deuces dad
Active member
The Digital Academy is / was a CPS created program. It allowed students to work online similar to many current college courses, but allowed them to play athletics at any CPS school. This program is commonly found in most larger urban public school systems. These kids got Digital Academy diplomas, not WHHS diplomas. The one "tweak" they have made over the last couple of years, is to force the Digital Academy students to play at their local neighborhood school. I don't think Walnut actually has a local neighborhood it's attached to, as most Walnut Hills residents attend Withrow. There was nothing done illegal by the old AD or principal, they just played by the rules established by CPS. Having a child in the Walnut JH system, I know all their kids are homegrown, meaning they started at Walnut during junior high. They have lost a couple of real difference makers, who attended JH at Walnut, but later attended GCL schools. However it's amazing how many kids are enrolled at Walnut now, that you don't have to live within Cincinnati proper. As I stated earlier I doubt that the Walnut job gets offered to anyone not in the Walnut/ CPS family.Walnut also had an issue 5-10 years ago bringing in MANY players who did NOT pass the test; they let them take the online school at another location, then were allowed to go to walnut for practice every day. The principal and AD both moved on quickly after this was found out.
A friend of mine(for Walnut grad from early 80s, I'd say) took a former PROMINENT Walnut Basketball player to lunch when he ran into him at the college he was playing at. They were talking, and the kid told him "Huh? We didn't have to take this class or that class, etc" Not all Walnut degrees are the same anymore; Walnut had been in a mercenary period of athletics; even in football; and if you recall, their new hot shot coach got forced out due to some past issues, as well...Walnut trying to get around the system to bring in whom they want, players or coaches.