Superintendent: Bob Sittig
Cyber School Coordinator: Dean Baumberger
The Chester Area School District has promoted the use of technology to reach students who have not previously been able to take advantage of a high school education. Most students graduating from a Hutterite Colony School have never had the opportunity to further their education. Due to the efforts of the Chester School system, this is no longer the case. In the first year of implementation, Chester is offering Intranet courses to eight different colony schools in the state and is prepared to offer classes to many more colonies in upcoming years. All students, regardless of age, who have not attained a high school diploma, are eligible to take classes through Chester Area Cyber School (CACS).
CACS instruction is delivered online through a specifically set up Intranet where students are taught curriculum that is solidly aligned to South Dakota State Standards and facilitated by certified instructors. Students are able to e-mail their instructor as well as the other students in the specified class. They are also part of a discussion board for each class. This discussion board allows students from various colonies to share ideas by having discussions that are similar to the regular classroom environment.
Enrollment to CACS is free, there are no tuition charges and enrollees receive free access to technical support. Chester Area School provides all the services necessary for students to take classes such as support, instruction, computers and the Intranet. CACS is an endeavor to reach all students in South Dakota. It is an innovative program because it is the only Intranet system designed for the purposes of educating students who are not allowed access to the Internet system.