A Parent's Reflection on Cyber-Schooling - August 2025

I caught up with the mom from my previous post — the one whose family chose cyber-schooling. Her kids are now in college, and she shared her thoughts on their experiences with both cyber-schooling and traditional schooling. Here’s what she had to say:

Both of our kids are now in college in Florida—they just had their first day back today. Our son is set to graduate in December 2025, and our daughter will graduate in May 2026.

Looking back, after returning to traditional school (our daughter in 5th grade and our son midway through 7th), they both transitioned well academically. In high school, they continued to excel, earning all semesters honor roll and numerous awards, and college has been much the same. Both of them generally find their coursework manageable, often describing it as “fairly easy” and not requiring the same level of effort as with Cyber School way back when.

My husband and I attribute much of their academic success to what the cyber school experience enabled us to do.  It was rigorous and demanding—at times, they wrote longer and more in-depth papers in elementary cyber school than they later did in private elementary or even high school. Cyber schooling and homeschooling also helped them develop into independent, self-paced learners who often liked to work ahead. They were avid readers, and we frequently had over a hundred books checked out of the library at a time. Our daily adventures—whether hiking in the woods, skiing or rock climbing for PE, or accompanying their dad on trips (where science museums were always on the itinerary)—fostered not only academic curiosity but also a love of learning and adventure.

Socially, there were some initial challenges when transitioning back to regular school, though ultimately both caught up with their peers. During homeschooling, they had plenty of playdates, did well in one-on-one settings, and often played together within small groups. However, transitioning back into larger group environments took some adjustment.

Our daughter, reentering in 5th grade, was ahead academically and pulled for gifted classes, but she tended to be quiet and reserved around peers outside of school. Our son, returning in 7th grade, found classes less engaging than cyber school. He often remarked that if classmates would just listen and stop interrupting all the time, the lessons could move along more quickly and leave time for some fun. Both, however, eventually adapted and made friendships.

During high school, when COVID forced classes online, neither of them struggled. They thrived in the remote learning environment and were not hindered by the lack of a traditional teacher and classroom.

Overall, I believe the cyber school experience was very positive. It laid a strong foundation for lifelong self-directed learning and gave them confidence when reentering traditional school. While cyber school was often more academically challenging, its asynchronous format did limit some peer social interaction. That said, it offered incredible flexibility for travel and exploration. When they did return to regular school, both kids often seemed more mature than their classmates. They had little exposure to disruptive classrooms, cell phones, or heavy social media use, and they weren’t caught up in the latest TV trends. While this sometimes left them slightly out of step with peers socially, we appreciated that their focus remained on deeper learning and meaningful experiences.