Parents, teachers and students protest Coatesville’s Cyber Academy closure after board vote

The Coatesville Area School District faced sharp public criticism at its April 28 school-board meeting after parents, staff and recent graduates asked the board to reverse or reconsider a vote they said had already closed the district’s Cyber Academy.

Several speakers said they received an email on March 31 announcing the program’s closure and that they came to the April 28 meeting expecting the board to vote that night. “We were told that it was going to be voted on tonight,” parent Larissa Kamer said, adding that the April 14 vote had already been taken and that parents and teachers were not given the hearing they expected.

Teachers and program advocates urged the board to preserve the Cyber Academy, describing it as a program that supports students who struggle in traditional settings and saves the district money by preventing enrollments in outside cyber-charter schools. A district instructor who spoke at the meeting said the local program has enrolled about 205 active students and cited a larger population (he said 240 students overall in cyber charters) to argue that students leaving for cyber-charter providers could cost the district millions in lost funding. He said the program served many students with IEPs and that transfers to cyber charters would shift special-education costs away from the district.

Former Cyber Academy student Jonathan Erdely told the board the program changed his life and that district staff supported him to graduation when he said public schools had not. “If it wasn’t for them, I wouldn’t be able to graduate,” Erdely said, urging the board to keep the program.

At several points speakers faulted the district’s communications about timing and process. Kamer said parents had been told to come prepared to speak about the matter on April 28; she said they were surprised to learn the board had already acted on April 14. The district chair and staff responded that the April 14 decision occurred at a public session and that minutes and votes would be posted after they were approved in the meeting’s roll-call process.

Board members did not reverse any action at the April 28 meeting; public comment concluded with applicants and teachers asking the board to reconsider or provide clearer communications and transition plans for families and staff. The next regular board meeting was announced for May 26.

What’s next: Parents and staff said they will continue to press the board for clarity and options; the district will post meeting minutes and other records for public review.