AIMS High School Drive-In Graduation Ceremony 2020
MEDIA ADVISORY
What: Drive-In (not through) graduation for AIMS High School with 75 diverse Oakland public school students and their families – a festive and positive event to close out graduation season – honoring the school’s 1st African American valedictorian and first two students graduating one year early. Speakers include Armand Carr, the school’s first African American Superintendent Maya Woods-Cadiz, the school’s African American principal Maurice Williams, who was born and raised in Oakland, and the Valedictorian, Zewditu Herring, who will also be available for interviews.
When: Tonight, Friday, June 26, 2020 5pm - 6:30pm
Where: AIMS High School Lakeview Campus - Parking Lot (across from the Grand Lake Theater)
746 Grand Ave Oakland, CA 94610
And Live-streamed on Youtube
Contact: Suzen Chu - (510) 390-1624, suzen.chu@aimsk12.org
Additional details:
A feel-good story with beautiful visuals to close out graduation season and the week/month during these times of multiple major challenges. Maybe the first ever drive-in (like old movie drive-in style, not drive through) graduation ceremony in Oakland’s history happens tonight on the AIMS campus across from the Grand Lake theater, whose marquee currently is celebrating them because the ceremony was supposed to happen there!
Led by Black educators who grew up in Oakland, AIMS is a school that continues to break barriers for Oakland's most underserved youth. This year's graduating class are 96% students of color. Today they will be celebrating the first female African-American Valedictorian in the school's history, who’s headed to Berkeley. They will also be honoring the youngest graduates in the school's history - two students graduating a year early, committed to USC and Berkeley. All three students will be available today before and during part of the event for interviews.
Armand Carr, CEO and Founder of All Tied Up, is the featured speaker. He will be joined by Maya Woods-Cadiz, the school’s superintendent, and Maurice Williams, the principal. There will be a parking lot full of excited families with their graduates, opportunities for video, photographs, and interviews with the valedictorian and more. The 75 grads represent the following demographics:
36 are Chinese – 48%
15 are Black or African American – 20%
12 are Hispanic/Latino – 16%
8 are Other Asian – 10.7%
3 are white – 4%
1 is Filipino – 1.3%
Feel free to contact us for additional details and here is additional background on the school and the event flyer and graphic on the valedictorian:
AIMS K-12 College Prep Charter District is one of the oldest charter school organizations in Oakland, starter in 1996 – next year will be its 25th anniversary.
This year AIMS was recognized by the California Charter School Association as the top charter school organizations in Northern California.
AIMS has been recognized by Innovate Public Schools for four of the last five years for closing the achievement gap for low-income African American students - the only public school in Oakland to achieve this distinction.
Regarding AIMS High:
In 2020, AIMS HS was awarded the Families in Action A-G Award for 100% of our African-American students completing A-G Requirements
On state tests, their high school students have the highest rate of meeting and exceeding in math of any public high school in the City of Oakland.
100% African-American Class of 2020 Graduation Rate
100% of African American students were accepted into four-year colleges and Universities
Some African-American Students Will be attending HBCUs (Morehouse College, Grambling State University, Charles Drew University)
