After years of setbacks, 20-year-old Oscar Garcia says he's devoting his summer to making sure he graduates this year from East Boston High School.
How he plans to do it lies behind the doors of the East Boston YMCA.
"When I heard that the YMCA has this opportunity, I took advantage of it," he said.
In partnership with Boston Public School District, the East Boston YMCA launched a credit recovery lab program in January, which is now in full swing for the summer months. It offers students an opportunity to make up courses they failed, or remediate courses where they may be lacking a particular skill set in an effort to make sure they graduate on time.
Oscar is making up three courses. To do so, he comes in at 8 a.m. and leaves at noon - and then heads upstairs to workout before going home.
"Dropping out was never my intention," he said.
YMCA Director of Teen Programs Joe Gaeta says it's always been a passion of his to lower the drop out rate at East Boston High School, so when a private donor gave him money to start up the lab at the Y, he says the district gave him the green light.
"We said we have a space. We have money. We can do it. Let's try it. They said we trust you as a partner in the community so go for it," he said.
The air-conditioned CRP lab looks like a teen center. It is staffed with state-of-the-art equipment, comfortable chairs and round tables, and an East Boston High School guidance counselor is always on hand to help students with their work.
"They come to the Y, it's safe and it's quiet. The room is on purpose. It's colorful, it's bright," Gaeta said. "They have a snack. They take the class, they go upstairs and workout because as part of this program, they get a free membership at the Y."
Although this is a first of its kind partnership with the YMCA, the credit recovery program has existed for years in all of Boston's public schools. It started when the district discovered thousands of students were dropping out of school because of uncompleted course work.
Almost a decade since the credit program began, the district's drop out rate is now the lowest it has been since they started keeping track of the drop out rate in 1977.
Back at the YMCA, Oscar is focused on graduating, reaching his potential and making his family proud.
"I want to be that first one to actually graduate and actually show that I want to go to college," he said.
And that's why the East Boston YMCA's credit recovery program is making the grade.
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