PA Cyber to Graduate 1,032 in Ceremonies at Pittsburgh, Harrisburg

Online school launches alumni organization

PITTSBURGH, June 8 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- For many of the 1,032 graduating seniors in the Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School, the school's 10th commencement exercises this week at Pittsburgh and Harrisburg will mark the first and last time they ever meet.

Increasing numbers of graduates, however, have already met through PA Cyber's numerous educational field trips, at social and recreational outings organized by the school's Family Link program, or when brought together for testing, tutoring, training, enrichment and gifted-talented programs.

PA Cyber is even launching an alumni organization so classmates who may not have known each other in high school can meet and share common interests after graduation.

"Every year at graduation we learn of students who have met their best friends through cyber school activities or even are dating," said PA Cyber CEO and founder Dr. Nick Trombetta. "We shouldn't be surprised because these young people have bravely chosen a different path of education. They have many common interests and look at the world a little differently than their peers who stayed in traditional schools."

Whether friends, acquaintances or complete strangers, members of the Class of 2010 will don caps and gowns for commencement exercises at Pittsburgh's Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall at 5 p.m. Wednesday, June 9, and at The Forum at the Capitol Complex in Harrisburg at 3 p.m. Saturday, June 12.

For reasons of student safety the school blocks access to online social networking sites on school-supplied computers, but PA Cyber does maintain a Facebook page for the general public -- www.facebook.com/pacybercharterschool -- and a number of families and students do use the site from their own computers to communicate and connect.

Increasingly, cyber students and their families meet face-to-face through educational, extracurricular and social programs sponsored and supervised by the school. Arts, theater and music classes are offered at the school's regional offices for students at various grade levels. Advanced educational and enrichment programs bring gifted-talented students together.

The new PA Cyber alumni organization at www.facebook.com/pacyberalumni is a networking place for alumni to meet, to share experiences and help the school keep up with them as they go on to college, start careers, and otherwise go on in life, said Director of Family Services Jane Camp.

Camp said PA Cyber is starting new high school student clubs for interest areas in art, history, books, German language and newspapers. A Cutting Edge Science Club, based on the innovative Lincoln Interactive science courses of the same name, was started this year. The school is forming a chapter of the National Honor Society.

Self-help and resource groups are other ways that cyber students come together. Camp said a new young parents group called STEPS (Support Team Educating Parenting Students) already has 78 members.

This year marks PA Cyber's 10th anniversary. The first statewide K-12 cyber charter school -- now regarded as a model for the nation -- began modestly as a backup plan for the students in Midland, Pa., a little Western Pennsylvania town whose steel mill had shut down and which had to close its high school as a result. PA Cyber graduated 16 seniors in its first class in 2001.

CONTACT: Fred Miller, communications coordinator, +1-724-643-1180 ext 1377

SOURCE Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School