Bearkat Cyber Academy reports enrollment growth and improved attendance; district outlines supports

Bearkat Cyber Academy leaders told the School District of the City of York board on Jan. 15 that the district-run cyber program is continuing to grow and is implementing systems to improve communication, attendance and instruction.

Leah Hilliard, the Bearkat Cyber Academy presenter, said the program had 288 enrolled students as of the Friday before the meeting and expected about 30 more to join for the third marking period. She said the program had used Smartsheet to automate the application and onboarding process and launched a "Cyber Hub" web page with orientation videos, teacher contacts and how-to guides. Orientation videos have been translated into English, Spanish and Haitian Creole.

Hilliard described a program-wide scorecard used to track key measures and said documented communications in the district's SAPPHIRE system exceeded 6,600 entries as of late December. She reported an attendance improvement from about 74% previously to 76% as of the prior Friday, and said the district uses weekly attendance meetings and student-specific improvement plans to re-engage students.

Enrollment and student services details Hilliard gave to the board included: about 10% of enrolled students are elementary, 11% middle school and the majority high school; 61 students receive special education services; 43 students are identified as McKinney-Vento (homeless). For high school instruction the program uses Edgenuity (Imagine Learning) courseware; staff said asynchronous instruction is supplemented by daily homeroom (2:00 to 2:30 p.m.) and scheduled synchronous office hours for tutoring.

On student login and engagement, Hilliard told board members, "So as of Friday, there were only 40 students that hadn't opened at least 1 class." She said that figure had fallen from about 120 last spring and credited outreach and onboarding changes for much of the improvement. The district also said it provides laptops and hotspots for students without reliable internet and offers meal bags, backpacks and hygiene products when needed.

Hilliard described professional development for cyber teachers, including a certification through the National Virtual Teacher Association (NVTA); seven staff had completed the NVTA certification, and the district had conducted about 46 walkthroughs with formal observations for roughly 40% of staff to date. She said the academy has a full-time guidance counselor as of January and noted one vacancy for a K-8 special education teacher.

Board members asked about the S4 Edgenuity report (students with zero class logins) and supports for students who struggle academically or with engagement. Hilliard described a process of scheduled check-ins, one-on-one appointments and the possibility of in-person sessions by appointment; she also said the district is exploring summer parent/technology sessions in multiple languages so parents can better support students at home. Board members requested continued updates.

"Our goal is to start students fresh and on the right foot at the beginning of a marking period," Hilliard told the board. "We are making a concerted effort to contact the family. Do you know how to log in? How can we help you?"

The board thanked Hilliard and school staff for the presentation and asked for follow-up reports on course completion rates and the impact of outreach efforts on attendance and graduation.