Pennsylvania Online Charter School Opens Enrollment for 2012 2013

  • By Tim Sohn
  • 03/19/12

A Pennsylvania-based online charter school for students in grades K-12 has kicked off enrollment for the 2012-2013 school year.

The tuition-free Agora Cyber Charter School, an online public school authorized by the state, accepts students from anywhere in Pennsylvania. For grades K-8, the school offers mastery-based courses in art, music, history, science, math, and English and language arts. Options for high school students include 150-plus world languages, advanced placement courses, electives, and core classes. Upon completion, students will receive a high school diploma.

Features of Agora Cyber Charter School include:

  • Daily lesson plans that update as the student progresses;
  • Web-based lessons, as well as offline resources, which include CDs, videos, and books, which are shipped to the student's home;
  • Communication from state-certified teachers through e-mail, online classrooms and discussions, telephone, and in-person meetings;
  • Designation of a family teacher coach, a staff member who will be the main point of contact from enrollment through graduation, does home visits, and organizes student and parent training;
  • Field trips to places such as museums and zoos;
  • Extracurricular activities, such as Lego robotics, Odyssey of the Mind, and chess. Students can also participate in extracurricular activities in their local school district; and
  • Loaning of laptop computers to middle and high school students.

In addition, Agora students in grades 3 to 12 who live in the Philadelphia area can attend face-to-face classes, one-on-one sessions in math and language arts and other activities at the Philadelphia Learning Center.

For more information, visit K12.com/Agora.

About the Author

Tim Sohn is a 10-year veteran of the news business, having served in capacities from reporter to editor-in-chief of a variety of publications including Web sites, daily and weekly newspapers, consumer and trade magazines, and wire services. He can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter @editortim.

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