The Challenge

More parents than ever are looking for choices when it comes to the education of their children.  But, with 14 different cyber school offerings in the state of Pennsylvania alone, parents can have difficulties choosing the school that best fits their needs.

Reach Cyber Charter School is a STEM-focused, online public charter school for K-12 students throughout Pennsylvania. D+P was tasked with showing how Reach Cyber stands out in this crowded landscape.

The Approach

D+P built a strategy that emphasized showing Reach Cyber’s success and expertise by telling the stories of students and the school’s faculty. Through connections with counselors and “family mentors,” we created a network that allowed us to profile the lives of many students and teachers as if we were in their virtual classrooms with them. D+P conducted interviews with students and exemplified our key messages, including the flexibility it offered them to pursue their other passions – be it entrepreneurship, gymnastics, singing, acting or even helping out on their family farms. With those stories in hand, D+P crafted hyper-local pitches to the small-towns and big cities where these students are located from Erie and Pittsburgh to Scranton and Philadelphia.

The Results 

Success came in the form of a variety of stories in print, digital and broadcast outlets about the students and the happenings at Reach Cyber, in print, digital and broadcast outlets across the state of Pennsylvania. Stories range from profiles about Reach Cyber’s outstanding students and letters to the editors from satisfied parents to op-eds from senior leadership and stories on unique programming offered by the cyber school. In 2023, D+P helped to secure hundreds national placements for Reach Cyber celebrating the high school graduation of nine-year-old David Balogun.

Here is a sampling of the media coverage:  

• Reach Cyber graduates 1st students from its carpentry program
• This Bensalem boy is 9 — and just graduated from high school
• 9-Year-Old Boy Who Wants to Be an Astrophysicist Graduates from High School: ‘Inspirational Kid’
• Erie Sixth Grader Wins State STEM Challenge
• Back to school: On-screen learning tips
• WGAL News 8: Reach Cyber Students Sing a Song for Peace
• Levittown Student, Who Went Virtual Long Before the Pandemic, Graduates a Year Early
• Cyber charter school offers Credly digital badging platform
• 5 Questions: Carlisle teen uses bullying experience to help others
• ‘You’ve got to let them know they can trust you’
• Reach Cyber partners with carpenters’ union to offer online carpentry program
• Sing a Song: During the pandemic, a music teacher found a creative way for his students to harmonize
• WGAL8 Reach Cyber Students Kick Start Back-To-School Season at the Whitaker Center