PITTSBURGH--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Hill House Passport Academy Charter School (HHPACS), an online public high school for under-credited students, will celebrate the largest graduating class in school history with an in-person graduation ceremony on Friday, June 23rd at the August Wilson Center.
One hundred and six students will graduate from HHPACS, which is designed for students under the age of 21 who have not been able to previously finish high school. Many of the students at HHPACS have had to overcome great personal struggles, including challenges such as homelessness, teen parenting and even being in the legal system. The program provides individualized support to each of these students in many ways.
HHPACS is a blended learning environment which combines online coursework, classroom work taught by state-certified teachers with flexible class scheduling and lesson pacing. Students are required to attend three hours of in-person learning each day. However, the flexible schedule model allows students to move through the curriculum at their own pace and attend classes during either the morning, afternoon or evening session while finishing the rest of their work online.
The successful graduation rate this year is also made possible through the school’s partnership with local organizations and local traditional public schools. Together, HHPACS and its partners work to identify students that will thrive in a blended school and together provide the services inside and outside of the classroom to help the students succeed. The support is provided through unique programs that include workshops, ongoing development and in-person tutoring to help students reach academic benchmarks, helping ensure students are prepared for life after high school.
“We have worked tirelessly through courses and the obstacles that life has thrown at us and still managed to get here,” said Angel James, an HHPACS student who will address her fellow graduates at commencement. “Nothing prepares us more for life than high school, and I’m so glad I got to spend my last year with my Hill House family. Hill House let us be who we wanted to be and allowed us to change what we didn’t like in ourselves. It made me feel like I had a say over my future.”
“When I started at Hill House last year, I didn’t have much hope or confidence that I would graduate,” said Breeonna Gaines, another student speaker at graduation who will be attending Community College of Allegheny County in the fall to pursue a career in the medical field. “Here I am today graduating with honors. I never thought I would get this far or achieve so many things. A lot of people doubted me, but Hill House Passport Academy saved me.”
In addition to James and Gaines, a third student speaker, Aubrayia Dowdy, will also address her peers, and retired Pittsburgh Steeler J.T. Thomas will also deliver remarks.
Media is welcome to attend this event. Details are as follows:
Hill House Passport Academy Charter School Graduation
Friday,
June 23, 2017 at 6 p.m.
August Wilson Center
980 Liberty Ave.
Pittsburgh,
PA 15222
About Hill House Passport Academy Charter School
Hill House Passport Academy Charter School (HHPACS) is an accredited, tuition-free Pittsburgh public charter school for under-credited students. Through HHPACS, students have access to the curriculum provided by K12 Inc. (NYSE: LRN), the nation’s leading provider of K-12 proprietary curriculum and online education programs. For more information about HHPACS, visit http://hhpa.k12.com.
About K12 Inc.
K12 Inc. (NYSE: LRN) is driving innovation and advancing the quality of education by delivering state-of-the-art, digital learning platforms and technology to students and school districts across the globe. K12’s curriculum serves over 2,000 schools and school districts and has delivered more than four million courses over the past decade. K12 is a company consisting of thousands of online school educators providing instruction, academic services, and learning solutions to public schools and districts, traditional classrooms, blended school programs, and directly to families. The K12 program is offered through K12 partner public schools in 33 states and the District of Columbia, and through private schools serving students in all 50 states and more than 100 countries. More information can be found at K12.com.
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