The latest book on Stephen Catanzarite's reading list is "Return to the Little Kingdom," about the mad geniuses who launched Apple Computer 30 years ago.

"The irony is that I'm reading it on my iPad, so I know how the story ends," Mr. Catanzarite said.

His own story, meanwhile, is following a similar arc, though the ending is not as clear.

Mr. Catanzarite is managing director of the Lincoln Park Performing Arts Charter School in Midland, one of several spinoffs from the Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School, which was founded in Midland.

But somehow his name pops up in connection with every new idea to emerge from the Midland educational empire.

When a performing arts charter school was launched in the center, he was the one at the helm. When the group proposed an arts-based elementary charter school in Baden, he was again identified as the person in charge.

And, when the National Network of Digital Schools -- another spinoff of the Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School -- got a $500,000 grant to partner with traditional schools to share digital coursework, Mr. Catanzarite was again the one to see.

It's a strange place to be for an actor and musician who has a degree in creative writing and a background in advertising. But he feels he's found his place in the world.

"I absolutely feel fulfilled," he said. "I think the questions surrounding education and what we're going to do with it, how we're going to transform it for the 21st century, are absolutely among the top challenges we face. I'm honored to be in a position to make some contribution to that."

It's not a universally popular position, of course. Critics have questioned the state's charter school law since it was passed in 1997, and some have had particularly harsh views of online schools. Charter schools operate with fewer regulations than traditional public schools and have the right to demand tuition payments from school districts.

And the PA Cyber empire came under special scrutiny in the middle of the past decade, with reports that the attorney general's office investigated the tangled financial and administrative connections linking its various entities.

Mr. Catanzarite said that was a difficult time for him because the things being said were in such complete opposition to the elements that drew him to the organization.

A graduate of Carnegie Mellon University, he launched an advertising agency with some friends, then worked for eight years as a freelancer. In 2004, he got a call from Nick Trombetta, the founder of PA Cyber. "He saw something I had done and wanted me to work for him," Mr. Catanzarite said.

He was leery at first, partly because of criticism that was already swirling and partly because "working for myself, I thought I had the best boss in the world."

But the Midland story was "so dynamic, so incredible" that he found it hard to ignore. "I was really interested in what they were doing to change the paradigm" of education, he said.

Finally, the sniping surrounding Dr. Trombetta did not fit with the man he met. "I knew he was for real from our first meeting."

Still, Mr. Catanzarite had one more test -- his wife, Rachel. They had dinner with Dr. Trombetta, she agreed and he signed on.

What he found was a sort of educational skunk works, with people inspired to air sometimes-crazy concepts and ignore perceived boundaries. "It's an atmosphere where people are encouraged to kick around ideas," he said. "It's been exciting, with a lot of great support and a lot of challenges."

He said one thing many people don't understand is that his organization is not trying to wipe out traditional public schools. He sees a future where online schools, charter schools and traditional schools collaborate to the point of offering students limitless choices in coursework and nearly limitless flexibility in scheduling, getting the best part of every educational model.

"The 21st century is going to be about creative minds, people with the ability to synthesize all this knowledge, all this technical expertise," Mr. Catanzarite said. "It's going to be about generating ideas and working collaboratively with people."

And maybe someday someone will write a book about it.

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