216 High School Seniors to Receive Diplomas

San Jose, CA -- (ReleaseWire) -- 05/27/2010 -- On Friday, May 28, there will be an end of the year celebration for parents and students of the YWCA’s Project Inspire program at James Lick High School in the East Side Union High School District. Project Inspire, now in its third year, is a youth empowerment program providing credit recovery for high school students to enable them to receive a high school diploma. This year, 216 students who would not have graduated from high school will be receiving diplomas because of Project Inspire. “The YWCA is so proud to be able to impact the lives of these students”, said Keri McLain, CEO of the YWCA Silicon Valley. “Many of these students had fallen so far behind at school that they didn’t see any way to complete high school. Our staff at Project Inspire showed the students that if they worked hard, they could change the course of their lives.”

Project Inspire served more than 500 students this year at four East Side Union High School District campuses. The students voluntarily come to the after school program for two and a half hours each day. In addition to credit recovery, the program also provides youth development, tutoring assistance, enrichment, healthy relationship education, service learning, and mentoring. “The YWCA is an integral part of our students moving along the pathway to graduation and post high school readiness”, said Mr. Vander Zee, principal of James Lick High School. “The leadership and staff of the program are building the skills and positive habits in our learners that result in improved graduation rates and A-G completion.”

The Project Inspire staff will be implementing a program over the summer at four school sites. Due to district budget cuts, the School District was unable to offer summer school this year for students needing to recover missed credits. The YWCA Silicon Valley is pleased to be able to offer 300 tenth and eleventh grade students the opportunity to complete credit recovery programs in order to graduate. To learn more about the YWCA Silicon Valley’s Project Inspire Program, please visit http://ywca-sv.org/programs/youth_services.php or call 408-295-4011 x228.

The mission of the YWCA Silicon Valley is to empower women, children and families, and to eliminate racism, hatred and prejudice. The YWCA of Silicon Valley serves nearly 18,000 Santa Clara County residents each year, and has provided services in Santa Clara County for more than 100 years. The YWCA provides programs in the areas of sexual assault intervention and prevention, counseling services, domestic violence, child care, youth programs, family services, and social and racial justice. The YWCA of Silicon Valley is located at 375 S. 3rd Street, San Jose, CA 95112. For more information about the YWCA of Silicon Valley, contact (408) 295-4011 or visit http://www.ywca-sv.org.