The Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School has won a five-year renewal of its charter from the state Department of Education, enabling one of the state's pioneers in online schooling to stay open.

"Charter renewal is great news for the thousands of Pennsylvania families who depend on our school, and a much appreciated validation of the hard work, expertise and dedication of the hundreds of Pa. Cyber teachers and other employees," said CEO Nick Trombetta in a news release issued today. "Unlike school districts, we charter schools must demonstrate our effectiveness every five years or we cease to operate."

The approval covers July 1 this year to June 30, 2015. Headquartered in Midland, the cyber charter school opened in 2000 and was the first to aim at all grades in K-12 and to recruit students from throughout the state. Initially, it was chartered by the local school district, but the task of chartering cyber schools later was given to the state.

Enrollment has been growing, from more than 500 students the first year to 9,000 in 2009-10. It has more than 600 employees.

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