ACCD What's New

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 8, 2004
CONTACT: Elizabeth "Eli" Eguia-Garcia, Director, Office of Institutional Advancement and Public Affairs, Palo Alto College, 210-921-5269

PALO ALTO COLLEGE, 6 SCHOOL DISTRICTS AWARDED PRESTIGIOUS GATEWAY TO COLLEGE GRANT

Palo Alto College and six Southside area school districts are the only Texas site selected this year to implement the Gateway to College Program, a national model developed by Portland Community College.

Youth who left school without earning a high school diploma will have the opportunity to gain a high school diploma while earning college credit at Palo Alto College free of charge. “In this program, they will have mentoring, monitoring, small classes, and a guiding individual to get to know and work with them,” said Dr. Ana M. “Cha” Guzmán, Palo Alto College president, while making the announcement during a news conference on October 8.

“We want to ensure not only that students finish high school but that they make successful transitions to college, work, community and beyond,” Dr. Guzm á n stated. The participating Bexar County school districts are Edgewood, Harlandale, San Antonio, South San Antonio, Southwest and Southside.

Portland Community College is awarding $340,000 in planning funds to begin hiring staff for the school, which will open in Fall 2005 with 100 students and serve up to 340 by December 8, 2007. Portland Community College is a national intermediary in the Early College High School Initiative. The Early College High School Initiative is funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Carnegie Corp. of New York, the Ford Foundation, and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.

The program will be available for students 16 to 20 years old. The students will be enrolled in one of the school districts, which will receive state funding for the students. All classes will be held at Palo Alto College, and students will receive both high school and college credit. Classes will be held in the daytime and evening. During their first semester, students will take their classes as a cohort – with other students in the Gateway to College Program. After successfully completing the cohort, students transition to classes with the regular college population.

Upon completion, students will earn their high school diploma from their resident school district while progressing toward a college certificate or associate degree. In addition, graduates of the Gateway to College Program can receive diplomas at Palo Alto’s annual commencement ceremony.

“This is the type of program that will give these students that have fallen through the cracks a second chance to complete their K-12 education and pursue a higher education degree,” said Dr. Nabor F. Cortez, superintendent of South San Antonio ISD. Some of these students were not successful in the traditional high school setting and did not want to pursue the General Educational Development (GED) route, he said.

Students will be identified through contacts with the public school districts, GED and ESL programs, area churches and community centers.

Palo Alto College is a fully accredited community college located on the Southside of San Antonio, and awards associate degrees, short-term certificates and offers non-credit continuing education classes. The college is recognized nationally for its high transfer rate. The campus is located at 1400 West Villaret Blvd. at I-410 South and Texas Hwy. 16.