Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School graduates 1,300 students

Venues in Kutztown and Beaver County provided the backdrop for about 600 students who participated in the ceremonies. Family and friends of the graduates packed Keystone Hall on the University of Kutztown campus during an evening ceremony on June 7. Attendees of the Community College of Beaver County – a first-time location for the graduation exercises – gathered this morning.

"For each of our students walking across the stage, they have their own unique and personal reasons for having chosen a non-traditional path to a high school diploma," Hayden said, "one that required them to take a greater responsibility for their educations and to learn in new and different ways."

"Through your hard work and commitment, you are now prepared to walk across this stage, bringing along with you the shared success of your family, friends, teachers, advisors, and others," he said.

Sean Snowden, principal for grades 9-12, Deputy Chief Academic Officer Jennifer Shoaf and Chief Academic Officer Alan Fritz addressed the students with a message about their past, present and future.

Building on the messages about the students' past and present, Fritz told graduates that the future is uncertain and not always fair, but the graduates have demonstrated the grit to accomplish great things.

"Success is not a measure of wealth – a big house, the car in the driveway – but the impact you make on the world," Fritz said.

Seniors chose Lillian Marker, of York, to serve as its class representative to address the Kutztown audience. The daughter of James and Maria Marker, she will attend LaRoche College to study biology with a concentration in forensics.

Melanie Hulse, of Canonsburg, served as class representative to speak before the audience in Beaver County. She is the daughter of George and Amanda Hulse, and will attend Robert Morris University to study marketing and media arts.

Senior and professional singer Brooke Falls, of Philadelphia, performed "Time to Say Goodbye" at the ceremony in Kutztown. Each ceremony included performances by the PA Cyber Choir, comprised of students who sang "Go the Distance," and The Pittsburgh Trombone Review, who presented "The Star-Spangled Banner" and "Pomp and Circumstance."

Of the 1,329 PA Cyber graduates, three hail from Adams County, 193 from Allegheny County, 60 from Beaver County, one from Bedford County, 21 from Berks, 12 from Blair, five from Bradford, 39 from Bucks, 51 from Butler, 18 from Cambria, 11 from Carbon, 16 from Centre, six from Chester, seven from Clarion, seven from Clearfield, seven from Clinton, one from Columbia, 44 from Crawford, 41 from Cumberland, 26 from Dauphin, 32 from Delaware, 56 from Erie, 53 from Fayette, 14 from Franklin, two from Fulton, five from Greene, two from Huntingdon, 11 from Indiana, six from Jefferson, one from Juniata, four from Lackawanna, 28 from Lancaster, 23 from Lawrence, 11 from Lebanon, 44 from Lehigh, 15 from Luzerne, 21 from Lycoming, three from McKean, 16 from Mercer, four from Mifflin, 21 from Monroe, 34 from Montgomery, two from Montour, 25 from Northampton, seven from Northumberland, 13 from Perry, 52 from Philadelphia, one from Pike, one from Potter, 13 from Schuylkill, five from Snyder, 19 from Somerset, four from Sullivan, Susquehanna, nine from , three from Tioga, four from Union, 11 from Venango, four from Warren, 59 from Washington, one from Wayne, 72 from Westmoreland, and 47 from York.

The first statewide K-12 cyber charter school in Pennsylvania, PA Cyber graduated 16 seniors in its first class in 2001. PA Cyber enrolls more than 11,000 schoolchildren from all parts of the commonwealth.