Against The Odds: Ceremony Set For 100 Students Who Overcame Challenges To Graduate

One hundred Palm Beach County high school students who overcame major personal and academic barriers over the last year to receive their high school diploma will don caps and gowns and be recognized at a special graduation ceremony.

The ceremony is scheduled for 4 p.m., Saturday, August 25, in the Duncan Theatre, Palm Beach State College, 4200 Congress Ave., Lake Worth. A reception will be held prior to the celebration at 3:30 pm in the green room of the Duncan Theatre.

The students are among 480 at risk of graduating from four Palm Beach County Schools who have been receiving help through the High School Graduation Initiative launched by the School District of Palm Beach County in 2010 with a $9.7 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education. The school district and its grant partners —Palm Beach State College, Workforce Alliance, Parent Child Center and Take Stock in Children— provide social services, graduation coaching, career navigation, mental health counseling, post-secondary advising and other services to address barriers to graduation.

Dr. Dennis Gallon, President of Palm Beach State College, E.Wayne Gent, Superintendent of The School District of Palm Beach County and Mimi Coenen, Interim Director for Youth Services, Workforce Alliance, are among the speakers.

The goal of the program is to increase the graduation rates and decrease the dropout rates at the four schools.

While other at-risk students have graduated from high school with the support of the High School Graduation Initiative, this is the first group that has been in the program for an entire academic year. This also is the first time that Palm Beach State College, which provides the post-secondary advising component, has hosted a ceremony for students who had not completed the requirements as of July when the school district holds its summer graduation ceremonies.
Students still completing their graduation requirements between July and the first day of the new school year still have a chance to participate in a graduation ceremony planned especially for them.

For more information, contact Nancy Reese, 561-434-8419, nancy.reese@palmbeachschools.org.