HARRISBURG, Pa. — The Wolf Administration's reversed decision on required masks in schools has some parents now making decisions of their own.
Pa. Cyber, an online institution comprised of various online public schools, has had an increase in inquiries of enrollment. The CEO of Pa. Cyber, Brian Hayden, says there were 172 web inquiries on Sept. 7, compared to 13 back in 2019; he says the spike in numbers has much to do with Governor Tom Wolf's Aug. 31 announcement of a mask mandate in Pa. schools.
Tyrone Baker of Harrisburg has recently enrolled his 15-year-old son in one of Pa. Cyber's public schools, a choice he says has been very beneficial.
"He was being responsible, he was completing his assignments, made it to the next grade, he did everything he was supposed to do," Baker said.
However, Baker says his son learning remotely is preparing for the inevitable.
"Now that we have the variant, I'm a little more worried," he said, "Are there more variants to come in the future? I'm looking at the numbers dropping drastically for there to be changes, as far as in-person learning."
For Abbe Coury, she has had her three children enrolled in online school for 13 years and says it has prepared them well.
"Pa. Cyber was so set up for this scenario," she said. "I believe we only had one interrupted day of learning back in March 2020 when everything began, and it has been smooth sailing for our kids since then."
Pa. Cyber currently has 200 scheduled appointments for enrollment and 500 more parents who are still waiting for an appointment.