Two recent Berks County graduates are being recognized for their academic achievements after taking different paths to Agora Cyber Charter School, where both said the online learning environment helped meet their individual educational needs.
Colby Kennedy-Lord of Laureldale and Caiden Futchko of Blandon were honored during Agora Cyber Charter School’s graduation ceremony. Kennedy-Lord was named the school’s Agoratorian, while Futchko graduated as a salutatorian.
Kennedy-Lord attended Agora from kindergarten through graduation after her parents determined early on that a flexible learning environment would better accommodate her neurodivergent learning style.
She said the cyber school environment allowed her to better manage factors that could have made learning in a traditional classroom more difficult.
“The main element of brick-and-mortar school that would’ve made it more difficult was overstimulation,” Kennedy-Lord said. “Many on the spectrum are hyper or hypo sensitive and I am hyper. Sounds, noises, light and others affect me.”
Kennedy-Lord said she came to better understand those sensitivities as she grew older and found that being able to adjust her surroundings was important when completing schoolwork.
“I need to be in a very specific mode and place to do assignments, and I need to alter my environment when this happens, and you can’t control those elements at a brick-and-mortar,” she said.
Kennedy-Lord also credits her experience at Agora with developing skills that will help her as she moves on to college.
“Agora gave me an advantage by fortifying a sense of self-discipline,” she said.
Outside of her coursework, Kennedy-Lord served as president of her National Junior Honor Society chapter and volunteered in the community. She also works at Muhlenberg Community Library, where she was offered a job after a librarian noticed her work ethic while she was studying there.
Kennedy-Lord plans to attend Alvernia University and pursue a career in psychiatric health care, with the goal of becoming a psychiatric nurse practitioner.
“I’ve received lots of help, and to be able to help others would be amazing,” she said.
Futchko came to cyber education for a different reason. After being identified as gifted in elementary school, his family sought more challenging coursework for him. According to his mother, the family felt his previous educational setting was not providing enough academic rigor, with Futchko spending significant portions of the school day reading in the library.
After enrolling at Agora, Futchko said he found the academic challenge he had been seeking.
“I really learned at Agora,” Futchko said. “I felt pushed and challenged. The teachers really care about their students. They go out of their way to make sure we understand what we’re being taught.”
Along with graduating as a salutatorian, Futchko earned the rank of Eagle Scout and completed all 139 merit badges. He also worked at a local retirement community while participating in National Honor Society, Reading Club, Cooking Club, Writing Club and Dungeons & Dragons Club, in addition to taking piano lessons.
Futchko plans to attend Kutztown University this fall, where he will study animation and creative writing.
The experiences of Kennedy-Lord and Futchko reflect two different reasons families may choose cyber charter education, with one seeking an environment better suited to sensory and learning needs and the other looking for greater academic challenges.
