Success Stories & Testimonials
Read what other Muslim cyber school high school graduates, current students, and other Muslim parents or teachers have to say about cyber schooling and blending cyber with Islamic education. Their stories should serve as prime example that when cyber +Islamic education is done right, it can be as rewarding as traditional brick and mortar schools, and given the Islamic component, may be even better.
Fautma Eshnuk, June 6, 2013
About Fautma Eshnuk: Fautma graduated from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, BS Education in 2011 with a perfect 4.0 grade-point average and is a former PA Cyber high school graduate. After college, Fautma taught in a similar cyber study group. Currently, Fautma is focused on starting a family and hoping to instill strong Muslim morals in her little one. This is what Fautma had to say about the benefits of cyber education and Islamic studies.
Salamu alaikum,
I graduated from the PA Cyber in 2008 and then from the Indiana University of Pennsylvania with my Bachelors in the Science of Education (Elementary) in 2011. I worked at Al-Biruni for 6 months (two days a week with the preschool students and 3 days a week with the middle/high school students). I don't plan on returning to work in the near future (for family reasons). I intend on putting any children I have (in sha Allah) in the PA Cyber Charter school if I am in PA when they are of schooling age.I attended public school from kindergarten-3rd grade. After seeing the middle school that my older brother would be moving up to, my mother decided it wasn't the atmosphere for Muslim kids and pulled us out, home schooling us on her own for a year. The year after, the PA Cyber School started up and we enrolled. So from 5th grade to 12th grade, I was a PA Cyber student. As a graduate now, I am so thankful that that was the choice my parents made and that the PA Cyber was available to us (alhamdulilah!!). I was protected from so much temptation and I was instead schooled and nurtured in an Islamic environment. Instead of spending the majority of my time among non-Muslims (the prophet [PHUH] said you follow your friend's religion!), I spent it with Muslims.I NEVER once found myself to be behind academically when compared to my public school friends. I was always studying what they were studying. If you have a PA Cyber student that complains about PA Cyber, know that just as many public school students are complaining about their schools. Most kinds don't "love" school. Growing up, my father was self-employed so the whole family didn't have a set schedule. The PA Cyber school made it easy for us to work ahead or take a day or two off and catch up later. We even went overseas for 2 and half months during one school year and did very little work but when we came back it was easy enough to catch up again. I loved being able to make my own schedule. While I was in college studying to become a teacher, I observed and worked in three different elementary schools for around five months. So much of the time children spend WAITING for other students to finish so they can move on. The day is spent transitioning from one class to another or from one subject to another (getting 22 elementary students to close up their science books and talk out their English books can be a big process). Either way, several hours in the school day, the students are doing nothing or just waiting. PA Cyber allows each student to work on their own time without having to wait on others or have to worry about holding anyone up.One of the things that I am most grateful to the PA Cyber for is their early college program. I attended the Community College of Allegheny County in my 11th and 12th year (paid in full by the PA Cyber). By the time I graduated from high school, at the age of 17, I had a head start with a year and a half completed towards my college degree. Some public high schools offer a few college class opportunities, but many times they won't actually count toward a degree (as real college credits) or it doesn't amount to nearly as much as what you could get from the PA Cyber school. Aside from that, I feel like being out of a public school and in the PA Cyber school helped me to establish stronger Islamic values. At a young age I was able to see how the "cool things" many of the youth strive for were artificial and something that wasn't good. I didn't have to experience peer pressure at it's full force (it was still there of course) but this break allowed be to build up my Islamic knowledge and understanding and so when it did hit me (especially once I graduated and was out in college) I knew better how to deal with it. As they say, "arm yourself with knowledge."While I worked at Al-Biruni, part of my job was teaching Islamic Studies. By far that was the most enjoyable part for me. For parents, keeping up with their children's Arabic, Quran and Islamic Studies can be difficult because it's something that takes time and effort, which can be hard when you have a busy schedule. I know the students at Al-Biruni LOVED Islamic Studies because it wasn't so much work and it was something they could easily understand. Islam is so beautiful subhan'Allah and it can be rare that someone sits down with a kid to just discuss Islam with them and answer their questions. A child might know how to pray because they were taught by their parents and follow along but do they know why they pray? Establishing a good Islamic foundation inside the child when they are YOUNG is so important and will make it so much easier for them in the future in sha Allah. IN ANY SUBJECT, the older you are, the harder it gets to learn or to make a big change in your life. Good routines, habits and knowledge need to be ingrained in the child in the younger years. When they really understand Islam and the reasoning behind what they are doing, they will rebel and struggle less in sha Allah.Don't worry that your kids won't get the "WHOLE experience" (so much of that experience is a waste of time or not something you should want your child to experience.) You also don't need to worry that they won't know how to deal with the real world (pressure, temptation, etc.) once they face it. I read this great article recently by a Muslim home schooling mother and one great point she made was "We don’t need to toughen-up our kids to deal with badness, they need to learn goodness to overcome the badness." Here is the full article: http://muslimommy.com/2013/05/18/the-ten-biggest-myths-of-homeschooling.
I graduated from the PA Cyber in 2008 and then from the Indiana University of Pennsylvania with my Bachelors in the Science of Education (Elementary) in 2011. I worked at Al-Biruni for 6 months (two days a week with the preschool students and 3 days a week with the middle/high school students). I don't plan on returning to work in the near future (for family reasons). I intend on putting any children I have (in sha Allah) in the PA Cyber Charter school if I am in PA when they are of schooling age.I attended public school from kindergarten-3rd grade. After seeing the middle school that my older brother would be moving up to, my mother decided it wasn't the atmosphere for Muslim kids and pulled us out, home schooling us on her own for a year. The year after, the PA Cyber School started up and we enrolled. So from 5th grade to 12th grade, I was a PA Cyber student. As a graduate now, I am so thankful that that was the choice my parents made and that the PA Cyber was available to us (alhamdulilah!!). I was protected from so much temptation and I was instead schooled and nurtured in an Islamic environment. Instead of spending the majority of my time among non-Muslims (the prophet [PHUH] said you follow your friend's religion!), I spent it with Muslims.I NEVER once found myself to be behind academically when compared to my public school friends. I was always studying what they were studying. If you have a PA Cyber student that complains about PA Cyber, know that just as many public school students are complaining about their schools. Most kinds don't "love" school. Growing up, my father was self-employed so the whole family didn't have a set schedule. The PA Cyber school made it easy for us to work ahead or take a day or two off and catch up later. We even went overseas for 2 and half months during one school year and did very little work but when we came back it was easy enough to catch up again. I loved being able to make my own schedule. While I was in college studying to become a teacher, I observed and worked in three different elementary schools for around five months. So much of the time children spend WAITING for other students to finish so they can move on. The day is spent transitioning from one class to another or from one subject to another (getting 22 elementary students to close up their science books and talk out their English books can be a big process). Either way, several hours in the school day, the students are doing nothing or just waiting. PA Cyber allows each student to work on their own time without having to wait on others or have to worry about holding anyone up.One of the things that I am most grateful to the PA Cyber for is their early college program. I attended the Community College of Allegheny County in my 11th and 12th year (paid in full by the PA Cyber). By the time I graduated from high school, at the age of 17, I had a head start with a year and a half completed towards my college degree. Some public high schools offer a few college class opportunities, but many times they won't actually count toward a degree (as real college credits) or it doesn't amount to nearly as much as what you could get from the PA Cyber school. Aside from that, I feel like being out of a public school and in the PA Cyber school helped me to establish stronger Islamic values. At a young age I was able to see how the "cool things" many of the youth strive for were artificial and something that wasn't good. I didn't have to experience peer pressure at it's full force (it was still there of course) but this break allowed be to build up my Islamic knowledge and understanding and so when it did hit me (especially once I graduated and was out in college) I knew better how to deal with it. As they say, "arm yourself with knowledge."While I worked at Al-Biruni, part of my job was teaching Islamic Studies. By far that was the most enjoyable part for me. For parents, keeping up with their children's Arabic, Quran and Islamic Studies can be difficult because it's something that takes time and effort, which can be hard when you have a busy schedule. I know the students at Al-Biruni LOVED Islamic Studies because it wasn't so much work and it was something they could easily understand. Islam is so beautiful subhan'Allah and it can be rare that someone sits down with a kid to just discuss Islam with them and answer their questions. A child might know how to pray because they were taught by their parents and follow along but do they know why they pray? Establishing a good Islamic foundation inside the child when they are YOUNG is so important and will make it so much easier for them in the future in sha Allah. IN ANY SUBJECT, the older you are, the harder it gets to learn or to make a big change in your life. Good routines, habits and knowledge need to be ingrained in the child in the younger years. When they really understand Islam and the reasoning behind what they are doing, they will rebel and struggle less in sha Allah.Don't worry that your kids won't get the "WHOLE experience" (so much of that experience is a waste of time or not something you should want your child to experience.) You also don't need to worry that they won't know how to deal with the real world (pressure, temptation, etc.) once they face it. I read this great article recently by a Muslim home schooling mother and one great point she made was "We don’t need to toughen-up our kids to deal with badness, they need to learn goodness to overcome the badness." Here is the full article: http://muslimommy.com/2013/05/18/the-ten-biggest-myths-of-homeschooling.
Somoyia Eshnuk, June 7, 2013
About Somoyia Eshnuk: Somoiya graduated from PA Cyber high school in June 2013. She is a bright student who took advanced placmeent courses, starting junior high at the local community college. Somoyia has strong Islamic values instilled by her parents and reinforced by Muslim friends and family. Somoyia will continue her studies at CCAC and hopes to go on to University of Pittsburgh to further her academic studies. Like her sister, Somoyia was involved with Al-Biruni (former cyber/Islamic school),and this is what Somoyia had to say about the cyber education and the benefits of having Muslim peers and facilitators.
Asalamualaikum warahmitullahi wa barikatu,
I am 18 years old and have just graduated from High school. My whole education (from K-12) has been with PACyber. I was enrolled the first year that it was opened to the public and have been there ever since. In sha Allah I now want to further my education via college, but I'm not yet sure as to what I want to go for. =) Honestly I believe that PA Cyber was the BEST thing that has happened to my education, Alhumdulilah. I have never had to go to a public school, which means I never had to be around the influence of non-Muslim classmates, and alhumdulilah, I never had the pressure or desire to be like them. I was able to grow up with pride in being Muslim, being proud of wearing the Hijab, have Muslim friends, all whilst staying away from the negative influences of public school. The flexibility of my families schedule growing up was amazing. Taking the LI (self-paced) classes at PACyber made my family and I able to travel despite being in school, which we couldn't have done if we didn't have that option. I feel as though I have a well rounded education from PACyber. They offer so many different classes and there are so many electives that you can take (including many of the major languages, which I found intriguing).Something that I think is very essential to education is learning to learn, as weird as that sounds. Through PACyber I was able to hone in on and refine my ability to learn. Alhumdulilah, I feel like I have a great foundation to my education and that I can take any class and learn anything if I put the in the time and effort. In your junior and senior year (if you are have a high enough GPA and are accepted into the AP program), PACyber pays for you to take 2 classes a semester at a college. By doing this I was able to graduate HS with 25 college credits from CCAC. Since I have already taken college classes, I know that I can be very successful in college, and intend to do so in sha Allah. I was a tutor for a short time at Al-Biruni, and I feel like it was much better for the kids to be around peers that were also Muslim to help them develop their identity as a Muslim. All of my siblings (4) have graduated from PACyber, and all have gone on to higher education. In sha Allah I will follow in their footsteps. =) Given the right setup and environment, I believe that Muslim students could really benefit from enrolling in PACyber. PACyber has always been very accommodating to religious requirements/restrictions.
In sha Allah I wish the best for you all.
Asalamualaikum warahmitullahi wa barikatu,
I am 18 years old and have just graduated from High school. My whole education (from K-12) has been with PACyber. I was enrolled the first year that it was opened to the public and have been there ever since. In sha Allah I now want to further my education via college, but I'm not yet sure as to what I want to go for. =) Honestly I believe that PA Cyber was the BEST thing that has happened to my education, Alhumdulilah. I have never had to go to a public school, which means I never had to be around the influence of non-Muslim classmates, and alhumdulilah, I never had the pressure or desire to be like them. I was able to grow up with pride in being Muslim, being proud of wearing the Hijab, have Muslim friends, all whilst staying away from the negative influences of public school. The flexibility of my families schedule growing up was amazing. Taking the LI (self-paced) classes at PACyber made my family and I able to travel despite being in school, which we couldn't have done if we didn't have that option. I feel as though I have a well rounded education from PACyber. They offer so many different classes and there are so many electives that you can take (including many of the major languages, which I found intriguing).Something that I think is very essential to education is learning to learn, as weird as that sounds. Through PACyber I was able to hone in on and refine my ability to learn. Alhumdulilah, I feel like I have a great foundation to my education and that I can take any class and learn anything if I put the in the time and effort. In your junior and senior year (if you are have a high enough GPA and are accepted into the AP program), PACyber pays for you to take 2 classes a semester at a college. By doing this I was able to graduate HS with 25 college credits from CCAC. Since I have already taken college classes, I know that I can be very successful in college, and intend to do so in sha Allah. I was a tutor for a short time at Al-Biruni, and I feel like it was much better for the kids to be around peers that were also Muslim to help them develop their identity as a Muslim. All of my siblings (4) have graduated from PACyber, and all have gone on to higher education. In sha Allah I will follow in their footsteps. =) Given the right setup and environment, I believe that Muslim students could really benefit from enrolling in PACyber. PACyber has always been very accommodating to religious requirements/restrictions.
In sha Allah I wish the best for you all.
