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Bill Pierce, principal of Alta Vista High School, always keeps a tissue box handy during his school's graduation ceremony. That's because Pierce, along with the rest of the faculty at Alta Vista, invest a great amount of time and sweat every year getting their students back on track.

"It's hugely rewarding," Pierce said of this year's graduation, held June 1 at Mountain View High School's Spartan Theatre.

Pierce is not the only one who is moved by the ceremony each year. Though graduating seniors at Mountain View-Los Altos Union High School District's continuation school may not be bound for Ivy League schools, many in the class of 2011 do have college plans. That, in and of itself, is an achievement worthy of celebration, he said.

"In many respects, these are kids who weren't supposed to make it," Pierce said. "Not only did they make it, but they have a great launching pad to move forward."

Many students show up at Alta Vista more than a year behind, and some come from families where no one has yet earned a diploma, Pierce said. Still, more than 80 percent of students in this year's graduating class of 56 students have college plans of some kind.

For these reasons, Pierce said, the Alta Vista commencement ceremony is always emotionally charged. Additionally, because the small size of the graduating class, graduating seniors are asked to write a short address. These speeches are read by Alta Vista teachers at the ceremony before each student is officially presented a diploma.

The highly individualized graduation ceremony is consistent with how the school operates on the whole. "Our teachers are tenacious," Pierce said. "To the extent that they are able, they will not let a student fail."

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Alta Vista High School's class of 2011:

Jose Aguilar
Ricardo Alvarez
Jesus Amaya Jurado
Amy Andrada
Jose Antonio Garcia
Viridiana Arenas
Ivan Arreola
Alexis Ayala
Veronica Beller
Bryan Betancourt
Alexandria Bibbs
Juan Bocanegra
Megan Brooks
Nika Brundage
Michael Castillo
Jorge Corona
Krystal DeCook
Jorge Diaz
Lauren Ermacoff
Julio Garcia
Darian Gonzalez
Robert Scott Gray
Simon Guan
Alyssa Hamilton
Tyler Harney
Ja'rod Holmes
Allison Hyer
Yoshiaki Kanamori
Mohammad Khan
Max Kibler
Angelica King
T.J. Latu
Vidal Lopez
Ema Macias
Isaac Macias
Juan Magana Alvarez
Cynthia Mendez
Dulce Merced-Valencia
William Mosco
A'Jene Norton
Taylor Pasin
Jose Pedraza
Dee Pei
Erik Posey
Ariana Quijano
Shane Salemi
Erika Sanchez
Jamie Simmons
Karina Soto
Chelsea Speakman
Shilan Ugur
Natalie Veldhouse
Demecco Velez
Jose Villanueva
Jason Whitten
Jennifer Yañez

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