Greater Ohio Virtual School Graduates a Record Number of Students

Greater Ohio Virtual School (GOVS) is an online community (charter) school serving primarily students who have dropped out of school or are at risk of doing so. Located in Warren County, GOVS serves students from across the state with the majority of students coming from southwestern Ohio.

On Wednesday, June 3rd, 2020, the Greater Ohio Virtual School held its first ever Senior Salute at the Warren County Education Service Center (WCESC) in Lebanon.  Like all high schools in the state of Ohio and across the country, plans for a traditional graduation ceremony had to be changed due to the COVID-19 virus.  Through closure and quarantine, GOVS staff members worked remotely to develop a plan to appropriately honor the graduating class of 2020.  The WCESC parking lot was turned into a drive-through ceremony in which students, accompanied by family and friends, could decorate their cars, turn in equipment, and receive their diploma.  Approximately 130 students participated in the Senior Salute over a 5-hour span.  The GOVS office staff worked diligently through the 90-degree heat to provide the class of 2020 with a fun and appropriate way to end the challenging 2020 school year.  The Greater Ohio Virtual School graduated a school record of 170 students this spring.

For one of the graduates, it had been a long journey to earning her diploma. Mavluda Nuriva was a Princeton City Schools student originally from Uzbekistan.  Mavluda began her partnership with GOVS in 2017 during a GOVS orientation/MAP testing session.  Mavluda was behind and the language barrier created additional challenges. She was doing well when life intervened.

Mavluda dropped out of GOVS and moved back to Uzbekistan to get married.  Upon returning to the United States she reached out to GOVS counselor Loren Wall who helped her re-enroll at GOVS and continue working toward earning her high school diploma.  Once again Then life got in the way again as she withdrew from GOVS again, moved back to Uzbekistan, and this time returned to the States with a baby.  Once again, she reached out to Loren who worked with her to help her achieve her goal: a GOVS graduate!  Twenty friends and family members joined Mavluda at the graduation ceremony to celebrate.  There wasn’t a dry eye in the parking lot!!

Congratulations to the GOVS Class of 2020!