain, and a lack of momentum. The loss of student achievement over the summer months is well documented. The start and stop of learning in the middle of a unit of study can also result in a learning deficit.

In addition to the learning lost there are also savings from snow days. As illustrated in the photo above there are no buses in cyber school on snow days. No buildings to heat, utilities to buy or building to clean.The traditional brick and mortar schools would do well to mimic cyber schools on snow days because it could more than pay for the money that is lost to cyber enrollment. 35,000 students receive $366 million in the state of Pennsylvania. What would we save by closing down schools on snow days? I would venture to guess that it may more than pay for the 35,000 student's tuition who have chosen to cyber school.

Since I have made this post in February of 2014 many districts have begun this practice. Should  Cyber Charter Schools  be resource schools for traditional schools for fund savings in the Pennsylvania Education System?