TRULY AWFUL
Maybe Spunky can chime in here, but I don’t understand why HEKs couldn’t take advantage of the CC without first having to be sucked back into the g-school systems:
Dual enrollment should be encouraged, marketed
Michigan schools — especially those within spitting distance of Gogebic Community College — have a real trump card to play in today’s tough economic environment.
It’s called dual enrollment.
Dual enrollment been the law of the land in Michigan for some time, but word of it took a long time to filter to these backwaters of the Great Lakes State.
In short, any junior or senior who has passed the state’s yardstick for scholastic mastery — the Michigan Educational Assessment Program test — is supposed to be able to enroll in college while he or she attends high school. There are limitations, but they are small. In truth, an enterprising student can get a high school diploma and a fair number of college credits under the belt before turning 19.
There are logistical problems that make dual enrollment difficult, not least distance from college, the need to provide one’s own books and the expense of transportation (borne by the student’s family).
A more significant logistical problem is school policy. Schools tend to downplay the dual enrollment option. In some cases it has been discouraged, and that’s disappointing.
Those who would discourage dual enrollment put forth several arguments:
–Students need to be in their high school buildings for social or other reasons.
–They need to be in high school to fill out advanced classes, which are often starved for students.
–The school needs to keep every single dollar it can in the building.
We understand this thinking, but politely disagree.
In fact, local school districts make money on every class a student takes at GCC via dual enrollment. The difference between the low GCC tuition and the fraction of state aid needed to cover the cost guarantees it.
Dual enrollment could be the key to drawing students to the Ironwood district for their freshman and sophomore years, as well as junior and senior. Packaged well, the program might even entice some home schooling families to consider public school with dual enrollment as an option for their older children.
Dual enrollment will never have a huge impact on local school enrollment. According to Ironwood records, the program cost the district about $10,000 during the last academic year. The numbers for other districts in Gogebic and Ontonagon counties are no doubt lower.
Nor to we suggest that dual enrollment be the rule, rather than the exception.
But for the motivated, high-achieving student, dual enrollment provides an unparalleled opportunity to grow. It should be encouraged, and marketed. — DAILY GLOBE (IRONWOOD), July 27.
2 Responses to “TRULY AWFUL”
 Comment by JJ Ross August 8th, 2006 at 10:05 am |
Dual enrollment doesn’t necessarily suck kids back into high school – it works great between home education and a cooperative community college. We’re doing it that way right now. Favorite Daughter never enrolled in any high school program, started dual enrollment at the college at age 15, LOVES it and takes only what she pleases (no math!) and has a perfect GPA. I can’t pry her away from the campus theatre, library and bookstore. Everyone reading here would no doubt be comfortable and capable of heading up the routine administrative responsibilities involved of dual enrolling. But many parents will not be – school was a threatening and confusing place for more parents than we tend to realize or care to think about, and so they aren’t much help to their own children in school matters. Many really can’t handle the experts and jargon and hoops and red tape. Then of course some who can handle the school paperwork, refuse to do it on principle. But also, a home-educating student may be involved in sports, theatre, music etc at the high school as parttime ps participation and/or dual enrollment already. Giving that up for early college classes instead, isn’t worth it for some kids. So they dual enroll between the school and college. One of our longtime PDE moms in Minnesota had switched from HS to a classical magnet-charter (sounds like Magna Carta?) as her son became a teen. He began to play team sports and I think do the chess club or something, at the school. Then as he became interested and ready for some college courses and dual enrolled with the local community college, he found his high school program didn’t want him to take the same courses HE wanted to take — so now he’s chafing about whether to give up the school early, or the college courses until later, or struggle along under the burden of even more rules and regulations and competing agendas. |
 Comment by Daryl Cobranchi August 8th, 2006 at 9:21 pm |
Thanks for the explanation. Here we also have dual enrollment with the CCs, but the program is open to HEKs who can take just about any class for $10. And, theoretically, the credits are transferrable to 4-year institutions. |