A Descriptive Study of Cyber Charter Schools in Pennsylvania

The purpose of this descriptive, qualitative study was to explore what the cyber directors believed the present state of cyber schools in Pennsylvania to be and what were their views of cyber schools for the future. Through this investigation, the researcher analyzed the impact of the developments that are currently taking place in the cyber schools and across the state of Pennsylvania. The researcher interviewed nine of the eleven cyber charter school C.E.O.'s in regard to their cyber school and what the future holds for all cyber charter schools across the state. Some of the major findings in the study appeared as three distinct themes. The C.E.O.'s use internal and external sources for professional development on a wide variety of topics, which differed from school to school. That there are statewide changes occurring that could affect cyber charter schools and the money that they receive per student. House Bill 446, if passed, would put a limit on the amount of money cyber charter schools receive for regular and special education students. Lastly, the C.E.O.'s foresee changes in traditional brick and mortar schools so that they can compete with cyber charter schools. Some of these changes could be an increase in the amount of technology used in brick and mortar schools or others such as the offering of online courses