WAYNE, Pa., June 22, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Agora Cyber Charter School (Agora), a tuition-free public charter school for students in Pennsylvania, honored its graduates during a 2012 ceremony that took place on Wednesday, June 20 at the Hershey Giant Center. There were close to 1,000 graduates this year, including those who completed their studies in January, making it the largest graduating class in the school's history.
This year's Valedictorian is Christophe Combemale, who at only 14 years old is scheduled to attend Carnegie Mellon University in the fall to pursue studies in economics. After completing a four-year high school curriculum in only two years, Combemale also managed to find time to compete on the district debate team and write a novel that he hopes to publish.
Connor Hause and Kaitlyn Regan were named co-Salutatorians, and each provided remarks during the graduation. Hause plans to attend Villanova in hopes of achieving his dream of becoming an astrophysicist, while Regan will attend Franciscan University of Steubenville, Ohio where she received a Dean's scholarship.
"We're so proud of each of our graduates and they are truly a diverse group of young people," said Jane Swan, High School Director at Agora Cyber Charter School. "Agora is more than just a top-notch school; we're a community. Our teachers work to motivate students academically while building up their character and commitment to excellence in all that they do. During the graduation ceremony we recognized not only the achievements of the students and teachers, but also the encouragement and support of their families, who directly contributed to crafting such an amazing program."
Other graduates were singled out during the ceremony as winners of the Karol Canfield Award, the Shining Star Award and the coveted Agoratorian Award. The Karol Canfield Award is given to a student who exemplifies hard work, involvement and representation of the true Agora Spirit, and this year was awarded to Devon Zona. The Shining Star Award, presented to a student who has shown a special commitment or developed a leadership role at Agora, went to Jack Tomczuk. This year's Agoratorian Award, given in recognition of a student's outstanding example, went to Kaitlyn Gehris.
Some of the colleges chosen by this year's graduating class include:
Kings College
Texas A&M
University of Kentucky
Drexel University
West Virginia University
Kutztown University
Berklee College of Music
La Salle University
East Stroudsburg University
Penn State University
Temple University
West Chester University
Bowling Green University
Enrollment is still open for the 2012-2013 academic school year, and all interested families are encouraged to visit www.k12.com/agora for more information.
About Agora Cyber Charter School
The Agora Cyber Charter School is a full-time tuition-free online public school option for Pennsylvania students in grades K through 12. Agora uses the curriculum and academic services provided by K12 Inc. (NYSE: LRN), the nation's leading provider of proprietary curriculum and online education programs for students in kindergarten through high school. Lessons are delivered through an age-appropriate combination of on- and offline instruction including a rich mixture of hands-on materials. Agora's active, supportive school community organizes fun and informative monthly activities at which parents, students and staff share their successes, helpful hints and more. This high-quality tuition-free public education enables learning experiences that are truly individualized for each child. For more information, please visit: www.k12.com/agora.
SOURCE Agora Cyber Charter School