Thirty-two sets of proud parents, family members, and friends watched their teenagers walk in a graduation ceremony Friday night. The Lighthouse Academy is a program, which takes students who are struggling academically in their high schools, and places them in a school designed to meet their individual needs.

Students enroll in the program voluntarily, and parents are required by program director Mark Williams to play an active role in their children's education. The importance of outside help and the dire academic straits some students found themselves in before entering the program may explain the huge turnout for the graduation ceremony. Over 500 people including Warren County Superintendent Dale Brown and School Board members were in attendance.