Parent urges board to reverse reassignment of cyber academy math teacher

Liz Rivera, a parent of three students in the district’s cyber academy, told the Coatesville Area School District Board of School Directors on Sept. 23 that the district’s recent decision to reassign the cyber academy math teacher, Mr. Depipa, to a part‑time in‑person role at North Brandywine Middle School is “incredibly disruptive, short sighted, and unfair.” Rivera said nearly 200 cyber students rely on that teacher for “consistent instruction and support.”

Rivera said the change undermines students’ trust and stability and described an incident where her daughter needed assistance during a math test at 11:45 a.m. and “Mr. Depipa wasn't available until after 2.” She also told the board that many working parents cannot be home to provide that support.

The parent said the cyber academy is “significantly overbooked” and that removing a dedicated online teacher midyear would “compromise the integrity of the program,” adding that cyber students deserve “uninterrupted access to their resources, support system, and the teachers that they were promised.”

A board member acknowledged receiving Rivera’s emailed concerns and said the correspondence had been forwarded to the full board. The board member said the district would “be talking with Dr. Rybarczyk to make sure we can” address the issue. Dr. Rybarczyk (the superintendent) was named in the meeting as the staff member the board would consult.

No formal action or vote on staffing was taken at the Sept. 23 meeting. The matter was presented during the public‑comment portion of the meeting; the board’s remarks indicated staff would follow up with Rivera.

Rivera’s remarks were confined to public comment; the board did not debate or adopt any change to the cyber academy assignment during the meeting. The superintendent or district staff did not announce a staffing decision at the meeting.