Small Oakland school helps seniors with successful work-study program
OAKLAND -- A small school in Oakland is defying statistics for the second year in a row.
Cristo Rey De La Salle has 100% of its graduating seniors going to college. Some of them even have a path to a career thanks to a unique work study program.
"I am going to UC Berkeley", said one high school senior holding a t-shirt from the high school podium.
Every student at the school got accepted to college thanks to their hard inside and outside the classroom. Angie Dimas and her graduating Cristo Rey De La Salle classmates all took part in a school curriculum combining classes with professional, "on the job" work experience.
Dimas has been employed one day a week at La Clinica in Oakland.
"I have learned the work skills and school skills," Angie said.
Students like Dimas earn half of their tuition through the corporate work study program. The other half is covered through fundraising.
Angie's goal is to become a pediatrician and work at La Clinica someday. It is the same clinic her parents took her to when she was growing up.
"It is a benefit to me because I want to be in the medical field as a pediatrician. I have the experience now since I am here in this environment," Angie said.
"We were super happy to have Angie here to be with us for two years, because she has been amazing and she has helped the clinic so much," said La Clinica manager Terista Meija.
The clinic says it has benefited by having young bright students who want to learn.
"We have had two students in our clinic for the last years and they are an integral part of the team helping," said La Clinica Associate Dental Director Monica Macvane.
Dimas is headed to Dominican University where she plans to study biology.
