PA Cyber Leader Lauds Innovation and Accountability Initiatives in Budget Proposal

MIDLAND, Pa., March  9, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- As the leader of commonwealth's largest online school, Dr. Nick Trombetta today applauded the Corbett administration for including in its 2011-12 budget proposal concepts already working for children enrolled in the Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School.

"We appreciate the situation the commonwealth is in financially, and want to be a part of the solution," Trombetta said. "In many ways, we feel we are already a part of the solution, having offered so many children an educational opportunity they otherwise would never have had."

Trombetta, who began PA Cyber ten years ago with a $25,000 planning grant, said the budget proposal unveiled yesterday recognizes that charter schools have played a vital role in spurring competition and innovation and given families quality educational options.

"We are pleased that this budget proposal has taken a page out of our own playbook and rewards those of us who have helped children succeed through innovation and technology," Trombetta said. "Our children have one shot at a quality education, and need options, particularly when they're faced with a school that consistently performs poorly."

In addition to the proposals that encourage student achievement through innovation, Trombetta said PA Cyber also welcomes the administration's commitment to strengthening ethical and performance standards and injecting quality, accountability and transparency into charter and cyber charter schools.

"We will strive to set the bar," he said. "Having met AYP for the past two years, we are as committed now to strengthening our performance and demonstrating to taxpayers that we are helping children achieve – and surpass – expectations defined through educational standards."

As the budget process moves forward, Trombetta said he is hopeful the legislature and the administration will put students first.

"We recognize that yesterday's budget proposal was the first step in a challenging process with limited resources, and hope our elected officials will look to the many examples we've set for solutions to help our children thrive," he said.  

PA Cyber was launched in 2000, when 500 students enrolled. Today it serves 10,000 students across Pennsylvania. In Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA) math and reading tests, PA Cyber students last year met or surpassed every performance target, attaining the standards for Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) as defined by the federal government and as tested by the Pennsylvania Department of Education.

SOURCE Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School

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