PHOTOS: RISE Academy graduates 90 students

Published 8:47 pm Wednesday, May 17, 2023

Screams of pride and excitement filled the varsity gym of Tyler High School as 90 RISE Academy graduates walked during ‘Pomp and Circumstance’ to the white folding chairs, neatly stationed across the hardwood.

Focused on dropout prevention, credit recovery, self-paced learning opportunities for at-risk students, RISE Academy offers flexible scheduling based on the needs of each student.

Many students attend as a result of either lack of self-motivation or just need a different environment to learn.

“When there are kids who might be falling behind or maybe just don’t want to do athletics, arts or maybe need a different way of learning, we help fill in whatever gaps they need,” said Principal Dr. Dexter Floyd.

In addition to keeping students on track, the school helps many exceed expectations.

“I am really excited about tonight… not only do we have 90 kids graduating but 16 of them are graduating a year early,” Floyd said. “Through perseverance and hard work, those 16 kids – who were supposed to graduate in 2024 – are walking tonight. It’s amazing.”

 Students stood for the prayer and the National Anthem. DeMario Miller gave the invocation. 

Board of Trustees president Wade Washmon spoke before the graduates and their proud supporters about looking forward to the future and utilizing every potential. Then declared on behalf of the Tyler ISD Board of Trustees that all 90 graduates met the graduation requirements and were ready to graduate.

Then superintendent Dr. Marty Crawford and Floyd handed out the diplomas and expressed their excitement for each student.