By Mychael Willon, Chief Academic Officer
Another school year closes, and, at the time I compose this, 179 students have graduated from the many Florida counties we serve! We will have even more students graduating during the summer as they complete a few extra credits that they have yet to be finish.
As an educator, I know that each and every student is a success story! Remember that each student whom we have helped earn a diploma had previously dropped out of high school and had little direction in life. YOU, our staff and administrators, changed that! YOU have opened doors for them that would have been closed and given them the opportunity to pursue the American dream.
I had the chance to enjoy the graduation awards ceremony in Orange County this year and was touched to see the awards that our students had been nominated for by their teachers. The looks on their faces as they accepted awards for everything from Best Dressed to Most Likely to Succeed were priceless. The pride I saw in their faces, and the expressions from their loved ones in attendance, spoke volumes to the growth they have experienced from our Drop Back In and Drop In academies.
What really touched me and brought tears to my eyes were the eight students going to the stage to get awards for full scholarships (books and tuition) from Valencia College. Twenty students have been accepted to attend Valencia and others are still applying. Orlando Magic also awarded one of our students a $6,000 scholarship. We still have a number of students who are being considered for scholarships and admissions to other colleges. For these students, we not only opened doors, we have put them on a path to higher education that can only result in unlimited possibilities for their future.
I am pleased to share with you that all of the counties we currently work with have indicated that they will continue to utilize our services again next year, and we will be adding a new county in a new state, Dougherty County in Georgia. We also are in dialogue with several other districts across the country that may result in additional opportunities as well.
The continuation of all of our present contracts is, without a doubt, the result of the hard work and dedication that our teachers, paraprofessionals, supervisors and office support staff bring to the job each day. Your passion for the students we serve is the reason Alternatives Unlimited is so successful! Thank you all for a job well done!
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