Abstract
Pennsylvania is a state with significant proportions of students who attend rural schools, as well as students who attend charter schools. This study examines enrollment patterns of students in brick and mortar and cyber charter schools in Pennsylvania and how these enrollment patterns differ across geographic locale. We analyze student-level enrollment data, controlling for demographic characteristics, and find that, in contrast to brick and mortar schools, cyber charter schools attract students from a variety of locales across the urban-rural continuum. However, rural students exhibit the greatest likelihood of attending cyber charter schools. We discuss the implications of these findings in relation to educational equity, cyber charter school underperformance, and the fiscal impacts of charter schools on the budgets of small school districts.
Highlights
Pennsylvania is a state with significant proportions of students who attend rural schools, as well as students who attend charter schools
Geographic disparities with regard to brick and mortar charter schools reflect how economies of scale tend to foster the creation of brick and mortar charter schools in urban and suburban rather than rural places
This should be a concern for rural school district stakeholders because of the negative educational performance outcomes associated with cyber charter schools
Summary
Pennsylvania is a state with significant proportions of students who attend rural schools, as well as students who attend charter schools. This study examines enrollment patterns of students in brick and mortar and cyber charter schools in Pennsylvania and how these enrollment patterns differ across geographic locale. Despite the large metropolitan areas of Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania has the third largest rural population in the nation, at 2.7 million residents, and the 9th largest rural school enrollment (Johnson, Showalter, Klein, & Lester, 2014). This makes Pennsylvania a critical case with regard to questions about both charter school enrollment and how charter school enrollment differs by charter school type and geographic location of the traditional public schools that students leave for charter schools
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