The 35th induction ceremony of the Washington Court House City Schools (WCHCS) Academy of Scholars was recently held to celebrate the students who distinguished themselves by high academic attainment during the 2019-2020 school year.
On March 3, WCHCS honored its new inductees with a unique ceremony at Liberty Hall during school. Typically held in the fall at the Historic Washington Auditorium, the Academy of Scholars celebration was postponed due to COVID-19 restrictions.
Founded in 1985 by the WCHCS Board of Education, students in grades six through nine can be inducted in the Academy of Scholars if they have achieved not less than a 3.5 grade point average based on the year-end grades for the current school year, and students in grades 10 through 12 can be inducted if they have achieved not less than a 4.0 grade point average based on the year-end grades for the current school year.
This year, nine students were honored for their induction into the Academy of Scholars all seven years they were able to obtain the honor. These students were Ashleigh Donohoe, Brynne Frederick, Payton Maddux, Aria Marting, Trevor Minyo, Brock Morris, Brooklynn Stanley, Jocelyn Trimmer and Halli Wall.
“While we wished we could have held our event as usual,” explained Trevor Patton, WCHCS director of marketing & communications, “event and large gathering limitations set by the Governor’s Office, the Ohio Department of Health, and the Ohio Department of Education, made it not possible to do so.”
One of the main factors behind this decision was the amount of students being honored.
“It’s a good problem to have, really,” Patton said, “but with over 250 students earning induction this year, we simply don’t have a facility that can hold the entire membership with their parents and guardians while meeting the current restrictions.”
With an in-person event out of the question, WCHCS looked to alternate means to honor the high achieving students in a meaningful way.
To meet current large gathering and school restrictions as set by the Governor’s office, each grade level was brought into Liberty Hall separately for a celebration with their classmates. The induction roll call and certificate presentation was filmed and compiled into a comprehensive video alongside the traditional principal, superintendent, and school board presentations.
This video was shown on the district’s Facebook page for the community to help honor the students, which is still available. Additionally, for professional photographs of the event, parents may text DTP20 to the phone number 90728 to get access to pictures taken during the ceremony by Downtown Photo.
“We really appreciate the patience and grace of our parents and guardians as we move through this pandemic and as we recognize our students in the best way that we know possible,” said WCHCS Superintendent Dr. Tom Bailey. “We hope to be back to the Historic Washington Auditorium for the 36th Academy of Scholars with all of you present so that we can celebrate the great accomplishments of our students together in person.”
The information in this article was provided by Washington Court House City Schools.
