SAN JOSE, CA – On Friday, March 3, a dedication ceremony was held for the Opportunity Youth Academy (OYA) site, ConXion, located at 749 Story Road, San Jose, California. The event was attended by County Superintendent of Schools Jon R. Gundry, along with members of the Santa Clara County Board of Education, and joined by students and staff. The OYA ConXion is the fifth location to open in Santa Clara County since the inception of Opportunity Youth Academy.
"The latest annual statistics show that 2,200 students dropped out of school in Santa Clara County. Most of these students were under 18 years old, and most of them would join the more-than 4,500 young people in our community who were not in school, not employed, and not eligible for military service," said OYA Interim Principal, Dr. Nicky Ramos-Beban. "When you look at the numbers in this way, you can see there is a real sense of the urgency to reach and re-engage these students. Fortunately, our Board of Education and staff felt compelled to act."
"After almost two years of development and support from our Board of Education, OYA was successfully launched in 2015 as a credit-recovery program that re-engages students aged 16-24 to help them earn their high school diploma," County Superintendent of Schools Jon R. Gundry said.
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Opportunity Youth Academies offer students a blended program of teacher-directed instruction, and online credit accrual and recovery options. The individualized support of teachers, counselors, navigators, liaisons, and access to the services of SCCOE partners from community-based organizations is the hallmark of this unique program.
"We have been able to tailor students' personal goals to make a tremendous impact in the lives of these young people who need to be re-engaged," said
County Board of Education Trustee, Grace Mah.
Additional Opportunity Youth Academy sites are planned to open throughout Santa Clara County, and will serve youth ages 16- to 24-years-old. For more information, please call 1-844-OYA-4UUU (1-844-692-4888) or email
oya@sccoe.org
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