We recently sat down with Len and Marie Porcano, parents of two CPDLF students to learn more about their CPDLF experience and why they came to cyber school. Blake Porcano is nine years old and little sister Sophia is five.
How did you end up in cyber school?
We started by looking at typical brick-and-mortar schools - public and private options. We wanted to see their approach towards working with children on the spectrum because our son, Blake, requires that. Unfortunately, the schools we visited planned to downplay academics and that went against everything we knew about our son and hoped for him. We knew that he was totally academically capable but that he'd need his own style of learning. Being in a large classroom lets him get lost and he shuts down. He also wasn't verbal at the time, but he loved to sing. That made us curious about finding a way to incorporate the arts alongside academics - as well as a school that would prevent him from getting lost in the crowd .
What about Sophia? Did she test out brick-and-mortar school before coming to CPDLF?
She did start attending a private kindergarten, but she was coming home miserable and stressed. All she wanted to do was sit in front of a screen and decompress: like how adults feel after working a full day. She is a social person and needs to have people around her, so we wanted to try brick-and-mortar first to see how she did, but she had even fewer opportunities to socialize and express herself in such a rigid system. We suspect Sophia has ADHD, so she's incredibly smart and very active. She reads fast and finishes things quickly - which is a problem when you're held to the same pace as the slowest person in the class. The brick-and-mortar school's approach was to have her sit still and put her head down on her desk when she finished something faster than the class. This was pure torture for her. She needs to move and be active to learn.
At CPDLF, Sophia can move at the speed of her brain instead of waiting for everyone else. She doesn't have to slow down and wait for anyone. She works on her online assignments and then visits Fusia Center for the Arts to enjoy her art and movement classes as part of CPDLF's Arts & Academics program. She thanks us weekly for moving her to CPDLF.
[Author’s Note: CPDLF students living near Stroudsburg have the option to go into Fusia as a guest while they live stream classes.]
How did friends and family feel about you choosing cyber school for the kids?
We still get reactions from some! It was very controversial to our developmental pediatricians. They said it wouldn't work for Blake and wanted him in brick-and-mortar school. We said that if we tried and discovered our instincts were wrong, we'd stop but we felt strongly that CPDLF was the right choice for our family. Our line of thought was that these doctors and therapists spend a few hours with him each year: we know him 24/7.
One physician actually apologized, saying, "I was wrong," when she saw how much progress he made at CPDLF. He went from singing as his only form of expressive language to fluent speaking. [This interviewer can confirm: Blake joined his parents at the interview and told me about the projects he's working on in school, the technology he uses during the day, and the activities he enjoys at Fusia!]
Blake's occupational therapist was so impressed that she wants to enroll her own son at CPDLF. There can be a lot of skepticism, but everyone in our children's lives have become believers.
How have the kids responded to their CPDLF education?
The quality of the teachers is incredible. The kids feel much more empowered going to school here. The kids approach things with an attitude of “let’s dive in and figure it out” instead of waiting for permission - and that's a trait they picked up from their CPDLF Instructors and Learning Guides. They're intellectually curious. Blake started making instructional videos on how to put parental controls on your kids' devices because he noticed that parents are often intimidated about new technology and monitoring their kids' screen time and content. He saw a need and decided to fill it. The videos are pretty good! He added in his own suggestions for settings parents might want to consider.
Blake was very reserved and introverted early on. Recently, our introverted son sang with the In2YouArts Choir in front of a couple thousand people and loved it. He doesn’t want to mingle, but he can be in the spotlight. We love the extra curricular activities and choices they have: acting, musical theatre, Hip-Hop, and the Learning Lab and Makerspace. They have a full day with all the different activities. It’s not an obligation, but it’s something they enjoy and they take advantage of that. He’s using the 3D printer to make toys for St. Jude's Children's Hospital. He’s done pottery and painting. He made dresses for Sophia and his mom to wear.
Sophia recently said she wanted to be “a bat” because she loves animals - like, not "dress up as a bat" but to literally be a bat. Instead of laughing it off or redirecting her to something else, Sophia's Learning Guide asked her how becoming a bat would work and what she would need to do. The Learning Guide had her create a drawing for a bat costume, taught her how to sew the pattern she made, and Sophia became a bat! She wasn't following instructions from a lesson: her CPDLF Learning Guide and instructors had Sophia make the plan herself. It engaged thinking skills that kids are robbed of in brick-and-mortar school.
What is it like to work with CPDLF compared to other school experiences?
It works much more as a partnership with CPDLF. Whenever we had questions with the brick-and-mortar school, we were made to feel like we as parents didn’t know what we were doing. The teachers and administrators didn’t want to hear parent perspectives. CPDLF is very interested in knowing what is working, what isn’t, and how they can improve their model. They operate with a growth mindset. Most schools are pretty fixed in what people learned 20-30 years ago. You’re not doing kids a service by not preparing them for what is ahead. CPDLF is always looking towards the future and what it is going to take to prepare their students for life beyond school.
How do you manage full-time careers and cyber school?
We are running our company from our home, which gives us plenty of flexibility. This allows us to split the tasks between work, school supervision, and running to all the kids' activities. It's not like home school where you are responsible for everything from beginning to end. Blake has his own schedule that he manages. Sophia does need time reminders to keep her on track, but it's nowhere near as hands-on as people might think. This format allows us to travel and expose Sophia and Blake to new experiences.
Your family takes school on the road. Can you tell us about that flexibility?
We now have the ability to travel for work and bring the kids. They get a 2-4 week field trip without missing school. It’s just not possible with brick and mortar schools. The kids do their school work from wherever we go and we get to visit new cities, go to museums, and take in all of the culture sites in addition to their normal schoolwork.
Blake spent a month in the UK last year. He incorporated what he was learning about the history and culture of the country into his assignments and did deep-dives into these special interests. We learned all about Henry VIII, then sailing, and then naturally about scurvy because that was something that affected sailors at that time. This was all because he was inspired by what he saw in England.
We provide the venues and CPDLF gives us the flexibility to be there for the kids and their special interests. We love it: it’s not fair to be away from your kids for so long during the day, so now we take them with us. We'll be going to Spain for a month soon. The kids will do school, learn Spanish, take Flamenco lessons, and make paella.
What should families considering cyber school and CPDLF know?
You must educate yourself: not all cyber schools are the same. A public school going remote is NOT the same as cyber school. Brick-and-mortar schools just try to replicate classroom activities in the home. Asynchronous schedules - like what CPDLF uses - give you so much more flexibility. It takes a lot of time and patience, but once you get the hang of it the rewards are incredible.
Parents should stay open and not be scared of the process. There’s a bit of a learning curve as everyone settles in, but if you give it time, you’ll recognize the value. Don’t be scared off by the fact that it feels like you’re taking on a huge responsibility. CPDLF is a good partner and we never feel alone: the support that CPDLF offers is an important part of our decision making. A lot of folks get intimidated by it but it’s very manageable.
With traditional school settings, the family is trying to pile on school, family life, and extracurriculars into one short day. The thing that gets sacrificed is the creative side of a child's development. It has been tremendous having access to CPDLF's Arts & Academics program where their kids can take dance, movement, and theatre courses alongside the usual courses. That partnership with Fusia Center for the Arts is the biggest strength of the program because nothing gets sacrificed: you can have school, and family life, and extracurriculars with time to spare.
There's a lot of talk about artificial intelligence and automation, but the one thing we cannot automate is the creative potential of humans. When we pull creativity out of schools, we're doing ourselves as a society a major disservice. The forward-thinking approach CPDLF has on STEM and the creative aspects of education is incredible.
