Gilroy Early College Academy

Dr. TJ Owens
Gilroy Early College Academy
Location
Gilroy,  California
 United States
Information
Type Early College Academy
Motto Be someone. Go somewhere. Seek Excellence.
Established 2007
School district Gilroy Unified School District
Oversight Western Association of Schools and Colleges
Superintendent Deborah Flores
Principal Sonia Flores
Staff 13 (2012-2013)[1]
Grades 9-12
Enrollment 236 (2013-2014)[2]
Color(s)          Red and Black
Mascot Griffon
Website School website

Dr. TJ Owens Gilroy Early College Academy (abbreviated as GECA) is a prestigious early college high school located in Gilroy, California, at the southern edge of Silicon Valley, in the San Francisco Bay Area. Founded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, GECA operates as an early college school, requiring its students to receive their college preparatory education through a mixture of high school, Advanced Placement (AP), and college classes, offered through partnership with Gavilan College, allowing most GECA students to graduate high school with an associate's degree. GECA ranks among the top 10 high schools in California and consistently ranks as one of the best high schools in the United States.[3][4][5][6]

History

GECA was founded through a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and is now solely funded by the California Department of Education.[7]

Dr. T.J. Owens, GECA's namesake, was the former Dean of Students at Gavilan College and president of the Gilroy Unified School Board.[8] A prominent member of the national organization 100 Black Men of America and civil rights activist, Dr. Owens was a key figure in GECA's inception, but died two years before the early college academy was established.[9]

Academics

Approximately 90 percent of the class of 2011 graduated and entered a four-year university or continued their education at Gavilan with the intention to transfer to one.[7]

The school's non-weighted average API from 2011-2013 is 929 schoolwide, 900 for socioeconomically disadvantaged students, and 869 for English learners.[10] Statewide, students of all groups average 790, socioeconomically disadvantaged students 742, and English learners 717.[11]

GECA is one of ten schools participating in A Study of American Public High Schools with Academically-Competitive Admissions sponsored by Stanford University’s Hoover Institution and the Thomas B. Fordham Institute.[7][12]

Rankings

The school was ranked 10th best in California and 54th best in the United States on the 2015 U.S. News & World Report rankings.[13]

GECA is the best performing of the 28 early college high schools in California.[7]

GECA is one of 40 Beat the Odds Schools in a study conducted by WestEd, which identified 40 schools that consistently and significantly outperforming schools with similar demographics on the California Standards Tests and the California Academic High School Exit Exam.[14]

Awards

GECA was awarded the California Distinguished Schools Award in 2013,[15]

GECA was awarded the California Gold Ribbon Award in 2015.

Demographics

2013–2014[2]

  • 236 students: 114 Male (48.3%), 122 Female (51.7%)
Asian White Hispanic Two or More Races African American Filipino Pacific Islander American Indian Not Reported
49 79 99 4 1 3 0 1 0
20.8% 33.5% 41.9% 1.7% 0.4% 1.3% 0% 0.4% 0%

Student life

Student Government

GECA ASB organizes events to foster school spirit and assists students in setting up clubs.[16] Tribunal is the judicial branch of student government and addresses honor code violations such as bullying, cheating, and other behavioral issues.[17]

Clubs

Chicken Scratch (which has since disbanded as of 2016) GECA's writing club, has created a full-length theatrical production which was later performed in the Gavilan theater. Other groups include the gay-straight alliance, FLC club, film club, [16] CSF (California Scholarship Federation), Robotics, and TEDx GECA. [16]

References

  1. ↑ "Dr. TJ Owens Gilroy Early College Academy Staff directory".
  2. 1 2 "Enrollment by Ethnicity for 2013–14: Dr. TJ Owens Gilroy Early College Academy". California Department of Education.
  3. ↑ "US News & World Report High School Rankings 2015".
  4. ↑ Silicon Valley Business Journal - These Silicon Valley Schools Rule in New Rankings
  5. ↑ KRON4 - List of Top California High Schools: See Which Bay Area Schools Made It
  6. ↑ Mercury news - U.S. school rankings: Santa Cruz charter is No. 10; five Bay Area schools in top 100
  7. 1 2 3 4 "Early-College Academy Receives High Marks in Uncertain Budget Climate". Gilroy Dispatch.
  8. ↑ "Who was Dr. TJ Owens?".
  9. ↑ "Trustee TJ Owens Dies After Stroke". Gilroy Dispatch.
  10. ↑ "Dr. TJ Owens Gilroy Early College Academy API". California Department of Education.
  11. ↑ "2013 Growth API Report". California Department of Education.
  12. ↑ "Nationally acclaimed Fordhan/Hoover Institute visitation".
  13. ↑ "US News & World Report High School Rankings 2015".
  14. ↑ "Positive school climate boosts test scores, study says". EdSource.
  15. ↑ "2013 Distinguished Middle and High Schools". California Department of Education.
  16. 1 2 3 "GECA ASB - Clubs".
  17. ↑ "Honor Tribunal".

Coordinates: 36°58′25″N 121°34′07″W / 36.9737°N 121.5686°W / 36.9737; -121.5686

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