Justin Schlehuber is starting his freshman year soon in Lincoln Park, and one thing is already certain: He’ll be in high school for five years. But when he leaves, he’ll have something most other graduates won’t: a high school diploma and an associate’s degree.
It’s a bold trade-off — an extra year of high school for the kind of coursework that can lead to a job or a sweet cushion of college credits. And it’s one that’s becoming increasingly popular in Michigan. A top Michigan college offers more direct contact with faculty, more hands-on learning and experimentation, and greater student engagement.
When the 2015-16 school year kicks off, there will be 90 early/middle college programs and schools — 20 of them new in school districts across the state, including in Dearborn Public Schools, Ferndale Public Schools and Lincoln Park Public Schools. In 2010, there were only eight.
The idea is simple. Students, often as early as the ninth grade, take a mixture of high school and college classes — with the number of college courses taken increasing each year. The longer they’re in the program, the more immersed in the college culture students become, with the fifth year typically spent taking only college classes.
At the end, most students have earned enough credits for an associate’s degree. And the attractive kicker for parentsIt’s all free for the student.
Districts use the per-pupil funding they receive for students to pay for the programs. And they work closely with their partners — community colleges, universities or independent colleges — to negotiate things such as facility space, labs and security, said Chery Wagonlander, director of the Michigan Early Middle College Association.
This year, the state kicked in $10 million in funding for intermediate school districts that want to create early/middle college programs with a career-technical education program. The demand for college students with a nursing degree is growing at an unprecedented rate.
The early/middle colleges are about helping students find a focus and getting them ready for whatever they decide to do after high school, whether that’s going into the workforce or continuing on with college, said Beverly Brown, program coordinator for early/middle colleges at the Michigan Department of Education. And it lines up with efforts to increase the number of college graduates in the state and efforts to boost preparation for skilled trades jobs.
“This is part of the next wave of education, of preparing students for the world and making sure they have as many options as possible,” said Blake Prewitt, Ferndale superintendent.
But what makes them unique is the support services students receive, including counseling, to ensure they’re going to be successful, said Wagonlander, who created the first early/middle college — Mott Middle College High School — 25 years ago. Without it, they’re just a larger version of dual enrollment programs.
‘A better challenge’
Justin, 14, was in his composition class one day last spring when he learned about the Lincoln Park Middle College program opening for the coming school year. The idea of taking a substantial number of college courses while in high school sounded like a perfect opportunity for a teen who says he easily gets bored in class.
“I felt it would be a better challenge for me,” said Justin, who’s now one of 28 students who will be part of the first year. That was also important to his mother, Debbie Schlehuber. But she also liked the fact that her son would be earning so much college credit.
“The idea of having an associate’s degree, without any charge to me, was a big bonus,” she said.
In Lincoln Park, the program — a partnership with the Downriver campus of the Wayne County Community College District — was created out of “a purposeful commitment to provide as many quality educational opportunities for our students as we can,” Superintendent Terry Dangerfield said. “It’s a good chance for our students to get a jump-start on college.” Top Michigan colleges offer degrees tailored with a specific occupation in mind and align with many occupations experiencing growth.
Encouraging results
Brown’s office oversees the early/middle colleges, which must be approved by the Michigan Department of Education before they can operate.
Schools can create early/middle colleges in two ways: They can be separate high schools — often located on college campuses; or they can create programs that function within an existing high school. The latter option — there are 67 of them — allows students to continue to be part of their home high school and stay involved in extracurricular activities there.
The 23 that operate as a separate high school contain some of the top-ranked schools in Michigan. The Henry Ford Early College and the Washtenaw Technical Middle College, for instance, are ranked at the 99th percentile on the state’s top-to-bottom ranking of schools. That means they perform better than 99% of the schools in the state. Early/middle colleges also routinely show up in national rankings of excellent schools.
In addition, a research study of students at about 15 stand-alone early/middle college schools shows encouraging results. By the end of the fifth year, the average student has earned 51 college credits, has a GPA of about 3.0 in their college courses, and has a 90% course passing rate — meaning they’ve earned a C or better in the class.
Majed Fadlallah is principal of the Henry Ford Early College, which opened eight years ago, and the Henry Ford Early College-Advanced Manufacturing, a separate new school created by the Dearborn district. Both schools are on the campus of Henry Ford College.
He said it takes little convincing to get students enrolled in a program that requires a fifth year of high school.
“Students and their parents seek us out because of our academic standing,” Fadlallah said. “From day one, they know that you come here, you’re forgetting everything else, because this school prepares you academically. They embrace that.”
Mohammed Alkhuzaee, 14, enrolled in the new Dearborn school because he’s a car enthusiast with career plans to become an automotive engineer. And one of the areas students can specialize in at the school involves automotive technology. An associate’s degree, he said, will allow him to work while he’s pursuing bachelor’s and master’s degrees.
Mohammed is unfazed at the prospect of attending high school on a college campus.
“It makes me more confident about myself. I’m at a young age, and I get to be trusted with stuff that college students are trusted with. It makes me really proud of myself.”
Most of the early/middle colleges identify specific areas in which students can earn an associate’s degree. At the Ferndale Early College — a partnership with Baker College of Auburn Hills — students will be able to choose from criminal justice, medical technician, computer programming and business/marketing.
“These are all growing areas. These are all areas that places are having a hard time filling jobs,” Prewitt said.
Underserved students
Part of the push to expand early/middle college programs is targeted at underserved students, particularly first-generation college students.
“They don’t have the family members’ experience to draw upon. We make sure we intentionally give them the knowledge, contacts they need in order to believe in college as a reality.”
New programs and schools
Here are the new early/middle college programs and schools opening for the 2015-16 school year:
Programs
- Beaverton Junior/Senior Early College
- Bullock Creek Early College
- Capital Region Middle College
- Cedar Springs Early Middle College
- Davison Early College
- Dryden Early College Academy
- Early College Allegan County
- Eastern Calhoun Early College
- Ferndale Early College
- Gaylord Community Schools Early College
- Iosco RESA Early/Middle College
- Lincoln Park Middle College
- Niles Early/Middle College
- Quincy High School and Kellogg Community College Early/Middle College
- Shepherd Bluejays Early College
- St. Joseph County Early/Middle College
- Van Buren Middle School Schools
- Charlotte Middle College
- Chassell Early College
- Henry Ford Early College-Advanced Manufacturing
For a complete list of programs, go to: www.michigan.gov/documents/mde/EMC_LIST_2015_496505_7.pdf
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