ECOT celebrates largest class ever in annual ceremony
This year’s class brings total graduates in ECOT’s history to over 4,000
ECOT held its 9th annual graduation ceremony at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, June 6 at the Schottenstein Center in Columbus.
The event was the statewide online charter school’s largest graduation ever, with more than 1,500 students eligible to participate – both in person and from their homes via a unique live event webcast (www.ecotohio.org).
ECOT is Ohio’s largest charter school and the state’s first and largest online school. Since ECOT’s first ceremony at the Statehouse Atrium in 2000, ECOT has outgrown four venues for its graduation ceremonies. With this year’s class, the total number of ECOT graduates in its short history is over 4,000.
ECOT graduations are unique:
--Students work with their teachers online from their homes, so many students will meet each other and their teachers for the first time at graduation.
--Graduates travel from every corner of the state to attend the ceremony. If they cannot make the trip to Columbus, families participate by viewing the live webcast of the event from their computers.
The Honorable Mark Wagoner, the State Senator representing the 2nd Senate District (Toledo area), addressed the graduates as this year’s commencement speaker.
There were 11 Valedictorians in this year’s class including:
Steven Amick of Grove City
Julia Bankert of Delaware
Lacey Greenler of Defiance
Briana Johnson of Cambridge
Benjamin Lander of Hillsboro
Jeremy Mollett of Oak Hill
Broderick Poling of Dayton
Ryan Schweitzer of Londonderry
Michelle Stewart of West Jefferson
Anne Wright of Oxford
Eric Wrikeman of East Palestine
Six of the graduates received scholarships or awards during the ceremony:
--Curtis Liston of North Ridgeville and Heather Fredenburg of Mount Vernon each received a $10,000 scholarship to attend Ashland University. Founded in 2009, the ECOT Scholarship to Ashland University is exclusively provided to ECOT graduates who plan to attend Ashland University.
-- Kelsey Robb of Cincinnati received the Founder’s Scholarship ($1000) in honor of ECOT Founder William Lager of Altair Learning Management of Columbus.
-- Kacey Davis of Circleville received the Patricia Felts Social Services Scholarship ($1000) in memory of an ECOT employee who dedicated her life to the field of social services.
-- Rosa Nemec of Westerville received the Sponsor’s Scholarship ($1000) in honor of ECOT’s chartering authority.
-- Sarah Schron of Columbus received the Coann Michael Memorial Scholarship ($1000) for perseverance in the face of adversity. The award is named for Coann Michael, a 2003 ECOT graduate and class speaker who was determined to earn her diploma despite illness.
Kasey Dalo of Canton was the Class Speaker. Alysha Fleek of Cincinnati led the Pledge of Allegiance to start the ceremony. Seniors Anastasia Molina of Sylvania and Kara Whetzel of London led their classmates in the traditional turning of the tassel.
ECOT educates over 9,500 statewide students in grades K-12. ECOT’s headquarters is in Columbus, Ohio.
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ECOT held its 9th annual graduation ceremony at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, June 6 at the Schottenstein Center in Columbus.
The event was the statewide online charter school’s largest graduation ever, with more than 1,500 students eligible to participate – both in person and from their homes via a unique live event webcast (www.ecotohio.org).
ECOT is Ohio’s largest charter school and the state’s first and largest online school. Since ECOT’s first ceremony at the Statehouse Atrium in 2000, ECOT has outgrown four venues for its graduation ceremonies. With this year’s class, the total number of ECOT graduates in its short history is over 4,000.
ECOT graduations are unique:
--Students work with their teachers online from their homes, so many students will meet each other and their teachers for the first time at graduation.
--Graduates travel from every corner of the state to attend the ceremony. If they cannot make the trip to Columbus, families participate by viewing the live webcast of the event from their computers.
The Honorable Mark Wagoner, the State Senator representing the 2nd Senate District (Toledo area), addressed the graduates as this year’s commencement speaker.
There were 11 Valedictorians in this year’s class including:
Steven Amick of Grove City
Julia Bankert of Delaware
Lacey Greenler of Defiance
Briana Johnson of Cambridge
Benjamin Lander of Hillsboro
Jeremy Mollett of Oak Hill
Broderick Poling of Dayton
Ryan Schweitzer of Londonderry
Michelle Stewart of West Jefferson
Anne Wright of Oxford
Eric Wrikeman of East Palestine
Six of the graduates received scholarships or awards during the ceremony:
--Curtis Liston of North Ridgeville and Heather Fredenburg of Mount Vernon each received a $10,000 scholarship to attend Ashland University. Founded in 2009, the ECOT Scholarship to Ashland University is exclusively provided to ECOT graduates who plan to attend Ashland University.
-- Kelsey Robb of Cincinnati received the Founder’s Scholarship ($1000) in honor of ECOT Founder William Lager of Altair Learning Management of Columbus.
-- Kacey Davis of Circleville received the Patricia Felts Social Services Scholarship ($1000) in memory of an ECOT employee who dedicated her life to the field of social services.
-- Rosa Nemec of Westerville received the Sponsor’s Scholarship ($1000) in honor of ECOT’s chartering authority.
-- Sarah Schron of Columbus received the Coann Michael Memorial Scholarship ($1000) for perseverance in the face of adversity. The award is named for Coann Michael, a 2003 ECOT graduate and class speaker who was determined to earn her diploma despite illness.
Kasey Dalo of Canton was the Class Speaker. Alysha Fleek of Cincinnati led the Pledge of Allegiance to start the ceremony. Seniors Anastasia Molina of Sylvania and Kara Whetzel of London led their classmates in the traditional turning of the tassel.
ECOT educates over 9,500 statewide students in grades K-12. ECOT’s headquarters is in Columbus, Ohio.
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posted by ECOTnews at 3:15 PM
