Christina Cole, Metro Arts & Technology

Carlos Ramos, City Arts & Technology

Hector Sanchez, Envision Academy

Tarshea Buffin, Impact Academy

Christina Cole, Class of '13, with student Kayla Smith * Photo Credit: Henley Photography, 2013

Christina Cole has shown tremendous dedication, maturity and responsibility throughout the college application process, demonstrating that she is truly college ready. She has been deeply involved in community service for several years, and will undoubtedly carry this practice forward. This fall, Christina will attend Humboldt State University.

Carlos Ramos, Class of '13

Carlos Ramos personifies the spirit of the award as a leader, both at school and in the community. He has donated extensive time at 826 Valencia, a non-profit writing center, working to develop young writers in the community. He also has given countless time and attention to supporting and promoting CAT as a student leader. He will be the first in his family to attend college and plans to study immigration law next year at UCLA.

Superintendent Gia Truong with award recipient, Hector Sanchez, Class of '13

Hector Sanchez earned the Jackie Robinson Scholarship Award because of his wonderful work as the anchor within his senior class. Hector has organized work groups and has led by example. He has effectively modeled for his peers what is means to be resilient and reflective. His work with his senior class has come in addition to the work he has performed within his community, empowering the homeless via a recycling program that he has been active with for more than two years. Hector will be attending California State University, East Bay.

Tarshea Buffin, Class of '1

Tarshea Buffin has overcome tremendous 

adversity in her personal and academic life, and has essentially been raising herself for the last several years.  Tarshea is a confident young adult, model student, public servant and community member. She is a true ambassador for the Envision Schools model. Her graduate defense portfolio has been a featured component of a number of partner visits, including the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, Stanford University, The W.K. Kellogg Foundation, and Envision Learning Partners.  She has also been invited to defend her portfolio in front of the leadership of the Education Achievement Authority in Michigan. Indeed, Tarshea represents what is best about Impact Academy, and through her own hard work and perseverance, is now in a position to make a profound impact on the K-12 system across our nation. Tarshea will be a freshman at CSU Dominguez Hills.

Innovative Science Education Partnership with University of California, San Francisco

Pictured: Shatara Daniels and John Paul Mackey

This past semester, students from Metro Arts and Tech, along with teacher Philippe Vanier, participated in six unique science labs at the University of California at San Francisco, through the Science Education Partnership Pathways program.  Metro students had the chance to work with Rob Hesse and Julia Margulis, doctoral candidates in biotech and neuroscience respectively.  Rob and Julia are doing remarkable work with limb regeneration, as well as disease prevention and therapy, and they spent some of their valuable time sharing their expertise with Metro. 

Partnerships like this one between Metro and UCSF enrich the education of our students by showing them real world applications of the work they are doing in the classroom.  We continually strive to create opportunities like this for all Envision Education students.

Phillippe Vanier, Metro teacher, and Robert Hesse, UCSF graduate student Students: Isaiah Powell, Kevin Jimenez and Daniel Armenta