Beating the Odds, One Student at a Time; More Than 150 At-Risk Students at Dallas Can! Will Be Receiving Their High School Diplomas, and Starting the Next Chapter in Their Lives.

DALLAS -- Dallas Can! Academies announced today the scheduled graduation ceremony of its 2006 Class. The ceremony will take place on January 27, 2006 at 7:00 p.m. It will be held at Concord Baptist Church. The ceremony will be a joint celebration between the two Dallas Can! Academies and the Texans Can! Academy at Paul Quinn College. More than 150 students are graduating.

"This is a proud day for these students and their family members," said Laura Rodriguez, principal of Dallas Can! Academy in Oak Cliff. "Each of these students has demonstrated their ability to achieve and plan for the future," said Keith Lott, principal of Dallas Can! Academy on Ross Avenue. "This class contains many exceptional people who will make a difference in our community," added Mene Khepera, principal of Texans Can! Academy at Paul Quinn College.

One such person is Emmanuel Hernandez. "Going to school here helped me out a lot," said Emmanuel, who attended the Dallas Can! Academy in Oak Cliff during his junior and senior year. "I had a good counselor who motivated me, through rules and guidelines, to finish. I want to thank everybody, including my principal and counselor and especially my mother for their help and encouragement." Emmanuel plans to attend junior college and eventually have a career in law enforcement.

Addressing the graduating class and guests will be Albert C. Black, Jr., president and chief executive officer of On-Target Supplies & Logistics, Ltd. Mr. Black also serves as the company's chairman of the board. Mr. Black is active in many community organizations. He serves on the board of directors for the Greater Dallas Chamber of Commerce. Mr. Black also is on the board of directors for JP Morgan Chase of Texas. Additionally, Mr. Black serves on the board of directors for Rees Associates and is a trustee for Baylor Health Care System. Mr. Black holds a BA from the University of Texas at Dallas, where he currently serves on the advisory council. Mr. Black also holds an MBA from Southern Methodist University, where he currently serves on the board of directors for the Cox School of Business.

About Texans Can! Schools

Dallas Can! and Texans Can! Academies are a part of Texans Can! which offer a second chance at education for thousands of kids throughout Texas. 78% of our graduates plan to continue on to post-secondary education. Our relationship-based education works and is changing lives of more than 6,000 kids annually. Visit our website for more information at www.texanscan.org.