Bill and Kim Van Cleve found the kindergarten year for their son, Royce, uninspiring. And since the family travels frequently, the idea of a cyber school piqued their interest. But they didn’t want Royce just sitting in front of a screen.
 
The family started exploring homeschool options, they found the Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School, or PA Cyber Charter: a public online school for students in kindergarten through 12th grade. It’s a quality education, the Van Cleves said, that’s also letting them show Royce broad horizons. 
 
“We want him to experience the world that we never got to see,” Bill said. “We want to make sure that he sees and does things with other cultures, which keeps him grounded and teaches him the value of what he has and what is available to him.”
 
Royce is now a fifth grader, in his fourth year at PA Cyber Charter. He has the same resources as he would in a public school, without the distraction of an overloaded classroom.
 
“We found when he really liked something and wanted to learn more about it, teachers just didn’t have the time when they had 30 other kids,” Kim said.

“When there’s something he’s really interested in, we can expand on it and do so much more with it.”

The Van Cleves said the cyber school journey has strengthened their bond as a family, too. They learn along with Royce, and the family has also started doing 5k runs all around the country for Royce’s physical education hours.
 
“A lot of people think that we’re sitting home and not doing anything, but even traditional homeschooling is not what it was,” Kim said. “Education is so different now, and even though we’re learning differently, we’re still getting the same education material — and we aren’t teaching him for a test.”
 
Thanks to a satellite campus 15 minutes away, Royce can interact with local kids and participate in clubs. PA Cyber also organizes at least one field trip a month to local museums, trampoline parks, and more. Everything he needs — from soccer balls to textbooks —  are provided by the school.

 “It keeps you sharp and you have a sense of family and pride seeing him get through things,” Bill said. “We get to discover new ideas and concepts with him, and with PA Cyber, you don’t miss anything.”

Want to know more? Online information sessions occur regularly at
pacyber.org/session/.