ECOT 2009 Graduation Ceremony Video (Highlights)

ECOT in the news: Chillicothe Gazette, June 10, 2009

June 10, 2009
Tomorrow has arrived for local ECOT graduates

Students say online charter school offers flexibility, requires self-determination

BY LOREN GENSON
Gazette Staff Writer

Two local high school students graduated from a nontraditional high school Saturday, and they feel their experiences have prepared them for the world of work and college.

Jonathan Bowling, 19, and Ryan Schweitzer, 18, received their diplomas from the Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow, a charter school based in Columbus that allows students to complete their coursework online.

"It's just like regular school, but it's more flexible," Bowling said.

The pair, who until two years ago also were joined by Jonathan's brother, Arthur, in the ECOT program, worked from home and were required to log in regularly and attend online classes. In a way, it was more difficult than attending classes at a brick-and-mortar school, they said.

"You've got to have a lot of self-determination. You've got to log in and do it yourself, no one is forcing you to get it done," Jonathan said.

The two have attended classes for the past four years at the online school, which offers courses from kindergarten through 12th grade. Arthur attended classes for the first two years of high school before transferring to Chillicothe High School to finish his course work. For Arthur, a traditional school was a better fit.

"My grades were better at CHS ... I found it a little easier," Arthur said.

For Jonathan and Schweitzer, the online coursework was the best choice. The two live outside of Londonderry near the Vinton County line and fell into the Vinton County School District.

"It was tough in the winter to get out of the house, and it was an hour-and-a-half bus ride to school in McArthur," Schweitzer said.

The school curriculum is just as challenging as regular schools, said Schweitzer, who graduated as valedictorian of his class of more than 1,500.

"We have biology, chemistry, calculus, just like other schools," he said. "It's considered a charter school. We have to take OGTs (Ohio Graduation Tests) and we get a high school diploma."

And though it was challenging to complete some coursework at home, the support system through the school was strong, Jonathan said.

"There is online chat with the teachers, and we can call them anytime if we have questions. They're really helpful," he said.

The ECOT students said the flexible schedule allows them to also pursue dancing and motocross, two diverse interests they all enjoy. Jonathan and Arthur have been dancing with their mother's N'Step clogging group for about 10 years, and Schweitzer has been doing it for about eight years.

The ECOT online courses allowed them to easily travel to national competitions for clogging without missing coursework.

"You can log in anywhere there's an Internet connection, so we don't really have to miss or make up anything; we can do it from wherever we are," Jonathan said.

The format also allowed them to work jobs while attending classes. While the students are required to log in each day and their attendance is monitored, students can e-mail their teachers and complete the coursework in the evening if their day is going to be busy or if they have to work.

Jonathan is planning to attend college and may study structural engineering, while Ryan and Arthur plan to attend college to study nursing. They all say the online work has prepared them well for college.

"In college, you don't have teachers telling you to get work done and checking in; you have to be determined," said Schweitzer. "And I think we're all ready for college courses. We've been doing the work on our own for a while now."

Original article can be found here

ECOT celebrates largest class ever in annual ceremony

This year’s class brings total graduates in ECOT’s history to over 4,000

ECOT held its 9th annual graduation ceremony at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, June 6 at the Schottenstein Center in Columbus.

The event was the statewide online charter school’s largest graduation ever, with more than 1,500 students eligible to participate – both in person and from their homes via a unique live event webcast (www.ecotohio.org).



ECOT is Ohio’s largest charter school and the state’s first and largest online school. Since ECOT’s first ceremony at the Statehouse Atrium in 2000, ECOT has outgrown four venues for its graduation ceremonies. With this year’s class, the total number of ECOT graduates in its short history is over 4,000.

ECOT graduations are unique:

--Students work with their teachers online from their homes, so many students will meet each other and their teachers for the first time at graduation.

--Graduates travel from every corner of the state to attend the ceremony. If they cannot make the trip to Columbus, families participate by viewing the live webcast of the event from their computers.

The Honorable Mark Wagoner, the State Senator representing the 2nd Senate District (Toledo area), addressed the graduates as this year’s commencement speaker.

There were 11 Valedictorians in this year’s class including:

Steven Amick of Grove City
Julia Bankert of Delaware
Lacey Greenler of Defiance
Briana Johnson of Cambridge
Benjamin Lander of Hillsboro
Jeremy Mollett of Oak Hill
Broderick Poling of Dayton
Ryan Schweitzer of Londonderry
Michelle Stewart of West Jefferson
Anne Wright of Oxford
Eric Wrikeman of East Palestine

Six of the graduates received scholarships or awards during the ceremony:

--Curtis Liston of North Ridgeville and Heather Fredenburg of Mount Vernon each received a $10,000 scholarship to attend Ashland University. Founded in 2009, the ECOT Scholarship to Ashland University is exclusively provided to ECOT graduates who plan to attend Ashland University.

-- Kelsey Robb of Cincinnati received the Founder’s Scholarship ($1000) in honor of ECOT Founder William Lager of Altair Learning Management of Columbus.

-- Kacey Davis of Circleville received the Patricia Felts Social Services Scholarship ($1000) in memory of an ECOT employee who dedicated her life to the field of social services.

-- Rosa Nemec of Westerville received the Sponsor’s Scholarship ($1000) in honor of ECOT’s chartering authority.

-- Sarah Schron of Columbus received the Coann Michael Memorial Scholarship ($1000) for perseverance in the face of adversity. The award is named for Coann Michael, a 2003 ECOT graduate and class speaker who was determined to earn her diploma despite illness.

Kasey Dalo of Canton was the Class Speaker. Alysha Fleek of Cincinnati led the Pledge of Allegiance to start the ceremony. Seniors Anastasia Molina of Sylvania and Kara Whetzel of London led their classmates in the traditional turning of the tassel.

ECOT educates over 9,500 statewide students in grades K-12. ECOT’s headquarters is in Columbus, Ohio.

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ECOT accepts enrollment requests for 2009-2010

ECOT is now accepting requests for enrollment applications for the 2009-2010 school year.

Join over 9,500 Ohio students who are now being educated online in the state's first and largest online public school.

Click here to request an enrollment application.

ECOT LifeSmarts team repeats as state champions

ECOT's LifeSmarts team successfully defended their 2008 state championship Monday in Columbus.

After qualifying for the state competition online, the ECOT team won their first two matches but lost in the semifinals in the double-elimination competition. ECOT came back to win the final round against a very strong Benjamin Logan High School team.

The 2009 state championship ECOT team now moves on to the National LifeSmarts Competition in St. Louis to be held April 25-28.

Teacher Marilyn Hiestand and Erin Newman, Library Media Specialist, are co-coaches of this year's team.















The team (pictured from L to R): Brandyn Chaney, Grade 9, Cleveland, Tessa Pavey, Grade 10, Leesburg, Shabazse Chaney (holding trophy and team captain), Grade 11, Cleveland, Nickie Pavey, Grade 10, Leesburg, and Stephenie Willis, Grade 11, Senecaville. Coach Marilyn Hiestand is pictured in rear center. Not pictured is Erin Newman, co-coach.

Below is a video featuring members of last year's team:


The ECOT LifeSmarts team is sponsored by
Time Warner Cable Business Class.

ECOT publishes 2008 literary magazine

Each year, ECOT publishes a literary magazine called Keystrokes to showcase the best student writing and visual art at the high school level.

One of the many highlights in the magazine is an award-winning essay by Theresa Conrad of Hamilton, Ohio that was selected as the best overall essay in the statewide Laws of Life Essay Contest.

The magazine is supported by ECOT's administration, language arts department, art education department and communications staff. The magazine represents many hours of hard work and collaboration by students, teachers, staff members and administrators.

Click to view the 2008 edition in PDF format.

The following educators and staff members contributed to the production of the 2008 edition by encouraging students to submit writing to the magazine, editing the submissions, organizing the student writing, selecting student art, or designing and producing the magazine:

Gladys Ashenfelter
Andrea Berg
Vernell Bristow
Kara Bryan
Lynn Darke
Patty DelBoccio
Nancy DeLong
Sharon Gray
Robin Hyde
Nanci Kasten
Eileen Krisak
Kim Moneypenny
Mary Riess
Pam Six
Heather Tester
Heather Townley
Robb Townsend
Christina Stapleton
Suzanne Williams

Enroll Today!

ECOT is enrolling students for the 2008-2009 school year. Classes begin on August 27, 2008.

When deciding to enroll in an Ohio online school, there are some facts you should know:

• ECOT is the first and largest e-school in Ohio, and since it opened in 2000, has always been a leader.
• ECOT is fully accredited by the Commission on International Trans-Regional Accreditation (CITA) and the North Central Association.
• ECOT has graduated more students than any other e-school and continues to provide the most innovative curriculum and technology.
• No other e-school has a higher rating on the state report card.
• ECOT hires only highly qualified teachers who, when working with caring parents, are the key components to ECOT's success and to the success of its students.