On a recent school day, a Seneca Valley High School computer lab was literally abuzz with more than 30 students sitting at humming computers, headphones in, keyboards tapping. Every seat was taken.

Students were working quietly on their studies, but it's not a study lab where students are completing homework assignments. They came here to take their own, independent cyber classes.

Seneca Valley School District's cyber school, the Academy of Choice, is nearly 700 students strong this year. The majority are hybrid students, meaning they still attend traditional classes at the school but also complete cyber classes during the school day or on their own time.

Nicole Walter, a Seneca Valley senior, is a hybrid student. She's taking an advanced placement psychology class this year through the district's cyber program. The college-level class is only offered online.

“It lets you go at your own pace,” said Nicole, 18, who plans to major in psychology in college. “It's all the same information. You're just tested differently. It keeps you in check.

“It's nice to be able to pause your professor,” she added.

The software used at Seneca Valley for the cyber classes, called Edgenuity, is a platform that includes videos, texts and graphs to reinforce learning. The system fires questions at students periodically to make sure they're listening and comprehending their lessons.

The system allows students to work at a pace they are comfortable with.

“There really is nothing standard in cyber. And that's a great piece about it, because you provide whatever opportunities the students need,” said Denise Manganello, principal of the Academy of Choice. “So some students will take it during our school days and during our labs that have certified teachers and are supporting them during the day, and then some will take it outside of the day. Some will only work on it on the weekends.”

Meanwhile, across the hall from the student computer lab is another office, where several of the district's cyber teachers have their desks. There are seven full-time cyber teachers, while other teachers in the district pick up cyber classes in addition to their traditional teaching work.

The online curriculum reflects what's being done in the classroom, so students are able to switch back and forth, if need be.

The program at Seneca Valley is in its eighth school year, serving students from kindergarten through 12th grade. Over the years, the district's cyber program has become a model in the county and the region.

The district now partners with 32 other school districts implementing its cyber program model, including South Butler. South Butler has about 10 full-time cyber students and 100 hybrid learning students this fall.

“They have a great deal of course offerings, and we also felt they do a few other cyber-based curriculums in a consortium environment, with variety of curriculum options for kids at a reduced cost,” said Mike Leitera, South Butler superintendent. “We have an overall cost savings using their program.”

The online programs in place within school districts give students more options for online learning, especially at a time when many districts are losing millions of dollars annually as students leave traditional brick-and-mortar buildings to attend unaffiliated cyber charter schools.

A Seneca Valley School District spokesman declined to say how much money was lost in the district's budget from students attending cyber charters. But Butler School District lost about $1.8 million out of its $100 million budget in the 2013-14 school year from students leaving the school district to attend cyber charter programs.

The amount of money per student to attend a cyber charter varies in each district. At Butler, the district pays about $12,000 per year for nonspecial students and about $18,000 per year for special students. The district is charged a per diem rate for those who leave the district and subsequently come back.

Butler Superintendent Dale Lumley said the cost of transportation and building utilities are factored into that cost per student, and he doesn't think the funding formula is done correctly because cyber charters don't have those kinds of expenses for their students.

“How much does it actually cost to educate a student in a cyber environment?” Lumley said. “They need to look at that and try to make it a fair playing field, rather than taking all of our money. They're not doing that.

“And I always qualify that: I'm not saying that they're bad programs and that they don't have good things that they're doing, but it's not cost effective. It's not a fair funding formula,” he said.

There are 11 state-approved cyber charter schools students have the option to attend.

But a growing number of local schools have established cyber school programs of their own.

The Butler School District has worked with the Pittsburgh-based distance education group VLN Partners to provide a cyber option for students while still being enrolled in the district.

“The kids, our students that are in the program, are still Butler students,” said Brian Slamecka, Butler assistant superintendent, who coordinates the online learning program. “We encourage them to be involved in any activities they want to be in. The clubs, anything involving the school that they would've been in as a student, the brick-and-mortar school.”

He said cyber enrollment numbers fluctuate between 40 and 60 students throughout the school year. However, that could be expanding as soon as next year, when VLN will have course offerings for primary students.

While VLN has its own teachers facilitating the classes, the online curriculum mirrors what's offered at the schools, using the same textbooks as reference.

“What we see a lot of times with kids is they might not always intend to go out for a full year if they want a cyber program,” Slamecka said. “It might be a medical issue, or something like that, that forces them to try something new. So they're able to try this for awhile, and then come back once they're through that issue.

“Or we'll see a kid who might not be successful because it is a new learning environment. They might go there and not do as well because it isn't structured. You don't have a bell telling you when to go from one class to the other class. They see that either, maybe it wasn't what they thought it would be, but they're able to transition back because it's the same curriculum.”

One of Butler's cyber success stories is Rosa Grant, a sophomore who's been using the district cyber program since she was in seventh grade.

Her father, Dwayne Grant, said she went from being a C student to an honors student earning As.

“It gives her more study time, less distraction. There's no doubt about that,” he said. “It gives her time to be dedicated to her work and not be distracted about students and cliques.”

Rosa enjoys her classes, and plans to continue the online setting through graduation. While there are some things she misses, she still sees friends often and attends football games.

“It's really helped me,” said Rosa, 16.

Her father also feels cyber school has helped her as a student and will help her in the long run, too.

“She's committed to it,” he said. “She sees a bigger picture: College and a career, and not saying the best years of her life were high school.”

Below is a list of cyber charter school enrollment from students living in local school districts on Oct. 1, 2013, the latest data available from the Pennsylvania Department of Education:Allegheny-Clarion Valley: 10 nonspecial students, 2 special studentsButler: 171 nonspecial students, 26 special studentsFreeport: 14 nonspecial students, 1 special studentGrove City: 45 nonspecial students, 8 special studentsKarns City: 41 nonspecial students, 7 special studentsMars: 56 nonspecial students, 5 special studentsMoniteau: 56 nonspecial students, 12 special studentsSlippery Rock: 83 nonspecial students, 13 special studentsSeneca Valley: 81 nonspecial students, 22 special studentsSouth Butler: 38 nonspecial students, 12 special studentsUnion: 16 nonspecial students, 0 special students