Our children are pioneers. We enrolled them this year in our states first "public" cyber school. Public--because the school takes the funding our local public school would be getting for our 7 students in school and is "suppossed" to send it to our school, Einstein Academy.

The problem being is that the public schools are outraged in loosing the funding for our children. We have homeschooled for over 9 years and I can honestly say that this is the first time that our children have actually benifited from those funds being used for them.

The PA Dept. of Education is presently holding up the funding for the school until they further investigate the legalities of the school. That means that the teachers are going without pay, the school has no money to opperate on, and, so forth.

We are a country that throws around the phrase "Freedom of Choice" much to loosely. The Federal and State goverments can choose to use our tax dollars to fund whatever they wish , such as, abortions, and so forth, but, the bottom line to everything is the greed of money.

This whole issue isn't really over the quality of a cyber school education, it is over, the local schools loosing their funding for our children.

Our children personally love being in their cyber school. They have truly enjoyed school this year, and, they have learned so much especially in the area of computer usage.

My 3rd grader can cut and paste, forward, email, and, literally do so much on the computer. I feel that having this knowledge is a very valuable tool that can only benefit him and his other brother & sisters in our age of technology.

Please keep our school in your prayers. If the school would have to close because of lack of funding during the school year, 2,200 students would be out of school, as well, as 125 graduating seniors.

Marsha in Pa-wife to Loren--Mother to 12

-- Marsha (Thankful4Jesus@excite.com), February 15, 2002

Answers

That's ridiculous. Maybe they are afraid your kids will do so much better you will show them up, also!

Your family will be in my prayers. Good luck, and keep us posted!

-- Christine in OK (cljford@mmcable.com), February 15, 2002.

Marsha,

Your school district probably did not get funding when you were homeschooling your kids, why the fussing about it now?

Competition is the key word here. Competition is something that the public school system does not want. If they have competition they will have to improve. They will no longer automatically get all the kids enrolled in the public schools to be forced to come to them. The schools have for years cried that the class size was too big for the teachers, thus the children could not learn. Now when there are less children (due to homeschooling) they still fail to learn, despite samller class size.

Remember anytime you take something from the government or school district they will attach many strings and require hoops to jump through. I know this as a fact since we homeschooled for many years.It is unfair that you may not get your tax money to send your kids where you want to, but that is the way it is. I personally still like the voucher system. Send your kids wherever you want. No strings attached. But that will never get through due to the strong teachers union and their pawns in congress.

I just wondered why you have abandoned homeschooling. Are you just burned out or is the cyber school really something special? Hope things work out for the best, whatever that may be.

Talk to you later.

<')))><

-- Bob in WI (bjwick@hotmail.com), February 15, 2002.

Just a little more information to fill in the blanks. I still homeschool my 1st & 2nd graders traditionally, plus I try to keep an eye on my very active almost 4 year old, plus take care of my newborn baby Moriah Grace.

We have five who do the cyber school, and, this has helped me alot with not having to be the teacher for all of them. They are still here in the home--so, that part is great for us.

This is the first year that we have done anything but "traditional" homeschooling. As with everything, there are always the good points, and, the bad.

As with all things, this is in the Lord's hands.

Marsha I Samuel 12:24

-- Marsha (Thankful4Jesus@excite.com), February 15, 2002.