Thursday, February 6, 2025

Hornet Academy graduates 28

Posted

AZLE — Since it was pioneered in 2008 by Ray Lea, former superintendent, and former director of administration Ray Ivey. Hornet Academy has graduated 840 students, including 28 this year.

Hornet Academy gives individuals without a high school diploma a second chance at graduation. It is a self-paced online alternative to high school. Unlike a General Educational Development program, graduates from Hornet Academy get to walk the Azle High School auditorium stage after earning a bona fide high school diploma. Last Tuesday, Jan. 21, marked the 33rd biannual graduation ceremony held by the program.

Hornet Academy Principal Chris Hill introduced the ceremony, welcoming graduates and families. A wide array of students from every background, age group and circumstance were in attendance. Hill said this group faced significant challenges, including family and work obligations and mandatory tutoring. Past Hornet Academy graduates have included an accomplished police officer, multiple generations of the same family, an award-winning journalist and this year, its first married couple.

“I'm always in awe when I see this auditorium full of family and friends that are here to celebrate with our Hornet Academy graduates,” Hill said. “I am certain that some of our graduates and probably their families thought this day would never come. Some of them came back to school after being away for years. Others fell behind in classes and continued to fall further back. All of them needed that nontraditional opportunity. Family and friends, I want you to know that these graduates chose to take the hard route to get here tonight, in addition to family and work obligations, they chose a path that included the additional stress of nonstop deadlines, mandatory tutoring and the tough love from their teachers”

Counselor Amanda Williams, registrar Felicia Johnson, Hornet Academy teachers Anthony Barron and Jennifer Young, Azle ISD’s board of trustees and the district’s superintendent attended the ceremony to share in the students’ accomplishments on and off the stage. Azle ISD Board President Bill Lane shared his personal journey and praised the graduates' resilience.

“It’s never said enough how proud we are to have you all graduate here tonight because you took the road less traveled,” Lane said. “There's no doubt about it and you've been met with adversity, but out of that adversity and out of that different path, you sit here tonight moments away from becoming a high school graduate. If you'll think about it for just a minute, what all you've been through, knowledge is learned through adversity. With the easy road you don't learn a whole lot, I can promise you … My hat is off to you, because not everybody can do it, but y'all took advantage of an opportunity we have here. It takes a village to get kids through school. It takes a community to get behind you all, to get you where you are tonight, and we're all so proud of you, this entire board. This is just one of the events that I never miss.”

January 2025 Hornet Academy graduates:

  • Camila Albarran
  • Ruel Don Anderson
  • Lane Micheal Bridges
  • Journie Ryver Curtis
  • Landon Michael Darden
  • Noah McDuff Dickson
  • Lorena Duenez
  • Maranda Leann Legend Fendley
  • Amy Lynn Griffin
  • Robert Wayne Griffin
  • Shane Ryan Grubbs
  • Alanis Nicole Hicks
  • Linda Lou Renee Hussong
  • Alan Keith Latta II
  • Sergio Lino
  • Samantha LeAnne McCloskey
  • Tiffany Maree McNeese
  • Nichole Grace O'Barto
  • Lily Grace O'Connor
  • Sonia Ortega
  • Rylan Drake Pack
  • Daemon Michael Patrick
  • Jesi Elaine Petty
  • Heaven Melissa Romero
  • Brianna Levon Simonson
  • Riley Shay Smith
  • Crystal Dawn Smryl
  • Deacon Randolph Stephens