# Commonwealth Charter Academy

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**Commonwealth Charter Academy** (previously named Commonwealth Connections Academy) is a large, public, cyber [charter school](/source/Charter_schools_in_the_United_States).[2] The school serves all school-aged children in the [Commonwealth of Pennsylvania](/source/Commonwealth_of_Pennsylvania) regardless of where the child lives. The Academy's headquarters is located in [Harrisburg, Pennsylvania](/source/Harrisburg,_Pennsylvania).

## History

When the School was originally approved it served Kindergarten through 8th grade pupils all across Pennsylvania.[3]

As of 2013, it was one of sixteen public cyber charters schools operating in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.[4]

As of 2016, the School operated seven additional branches, called Family Service Centers, across the Commonwealth: [Andreas](/source/Andreas,_Pennsylvania), [Allentown](/source/Allentown,_Pennsylvania), [Harrisburg](/source/Harrisburg), [Center City, Philadelphia](/source/Center_City,_Philadelphia), [Pittsburgh](/source/Pittsburgh), [Cranberry](/source/Cranberry), [Scranton](/source/Scranton), and [Williamsport](/source/Williamsport,_Pennsylvania).[5]

In 2016-17, there were 9,200 students enrolled.[6] By 2023, enrollment was 22,000 pupils in grades kindergarten through 12th, making it the largest public school in the United States by enrollment.[7] The [Capital Area Intermediate Unit](/source/Capital_Area_Intermediate_Unit) IU15 provides the school with a wide variety of services like [special education](/source/Special_education_in_the_United_States) for disabled students and hearing, speech and visual disability services and professional development for staff and faculty.

## Spending

In 2015-16, the school spent $3.2 million and in 2016-17 $4.4 million in taxpayer dollars on advertising, the most of all of Pennsylvania’s cyber charter schools, through sponsorships, ads in print, TV, radio, Internet and outdoor marketing.[6]

In 2025, it was reported that Commonwealth Charter Academy spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on cars, dining, and entertainment, with little transparency.[8] Commonwealth Charter Academy responded to this report in a letter to the [Pennsylvania General Assembly](/source/Pennsylvania_General_Assembly) calling out several discrepancies.[9]

## References

1. PDE, ED Names and Addresses - School information, 2014

1. Pennsylvania Department of Education (2014). ["EdNA - Charter School"](https://web.archive.org/web/20140407194855/http://www.edna.ed.state.pa.us/Screens/wfInstitutionDetails.aspx?InstitutionPK=57633). Archived from [the original](http://www.edna.ed.state.pa.us/Screens/wfInstitutionDetails.aspx?InstitutionPK=57633) on 2014-04-07. Retrieved 2014-10-21.

1. Stan Rapp, COMMONWEALTH CONNECTIONS ACADEMY CHARTER SCHOOL Cyber-Charter School Application, October 1, 2002

1. Pennsylvania Department of Education, PA ED Directory - Charter Schools, 2013

1. Commonwealth Charter Academy (July 2016). ["CCA Family Service Centers"](https://ccaeducate.me/find-out-more/family-service-centers)

1. Stephanie Hacke and Mary Niederberger (2017-08-29). ["The Charter Effect: Pa. charter schools spend millions of public dollars in advertising to attract students"](http://projects.publicsource.org/chartereffect/stories/pennsylvania-charter-schools-spend-millions-of-public-dollars-in-advertising-to-attract-students.html). *PublicSource*. Retrieved 2024-05-15.

1. Pennsylvania Department of Education (October 15, 2018). ["Commonwealth Connections Academy Charter School Performance report fast facts"](http://www.paschoolperformance.org/Profile/7144)

1. Hanna, Maddie (2025-01-27). ["Pa.'s largest cyber charter spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on cars, dining, and entertainment, a new report says"](https://www.inquirer.com/education/cca-cyber-school-spending-education-voters-pa-20250127.html). *PublicSource*. Retrieved 2025-01-29.

1. Commonwealth Charter Academy (January 30, 2025). ["CCA Letter to General Assembly"](https://ccaeducate.me/content/uploads/2025/01/013025-CCA-Letter-to-General-Assembly.pdf). *Commonwealth Charter Academy*

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Commonwealth Charter Academy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commonwealth_Charter_Academy) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commonwealth_Charter_Academy?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.