Verne Riffe School celebrates 2024 graduates

PORTSMOUTH, OH (WOWK) – The Verne Riffe School in Portsmouth hosted its 2024 commencement ceremony Wednesday at Shawnee State University’s ballroom.

The Verne Riffe School provides education and services for children with developmental disabilities. This year’s class may have been a bit smaller with only two graduates, but school officials still brought out all the stops for the pair!

The graduates for 2024 are Caden Murphy of Wheelersburg and Jasmine Ann Yinger of Portsmouth. Murphy has been with the Verne Riffe School since preschool, while Yinger joined her fifth-grade year.

Annie Murphy, Caden’s mother, says the celebration filled her with mixed emotions.

“Very, very much a little bit of everything. We’re happy and still sad at the same time. He’s been with this program since he was 3-years-old, so we have kind of grown up with it, grown up with these people, and it’s very emotional,” Annie Murphy said.

Caden plans to join the STAR Program, a program for developmentally disabled adults that’s filled with fun activities and trips around the state of Ohio. Jasmine isn’t sure what she wants to do after graduating but says she knows she wants to work with kids.

“I was so proud, because she’s worked so hard, and she’s been so good going through all this,” said Jasmine’s aunt, Linda Yates. “She’s a great girl. She’s going to have a bright future. For having all her help she’s gotten from the school, she’ll have a bright future, and that’s what we’re hoping for.”

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