William, a dad from Scranton

My son Patrick is 14, and he cannot attend a traditional brick-and-mortar school because of serious health issues. He is undergoing more than 80 hours of kidney dialysis each week, and he is awaiting a second kidney transplant. He received his first transplant at age 5, but after eight years that organ failed. 

Patrick has been attending Agora Cyber Charter School since first grade. We made the move after he was bullied in kindergarten and then spent much of that school year in the hospital after a difficult transplant.

The charter school got him quickly up to speed in first grade, covering concepts that he may have missed earlier, and he has been able to work asynchronously (and often well ahead of the class) since that time. He can study wherever he is. 

We frequently travel from our home in Scranton to the Children’s Hospital in Hershey, yet thanks to the flexibility that our cyber charter school provides, Patrick’s studies are no different when we’re in Hershey than when we’re at home. He has actually gone so far as to attend a live class while he was in the pre-op area awaiting surgery! 

Working on his own time, but with the close cooperation of his teachers, Patrick has managed to excel in his studies. He is in the National Honor Society, takes honors courses and hopes someday to be a pediatric nephrologist. 

He cannot attend a traditionally scheduled school, because he already spends close to 12 hours of every day tied to a machine that — while it keeps him alive — reminds him of just how different his life is from other children’s. 

For our family, the option to enroll in a cyber charter school has been a godsend.