An
educational partnership
between Gilroy Unified
School District and
Gavilan College, the Dr. TJ Owens Gilroy
Early College Academy or GECA is a
college preparatory high school where
students receive both high school and
college credits.
In four years, students graduate from
the Academy with not only a high school
degree, but also transferable college units.
“It’s a great opportunity for students
to get ahead and get to their career goals
sooner,” said Sonia Flores, principal of
GECA.
GECA’s namesake, Dr. TJ Owens, was
the former Dean of Students at Gavilan
College and president of the Gilroy Unified
School District. A champion of civil rights,
he was a key figure in GECA’s inception,
but died of a stroke two years before it was
established in 2011.
GECA received start-up money from
the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and
now is fully funded with state tax dollars.
GECA provides students not only with
high school and college credits, but also a
rigorous college preparatory curriculum that
includes honors and Advanced Placement
classes.
Flores said she thoroughly enjoys
working with the students and the teachers,
and being a part of an innovative approach
to education that helps students set them-
selves apart from others while getting a
jumpstart on their goals.
With a student body of about 240
students from 9th through 12 grades,
students come from Gilroy, Hollister, San
Benito County, Salinas, and Morgan Hill,
Flores said.
GECA’s graduation rate is 98 percent,
she said. The high school will witness their
fifth class graduating this spring.
All students before graduating must
complete a senior project, which entails
researching a question related to a
professional field they are interested in
entering and working with a mentor to
learn about that profession.
“That has determined what they decide
to go on to study,” Flores said. “Some
students have changed their minds about
what kind of degrees they are pursuing.”
Flores said many GECA graduates
begin college with between 40 to 60
college credits, while others have earned
their Associate’s degree. By already having
many college credits under their belt, most
students are able to graduate from college in
three years, alleviating the financial burden
of college and making it less likely that they
will drop out of college before graduating.
GECA provides students
not only with high school
and college credits, but
also a rigorous college
preparatory curriculum
that includes honors and
Advanced Placement
classes.
GECA has tracked their students’ college
acceptance rates as well, Flores said. Since
2011, 77 percent of graduates have gone on
to study at a four-year university, she said.
“From our first graduating class (in
2011), some are working on their Master’s
degree, and others have graduated from
four-year schools,” Flores said.
Flores points to alumni who have gone
on to attend Santa Clara University, as
well as University of California schools
at Davis, Los Angeles and Berkeley. One
graduate received a full scholarship to