Virtual school celebrates first graduating class
Jun 2, 2025
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WSAZ) – West Virginia Virtual Academy is celebrating the first ever graduating class of students across the state.
“It’s an honor to be a part of the first graduating class, and I’m really excited,” Skylar Chinn said.
The school held a graduation ceremony on Tuesday at the University of Charleston where more than 80 students walked across the stage.
The Head of School, Doug Cipoletti, said, “Even though we’re a virtual school, here we are at the University of Charleston and providing that opportunity for kids to get the in person, walking across the stage that families would expect.”
Skylar Chinn, who’s from Huntington, said she decided to make the switch to virtual school during her senior year.
“It’s at home, and where I am employed it was a lot easier. I could go to my classes at work or I could just tell them, ‘hey I’m going to be at work and I can have all my stuff done by the end of the day.’”
Lydia and Jason O’Neal have twins graduating from the school. After their freshman year in high school, they found the virtual option, hoping for a good fit.
“I mean, we really didn’t know what to expect,” Lydia O’Neal said.
Jason said, “Yeah, it was definitely a lot of reservation to begin with because, you know, they do have to do it on their own and there’s a lot of things that there’s not somebody standing right over them watching them, but they did really well.”
Cipoletti said the school has grown from 400 to more than 2,000 students since it began in 2022 after virtual charter school options were introduced.
“Obviously, the elected officials knew that there was a demand for school choice, and so, I am encouraged by the growth.”
He said the growth wouldn’t be possible without great teachers.