For thirty graduating seniors at high schools across East San José, the road from a Boys & Girls Clubs after-school program to a college classroom is about to get a lot shorter.
San José City College (SJCC) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Silicon Valley (BGCSV) to launch a new pilot program that will guide a cohort of BGCSV high school graduates directly into full-time, tuition-free enrollment at SJCC starting this fall.
The one-year pilot, which runs from August 1, 2026, through June 30, 2027, is built around neighborhoods that have historically faced barriers to college access: Overfelt, Mayfair, Santee and Seven Trees. BGCSV will recruit and refer 30 eligible graduates of Apollo, Overfelt, Independence, Mt. Pleasant, Yerba Buena, Andrew Hill, Oak Grove and James Lick high schools to the program.
“This partnership meets students exactly where they are and opens a direct door to college,” said Dr. Marilyn Flores, President of San José City College. “For thirty students in East San José, this means a tuition-free path into full-time college enrollment, wraparound support, and a career-focused first year designed around their success. We are proud to stand alongside the Boys & Girls Clubs of Silicon Valley in making that promise real.”
What the pilot looks like
Students in the cohort will enter SJCC’s College Promise Program and First-Year Experience program, which together cover tuition, fees and textbooks for eligible students who commit to a full course load of at least 12 credit-bearing units per semester.
Rather than asking students to find their way to campus on day one, SJCC is bringing part of the college experience to them. This fall, the college will offer a career-focused Guidance course at a BGCSV site in East San José, with a second course to follow in Spring 2027. BGCSV is providing the classroom space and technology at one of its East San José facilities to make that possible.
SJCC will handle the parts of college that can be hardest to navigate alone: help with the CCCApply application, financial aid, orientation and onboarding, plus ongoing academic counseling, educational planning and tutoring referrals. On the BGCSV side, staff will lean on the organization’s relationships with local employers to connect students with internships, industry panels and other career-exploration opportunities.
Both organizations are designating liaisons who will meet at least once a month to coordinate course scheduling and track how students in the cohort are doing — a structure meant to catch problems early rather than after a student has already fallen behind.
A shared bet on East San José
BGCSV President Mark hhhbush said the agreement builds on work the orgaanization has already been doing in the community.
“Our members in Overfelt, Mayfair, Santee and Seven Trees have the talent and the drive — what they need is a clear, supported path to college,” Washbush said. “By bringing college courses and college support services right into our clubs, we can help thirty young people take that next step without having to navigate it alone. We’re grateful to San José City College for building this pathway with us.”
The pilot reflects SJCC’s broader Find Your SPOT enrollment strategy — Student Pathway to Opportunity and Transfer — which prioritizes meeting prospective students where they already are, whether that’s a high school campus, a community organization or, in this case, a Boys & Girls Clubs.
College and BGCSV officials said they’ll be watching the first SJCC and the Boys & Girls Clubs of Silicon Valley launched a pilot sending 30 East San José high school graduates directly into tuition-free, full-time enrollment this fall. The year-long partnership brings college courses and support services into BGCSV sites in Overfelt, Mayfair, Santee and Seven Trees, pairing academic and career guidance with employer connections.cohort closely, with an eye toward using what they learn to expand the partnership in future years.
