Forty students of the statewide online dropout
prevention and recovery community school walked proudly across a
graduation stage in Cincinnati on
Saturday
CINCINNATI, Ohio, June 19,
2024 /PRNewswire/ - ChallengeU, a statewide online
dropout prevention and recovery community school program based in
Cincinnati, Ohio, celebrated its
first graduation class in Ohio
Saturday, June 15, with 40 students
tossing their graduation caps in front of cheering family, friends,
teachers, and counselors. The crowd included City of Cincinnati
Vice Mayor Jan-Michele
Lemon-Kearney, who, during her remarks, asked every graduate
to say out loud to themselves and to the crowd, "I am important!"
and urged them to say that to themselves every day from that day
forward.
Nearly half of this year's ChallengeU Ohio 2024 graduates
traveled from across the state with family and friends to take part
in Saturday's celebration. This year's 40 ChallengeU Ohio graduates
include:
- Chase, Age 20, Residing in Jamestown
- Aidan, Age 17, Residing in Bellbrook
- Ethan, Age 19, Residing in Fairborn
- Bryce, Age 18, Residing in Miamisburg
- Blake, Age 19, Residing in Dayton
- Avah, Age 18, Residing in Cincinnati
- Samantha, Age 18, Residing in Xenia
- Christian, Age 18, Residing in Hillsboro
- Paige, Age 18, Residing in Springfield
- Sarah, Age 17, Residing in Canton
- Emma, Age 18, Residing in Cedarville
- Sierra, Age 17, Residing in Hillsboro
- Isaiah, Age 21, Residing in Cincinnati
- Peninah, Age 21, Residing in Kettering
- Jayden, Age 18 , Residing in Waynesville
- Calli, Age 20, Residing in Akron
- Kenzie, Age 18, Residing in Farmersville
- Caleb, Age 19 , Residing in Lebanon
- Kaitlyn, Age 18, Residing in Beavercreek
- Samantha, Age 18, Residing in Mason
- Makayla, Age 18, Residing in Cincinnati
- Daniel, Age 18, Residing in Columbus
- Jordan, Age 18, Residing in
Bluffton
- Justin, Age 18, Residing in Akron
- Chloe, Age 18, Residing in Belmont
- Bre'Asia, Age 19, Residing in
Cincinnati
- Rodney, Age 18, Residing in Felicity
- Aryana, Age 17, Residing in Beavercreek
- Ruby, Age 18, Residing in Cincinnati
- Landon, Age 18, Residing in Fairfield
- Kaden, Age 20, Residing in Centerville
- Danyou'll, Age 20, Residing in Cincinnati
- Alexis, Age 18, Residing in Hillsboro
- Alexius, Age 20, Residing in Cincinnati
- Noah, Age 19, Residing in Fairborn
- Justin, Age 17, Residing in Columbus
- Samantha, Age 17, Residing in Middletown
- Micah, Age 18, Residing in Ashland
- Jaiden, Age 18, Residing in Cincinnati
- Skylar, Age 16, Residing in Dayton.
The school, which began in Ohio
in 2023, is transforming the trajectory and futures of high
school students who would not have graduated otherwise. The
program is a public high school completion program designed
for at-risk students aged 14 to 21 and provides a
graduation/life coach and a free laptop (with a free hotspot) to
students so that they can complete their coursework and, therefore,
have a better future.
"Every student deserves an equal opportunity to build a
promising future," said Nicolas
Arsenault, CEO, ChallengeU. "After partnering with U.S.
and Canadian public schools for 10 years and re-engaging more
than 35,000 dropouts and helping them graduate, ChallengeU combined
its experience and technology to build the first ChallengeU
Community School in Ohio. We are
not asking the underserved students to come back to school; we
created a school that comes to meet them where they are. Our
team is honored to make that a reality, resulting in pathways
to productive careers and bright futures."
To learn more about ChallengeU's program and view student
testimonials, visit ChallengeU.com. The ChallengeU media kit can be
found here.
About ChallengeU
ChallengeU is an international non-profit community school that
seeks to graduate high school students who either dropped out
previously or were on the verge of dropping out. The program,
already proven in Canada and in
other U.S. states, was launched in Ohio in 2023. Our intervention model combines
the flexibility of online learning with the power of building
relationships through in-person coaching. Our coaches provide
complete support in collaboration with local community
organizations. We engage students in various levels of support,
ensuring they will have the confidence and motivation to commit to
working with us toward graduation and post-graduation
opportunities. In 2022, ChallengeU was recognized as a B-Corp Best
For The World™. For more information,
visit ChallengeU.com.
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SOURCE ChallengeU