DICKSON CITY — Where people once purchased pet supplies, charter school students will learn.
Commonwealth Connections Academy will soon open the region’s first family service center for cyberschool students — a visible reminder of the growing presence of cyber charter schools.
In Lackawanna County, 303 students are enrolled in Commonwealth Connections Academy. When the rest of Northeast Pennsylvania is included — Luzerne, Monroe, Pike, Susquehanna, Wayne and Wyoming counties — that number grows to 1,222 students. School officials say they hope the new center also helps increase enrollment.
Last year, the charter school purchased the former Petco building on Business Route 6 in Dickson City for $1.3 million. Officials plan to open the center in January, after workers complete the $1 million face-lift.
“It’s going to be something like they’ve never seen before,” said Reese Flurie, Ed.D., the school’s CEO.
The center will not be a typical school or office, and will have a lobby designed somewhere between a hotel lobby and a Cabela’s store, he said.
“It will be like a really friendly, warm student union building,” Dr. Flurie said.
There will be public areas for group meetings, space for tutoring and a living room with a fireplace where students can meet with the teachers — who they usually see only on their computer screens. Students can also form clubs and meet at the center for activities.
“They’re going to get a chance to meet with the teachers,” Dr. Flurie said. “The families can be face-to-face with staff.”
Taxpayers fund charter schools. When students opt to attend a charter school, their home districts pay tuition. Cyber charter schools provide laptops and other necessary items for students to learn at home.
Dr. Flurie expects more than 40 teachers and other support personnel to work at the new center daily, and once it opens, the school will likely hire more staff. Employees had previously worked in a small office near Target in Dickson City.
“We’re anxious for people to get in the front door,” he said.
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