Schools

Temecula Alternative Education Grads Join Record-Breaking Number

The number of alternative education graduates is at an all-time high this year, an official says.

Students from Temecula Community School will be among the record-breaking 400 to receive diplomas from alternative education programs in Riverside County.

Diplomas went to 250 of these students on Tuesday during the Riverside County High School commencement at Grove Community Church in Riverside.

"My challenge to you is to never give up,” Riverside County Superintendent of Schools Kenneth Young told graduates. “With perseverance, all things are possible.”

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This year’s graduating class included a record number of 240 students who earned diplomas from the Come Back Kids program -- a 41 percent increase over last year and 10 times the number of students enrolled when the program started four years ago. The program gives high school dropouts a chance to finish high school and earn a diploma.

“This is one of the biggest accomplishments of my life,” said Come Back Kids graduate Daniel Carrillo, who went from being a drop out to a graduate with plans to attend college. He aims to become a sign language interpreter.

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Estrella Rivas was going to drop out when a high school counselor suggested Come Back Kids. With her high school diploma, she is going on to Riverside Community College in Moreno Valley and will take business courses. “This has been my number one goal,” she said.

Graduates at the commencement included students from Court and Community, Cal-SAFE, Special Education and Independent Study classes in addition to Come Back Kids.

Other schools represented at the ceremony included Arlington Regional Learning Center, Betty G. Gibbel Regional Learning Center, F.H. Butterfield School, Grindstaff Community School, Jurupa Community School, Lake Elsinore Planet Youth, Moreno Valley Regional Learning Center, Riverside Youth Opportunity Center, Rubidoux Youth Opportunity Center, Southwest Center for Learning, Val Verde Regional Learning Center and the Van Horn Youth Center.

Students from the Project Search-Riverside Community Hospital were also included, as well as Cal-Safe programs at Hemet, Moreno Valley, Murrieta and Norte Vista high schools.

-- By Rick Peoples, spokesperson for the Office of the Riverside County Superintendent of Schools


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