OUSD’s Class Of 2020 Young Adult Program Celebrates Graduation In The Time Of COVID-19

Oakland Schools: OUSD’s Young Adult Program Celebrates Graduation in the Time of COVID-19 as part of the Class of 2020

Oakland, CA — As graduations from all District-run schools have now concluded, OUSD wants to recognize some special students who also celebrated commencement. They are the students of the Young Adult Program (YAP) which serves students with disabilities. Because of a deeply regrettable oversight, these students were not included in the KTVU special, Rising Together: OUSD Class of 2020. Sincere apologies to the students, their families and the staff of YAP.

Every year, the YAP graduates adults who have successfully navigated college classes and independent living and have become better prepared to have profound impacts on their community. They do all that while navigating life with major support needs. “YAP is a transition program that’s primarily community-based. We have classes that meet at the Peralta Community Colleges. We even had a student get his AA certificate from Laney College in carpentry,” said YAP teacher, Virginia Bonham.

“It has been as difficult for our students as it has for everyone,” added Bonham. “However, our students are resilient. We are learning new technology with distance learning, and in some ways we are becoming closer together. And everyone says they are bored and miss school!”

Like their peers across OUSD, the 40 or so YAP students didn’t get to experience the second half of their spring semester in person, and they also missed out on in person graduations. The YAP leadership team put together this graduation video that celebrates these remarkable students, and we want everyone to see it to help celebrate their outstanding accomplishments.

Congratulations to the OUSD Young Adult Program Class of 2020 graduates!!!

About the Oakland Unified School District
In California’s most diverse city, Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) is dedicated to creating a learning environment where “Every Student Thrives!” More than half of our students speak a non-English language at home. And each of our 83 schools is staffed with talented individuals uniting around a common set of values: Students First, Equity, Excellence, Integrity, Cultural Responsiveness and Joy. We are committed to preparing all students for college, career and community success.

To learn more about OUSD’s Full Service Community District focused on academic achievement while serving the whole child in safe schools, please visit OUSD.org and follow us @OUSDnews.

This post based on a press release from OUSD to Zennie62Media, Inc.