Dr. TJ Owens Gilroy Early College Academy (known as GECA) is a prestigious

early college high school The Early College High School Initiative in the United States allows students to receive a high school diploma and an associate degree, or up to two years of college credit, by taking a mixture of high school and college classes. This differs from ...

located in

unincorporated Unincorporated may refer to: * Unincorporated area, land not governed by a local municipality * Unincorporated entity, a type of organization * Unincorporated territories of the United States, territories under U.S. jurisdiction, to which Congress ...

Santa Clara County, California Santa Clara County, officially the County of Santa Clara, is the sixth-most populous county in the U.S. state of California, with a population of 1,936,259, as of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Santa Clara County and neighboring Sa ...

, near Gilroy, at the southern edge of

Silicon Valley Silicon Valley is a region in Northern California that serves as a global center for high technology and innovation. Located in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, it corresponds roughly to the geographical areas San Mateo County ...

, in the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Go ...

. A

California Distinguished School California Distinguished School is an award given by the California State Board of Education to public schools within the state that best represent exemplary and quality educational programs. Approximately 5-10% of California schools are awarded t ...

, GECA regularly ranks among the top high schools in

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

and consistently ranks within the top 1% of the best high schools in the United States. Founded by the

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), a merging of the William H. Gates Foundation and the Gates Learning Foundation, is an American private foundation founded by Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates. Based in Seattle, Washington, it was l ...

, GECA operates as an early college school, requiring its students to receive their

college preparatory A college-preparatory school (usually shortened to preparatory school or prep school) is a type of secondary school. The term refers to public, private independent or parochial schools primarily designed to prepare students for higher education ...

education through a mixture of honors high school classes,

Advanced Placement Advanced Placement (AP) is a program in the United States and Canada created by the College Board which offers college-level curricula and examinations to high school students. American colleges and universities may grant placement and course ...

(AP), and college classes, offered through partnership with

Gavilan College Gavilan College is a public community college in Santa Clara County, California. History The college was established in 1919 as the San Benito County Junior College. It operated as such until 1963, when a new community college district was draw ...

, allowing most GECA students to graduate high school with an

associate's degree An associate degree is an undergraduate degree awarded after a course of post-secondary study lasting two to three years. It is a level of qualification above a high school diploma, GED, or matriculation, and below a bachelor's degree. The fi ...

. GECA students have regularly been selected as National Merit Scholars and U.S. Presidential Scholars.

History

GECA was founded through a grant from the

and is now solely funded by the

California Department of Education The California Department of Education is an agency within the Government of California that oversees public education. The department oversees funding and testing, and holds local educational agencies accountable for student achievement. Its st ...

. Dr. T.J. Owens, GECA's namesake, was the former dean of students at Gavilan College and president of the Gilroy Unified School Board. A prominent member of the national organization 100 Black Men of America and civil rights activist, Dr. Owens was a key figure in GECA's inception, but died two years before the early college academy was established.

Academics

Approximately 90 percent of the class of 2011 graduated and entered a four-year university or continued their education at Gavilan with the intention to transfer to one. The school's non-weighted average API from 2011 to 2013 is 929 schoolwide, 900 for socioeconomically disadvantaged students, and 869 for English learners. Statewide, students of all groups average 790, socioeconomically disadvantaged students 742, and English learners 717. GECA is one of ten schools participating in ''A Study of American Public High Schools with Academically-Competitive Admissions'' sponsored by Stanford University's

Hoover Institution The Hoover Institution (officially The Hoover Institution on War, Revolution, and Peace; abbreviated as Hoover) is an American public policy think tank and research institution that promotes personal and economic liberty, free enterprise, and ...

and the Thomas B. Fordham Institute.

Rankings

GECA is regularly ranked as one of the best high schools in

and the United States as a whole. GECA is the best performing of the 28 early college high schools in California. The school was ranked 10th best in

and 54th best in the United States on the 2015 '' U.S. News & World Report'' rankings. GECA was ranked 23rd best high school in California, and above 99% of 20,500 public high schools across the entire United States, placing 172 out of 20,500. GECA is one of 40 Beat the Odds Schools in a study conducted by

WestEd WestEd is a San Francisco-based nonprofit organization. The organization's mission states, "WestEd, a research, development, and services agency, works with education and other communities to promote excellence, achieve equity, and improve lear ...

, which identified 40 schools that consistently and significantly outperforming schools with similar demographics on the California Standards Tests and the California Academic High School Exit Exam.

Awards

GECA was awarded the classification of

in 2013, which was renewed in 2019. GECA was awarded the California Gold Ribbon in 2015.

Demographics

2013–2014 * 236 students: 114 Male (48.3%), 122 Female (51.7%)

Student life

Student Leadership The GECA Associated Student Body (ASB) organizes events to foster school spirit and assists students in setting up clubs. Tribunal is the judicial branch of student government and addresses honor code violations such as bullying, cheating, and other behavioral issues. Clubs Student clubs include the gay-straight alliance, FLC club (currently suspended), film club, CSF (California Scholarship Federation), Yearbook, Outreach club, Red Cross club, Ignite (religion club), Operation Smile, Athletics Club, and Robotics Club. At the beginning of first semester, students can start a club if they meet certain requirements.

References

External links

Dr. TJ Owens Gilroy Early College Academy websiteGilroy Unified School District website
{{authority control Early College High Schools Charter high schools in California High schools in Santa Clara County, California Gilroy, California Educational institutions in the United States with year of establishment missing 2007 establishments in California