STOCKTON, Calif. — TEACH! Academy is a new early college high school program open to all students in San Joaquin County.
The program launched last month with a celebration on the campus of the Teachers College of San Joaquin in Stockton. Several education leaders attended the event, including San Joaquin County Superintendent of Schools Dr. Troy A. Brown, San Joaquin A+ CEO Don Shalvey, Teachers College of San Joaquin President Dr. Diane Carnahan, Ripon Unified School District Superintendent Dr. Ziggy Robeson, TEACH! Academy Coordinator Megan Filice, and new TEACH! Academy students.
There are 26 freshmen students participating in the program this year. The academy plans to add a new grade each year, with room to accommodate more students in each grade level.
“We couldn’t be more excited about the opportunity this program will provide for the students enrolled this year and for all those who will attend in years to come,” said Dr. Troy A. Brown, San Joaquin County Superintendent of Schools. “The launch of this school is a testament to the hard work of our San Joaquin County Office of Education team and our partners. We look forward to continued collaboration to grow this program and to nurture the students here into the talented educators of the future for our region.”
TEACH! Academy is the newest academy at the Venture Academy Family of Schools (VAFS), a charter school operated by the San Joaquin County Board of Education. The program is a joint effort by not only the staff at VAFS, but also San Joaquin County Office of Education, Teachers College of San Joaquin, and San Joaquin Delta College.
The program is designed to provide students with a free associate degree in elementary education from San Joaquin Delta College by the time they graduate high school. The program also acts as an affordable pathway to help students earn a bachelor’s degree at Humphreys University. Students will also be eligible to earn teaching credentials through the Teachers College of San Joaquin.
“Teachers have made a difference in my life, and I want to make a difference in the lives of my students, one day, too,” said Rudy Serran, a ninth grader. “Being a student at TEACH! Academy will help me do this. It also means I have the opportunity to be able to earn college credit while I’m still in high school.”
The TEACH! Academy collaboration and planning process was supported as a part of a grant program funded by local non-profit San Joaquin A+ to support early college high school programs that create pathways to good jobs in the region. The early college high school is a model established in 2002 to increase the opportunity for traditionally underrepresented youth to earn a postsecondary degree and credential by beginning their college credits while still in high school.
“In surveys we’ve conducted throughout the pandemic, parents tell us that making sure postsecondary education is affordable and provides skills and knowledge that lead to a good job are more important than ever for their children,” said Don Shalvey, CEO of San Joaquin A+. “We are so happy to support a collaboration like this that is not only responsive to what local families say they want, but also builds on a model that research shows will lead to better life outcomes for our young people, and ultimately, a brighter future for our region.”
