After a school year like no other, both the Arizona Virtual Academy (AZVA) and Insight School of Arizona (ISAZ), two online public school serving students throughout the state, will celebrate its graduates online with a commencement ceremony for AZVA on May 26 and one for ISAZ on May 27.
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The virtual ceremonies will begin at 6 PM for AZVA and 4 PM for ISAZ by following the links below.
The theme for AZVA seniors this year is “This is My Time…To Work Hard, To Learn, To Achieve, To Grow, To Prepare, To Have Joy in my Accomplishments” and all seniors have all created their own unique “This is My Time” quote. AZVA has been helping Arizona families since 2003 and ISAZ since 2012.
“While other schools may have struggled with online learning throughout the year, both AZVA and ISAZ never missed a day of instruction, which kept our students motivated, excited, and moving forward,” said AZVA Head of School Charles Woods. “Their achievements deserve to be shouted from the rim of the Grand Canyon, and we’re happy to provide a range of solutions that helps all our Arizona families.”
This year, AZVA will graduate nearly 215 students and ISAZ will graduate over 260. Approximately 72 AZVA seniors will graduate with at least a 3.5 weighted GPA. The AZVA Class of 2021 has earned over $1.1 million dollars in scholarships already. For ISAZ, over $50,000 in scholarships and multiple grants have been awarded.
Collectively, the graduating class reports it has been accepted to colleges and universities across Arizona and beyond, including Northern Arizona University, Dixie State University, Eastern New Mexico University, and Colorado Christian University.
Giangelo (Gino) Santilli is AZVA’s Valedictorian and ISAZ will feature Florie Rush. Santilli plans to attend vocational school in the fall and go into real estate. Florie plans to continue to work at DeCesari Equestrian in Tucson to prepare her for her future goal of becoming a veterinarian. The Salutatorian is Katie Finn for AZVA and Alyssa Kleber for ISAZ. They will attend Northern Arizona University & Estrella Community College respectively. The keynote speaker will be Kimberly Yee, State Treasurer of Arizona and the first Asian-American ever elected to the Arizona Legislature.
“This year was a whole new kind of struggle and we all couldn’t have gone through it without the continued support of our teachers at AZVA & ISAZ,” said Santilli. “I’ll forever be grateful that they helped me move onto the next level of my education.”
Prior to the pandemic, students enrolled in virtual school for a number of reasons—some were looking to escape bullying, some may have fallen academically off track, and others were looking for an alternative to the traditional classroom setting.
Both AZVA and ISAZ students access a robust online curriculum in the core subjects and a host of electives and attend live virtual classes taught by state-certified teachers.
Details of the graduation ceremonies are as follows:
WHAT: Arizona Virtual Academy 2021 Graduation Ceremony
WHEN: Wednesday, May 26th, 2021, 6:00 PM Info can be found here.
WHAT: Insight Academy of Arizona 2021 Graduation Ceremony
WHEN: Thursday, May 27th, 2021, 4:00 PM Info can be found here.
CONTACT: For any questions about the celebrations, please contact Adrienne Meeker at ameeker@k12.com for AZVA and Erica Young at eyoung@k12.com for ISAZ. For media inquiries, please contact Ken Schwartz at kschwartz@k12.com.
About Arizona Virtual Academy
Arizona Virtual Academy (AZVA) is an AdvancED-accredited, full-time online public charter school that serves Arizona students in kindergarten through 12th grade. As part of the Arizona public school system, AZVA is tuition-free and provides families the choice to access the curriculum and tools provided by K12, a Stride Company (NYSE: LRN). Stride offers learners of all ages a more effective way to learn and build skills for their future. For more information visit azva.k12.com.
About Insight Academy of Arizona
Insight Academy of Arizona (ISAZ) is an AdvancED-accredited, full-time online public school that serves Arizona students in grades 7-12. As part of the Arizona public school system, ISAZ is tuition-free and provides families the choice to access the curriculum and tools provided by K12, a Stride Company (NYSE: LRN). Stride offers learners of all ages a more effective way to learn and build skills for their future. For more information about ISAZ, visit az.insightschools.net.
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