LUZERNE COUNTY, Pa. — Classes are in session for students who attend the Hazleton Area Cyber Academy. Headquartered inside the Laurel Mall in Hazle Township.
Newswatch 16 was here in 2022 when construction began; now it's where 20 teachers, guidance counselors, and administrators have their own instruction and office space
"Sometimes you'd like to bring it up and move around," said business teacher Samantha Snyder as she showed us her convertible desk inside her office. "Where I have my camera that can follow me. So I can easily come to my board, switching around, bring in some live interaction with my board, and we can figure out a 401 K."
Live instruction is something 4th-grade cyber academy student Jazlyn Castro loves.
"It's good, like, it's like she has her own room to teach," says Castro as she compared it to other types of cyberlearning. "Like, better basically, it's not like the videos, little videos and that. It's like real-life teaching. And if I have a question, I can answer the question.
And that's a new addition to cyber education in the district.
Parents say the flexibility and integration with the Hazleton Area school district is a big benefit too.
"If you miss something, you can always come back to it and not worry about being pressured or anything so she can work on her time, her own time, her own pace, and more independently," says Jazlyn's mother, Jazilyn Perez.
Which helps students who work or can't attend the typical school schedule.
"Absolutely, we've helped so many kids that traditionally may not fit into a school building. However, we're a school schedule with the flexibility of our cyber education," said Lead Administrator Kris Bonomo. "The schedule works for them. So we've saved many kids that would not graduate through our cyber program."
Soon the cyber academy will have a school store and e-sports team too. If you want to learn more about options here for your student, you can visit the district's website by clicking here.