Dr. TJ Owens

Student Assessment and Recommendation

Thank you for taking the time to perform this Student Assessment and Recommendation; your candid input will help us to determine if GECA is, in fact, the best placement for this student. The Academy is an innovative, challenging, and highly supportive academically accelerated high school program designed to serve strongly motivated students with high potential for future academic and career success. It is an educational partnership between GilroyUnifiedSchool District and GavilanCollege, and is one of the cutting-edge Early College High Schools that are being envisioned and funded nationwide through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in cooperation with local community colleges and school districts.

Admittance to the Academy is based on a multiple-measures approach that involves an application packet, personal essay, panel interview, STAR scores, academic achievement, and GavilanCollege assessment testing in both English Language Arts and Mathematics, as well as this Student Assessment and Recommendation. Applicants are not required to either be currently enrolled in a Gilroy Unified school or to even live in the Gilroy Unified District, but should have an overall GPA of 2.5 – 4.0, STAR scores in the “Proficient” range or above, and the ability to read at, or above, the 9th grade level. Our Mission and Vision Statements are included for your reference.

Students at GECA experience ahighly rigorous, college preparatory (Honors and Advanced Placement) high school education, as well as take fully transferable college classes (up to 11 units a semester), for which they receive both college and high school credit. All Honors, AP, and transferable college courses also receive accelerated grade point weighting for high school GPA computation. Graduation in four years brings matriculation to a four-year university with two full years of college (60+ units) completed and paid for in full! In the process, many of our students earn one – or more – AA or AS degrees from Gavilan. We are a tightly knit school community that is, in many respects, a second family. We have our fun, too, with student government, clubs, Academic Decathlon, journalism (newspaper, yearbook, and web design), plays, dances, proms, field trips, and other special events. Additionally, both music and drama instruction/participation are available through Gavilan. As you can see, except for competitive sports teams, we have a full complement of extra-curricular choices and events.

Finally, there is no cost to parents or students for this remarkable program, as all tuition is waived by Gavilan and all high school and college books are provided by the Academy. From a financial perspective, this equates to a savings of $50,000 - $75,000, while putting the student on an accelerated track to a career and/or advanced degrees.

Instructions: Please fill in the information requested below, as well as the evaluation on the reverse side.

Recommendation for: ______Date: ______

(Student Name)

Student is completing Grade ______at ______(Name of Current School)

Recommended by: ______Position: ______

Signature: ______

An Educational Partnership between Gilroy Unified School District and GavilanCollege

Funded in part through the Foundation for California Community Colleges under a grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

Mission Statement:

The mission of the Dr. TJ Owens Early College Academy at Gavilan College is to provide a highly supportive and academically challenging learning environment for traditionally underserved, but strongly motivated, high school students with high potential for future academic and career success. We seek to have our students experience a rigorous college preparatory high school education, augmented with concurrent direct access to college-level courses in all academic disciplines. From this foundation, we expect each student to successfully matriculate to, and graduate from, a four-year university or college. Academically and experientially, we challenge each student to “Be Someone. Go Somewhere. Seek Excellence.”

Vision Statement:

In support of the above Mission Statement, we hold the following expected learning results for our students:

ADr.TJOwensEarlyCollegeAcademy graduate will:

  1. Acquire the abilities, skills, and knowledge required for the lifelong pursuit of ongoing academic, occupational, and personal growth.
  2. Demonstrate the requisite skills for independent and critical thinking, problem solving, articulation, organization, and presentation.
  3. Acknowledge, respect, and embrace human diversity.
  4. Become empowered through self-knowledge, self-esteem, self-motivation, and self-discipline, while growing the capacities to overcome adversity, accept boundaries, and maintain high standards of personal integrity.
  5. Develop collegiate-level skills in mathematics, science, computer technology, history, the humanities, English, and the arts, and then apply that knowledge to understand the past, learn from the present, and anticipate the future.

Student Assessment and Recommendation Grid

Instructions:The Assessment and Recommendation Grid is broken down into two areas: Academics and Personal. For each descriptor, place a check () in the appropriate column, which, in your opinion, best describes the student. A relative numerical value is shown for your reference. Use the Additional Comments area to add any pertinent information that you believe would help in our decision making process.

Academics  / Outstanding (5) / Excellent (3) / Above
Average (2) / Average
or Below (1)
Intellectual Ability
Study Habits
Intellectual Curiosity
Ability to Work:
  • Independently

  • Cooperatively

Self-Motivation
Creativity/Originality
Personal  / Outstanding (5) / Excellent (3) / Above
Average (2) / Average
or Below (1)
Self-Confidence
Leadership Potential
Respect for:
  • Authority

  • Self

  • Peers

Personal Integrity/Honesty
Willingness to Accept Responsibility
Willingness to Accept Criticism
Overall Recommendation 
(circle one point value) / Recommend without Reservation / Strongly Recommend / Recommend with Reservations / Do Not Recommend
10 / 7 / 4 / 1

Additional Comments:

An Educational Partnership between Gilroy Unified School District and GavilanCollege

Funded in part through the Foundation for California Community Colleges under a grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation