Board debates strategy to boost enrollment in district cyber program
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Summary
Board members reviewed declining in-house cyber enrollment (reported at 45 students) versus earlier figures (85 in 2022) and discussed staffing, synchronous instruction, marketing and possible parent incentives to attract students back from outside providers.
The Eastern York SD board spent a substantial portion of Monday—vening discussing strategy to increase enrollment and effectiveness of its district-run cyber program.
Board members said the district previously had about 85 students in 2022 under a different model but now runs an in-house program with roughly 45 enrolled; the board noted about 125 students currently attend outside cyber providers. A board member said reclaiming even a small number of those students could offset program costs: "If we have one kid ... it pays for itself," an attendee said during the discussion.
Members and staff debated the program model. Administrators explained that the earlier model relied on dedicated synchronous teachers and that the current in-house program uses a mix of district-created curriculum and third-party platforms (district staff said some courses remain "canned" through Imagine Learning when internal course-writing and teacher availability are limited). Dr. Shoemaker described current contact practices: teachers and counselors reach out weekly to enrolled students, with a high level of outreach and monitoring.
Options discussed included investing in more synchronous teacher time, regional partnerships to share course offerings, targeted outreach to middle-school families (identified as the largest feeder of students to outside cyber providers), and conducting a cost-comparison and outcomes review (cost per pupil, test scores, retention) ahead of a next-month agenda item. One board member suggested pilot incentives for parent involvement as a possible lever.
The board asked administration to gather data for the next meeting: current and historical enrollment counts, per-pupil cost comparisons with outside providers, and test-score comparisons between district brick-and-mortar and cyber students. No vote was taken; the item will return for further review.