High school dropouts now have the opportunity to become college students through Palo Alto College's new Gateway to College Program that is funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Six area school districts and Palo Alto are taking part in this program that offers students who did not graduate from high school a second chance. Palo Alto was given $340,000 to hire new staff and open the school by the Fall 2005 school year. Palo Alto was one of three community colleges across the country selected.

“We want to ensure that students not only finish high school, but that they make successful transitions to college, work, community and beyond,” said Dr. Ana M. "Cha" Guzman, President of Palo Alto College.

Dr. Mike Flores, Dean of Institutional Effectiveness and Community Development, and representatives from Palo Alto and the participating school districts have begun a process to hire a new director for the program who will serve as principal.

The planning process will blend the curriculum used at Portland Community College (PCC) in Portland, Oregon, the first to initiate the program, with that of Palo Alto’s.

The program, which is also funded by the Carnegie Corporation of New York, the Ford Foundation and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, is available for 40 students 16 to 20 years old who will be selected by the six districts in late spring. Those participating must reside in one of the participating school districts, since they will also receive state funding for the program, and they must have at least an eighth-grade reading level. Initially, students will take classes with only those in the Gateway program. After successfully completing the prerequisites, they will then enter classes with Palo Alto students in college-level courses.

“It will create a mindset of ‘Si se puede’ (Yes you can),” said Dr. Nabor F. Cortez, Jr., Superintendent of Schools at South San Antonio Independent School District. He believes the program will help those who have already lost hope.

Education specialists will be on hand to work with students, guiding them down the right path to success. Gateway classes will be taught by Palo Alto faculty and will meet in classrooms throughout the college.

Students will receive their high school diploma from South San, Edgewood, Harlandale, Southwest, Southside or San Antonio School Districts upon completion of their coursework, and they will continue to receive a college education toward a certificate or an associate's degree.

The Gateway program, started by the Portland Community College in the 2002-2003 school year, has been successful from the beginning. Thirty-five students received their high school diplomas in the first year while earning an average of 64 college credits throughout their careers at Portland Community College.

Of those, 80 percent plan to continue their college education at either PCC or Portland State University. More than 20 percent of those who participated in the trial program had dropped out of school more than once.

Out of this percentage, slightly more than 75 percent completed their educational goals, continued with their education or were employed at the end of the program.