Tallassee High School held a dual-enrollment meeting on Thursday, April 18 to preview options for students in obtaining college credit. The program was open to 8th - 12th graders and their parents.
"We're making some changes with our dual-enrollment program," Career Tech Coordinator Keith McNaughten said. "The last three years, Trenholm State Community College has provided that program for our students and has done a good job, but we've seen some opportunities with Southern Union State Community College. We're making those changes and transitioning right now. They're coming to share with the students and parents the programs we're going to be offering."
Students in the dual-enrollment program take college-level coursework that can be applied to their curriculum as credits after high school.
"You can get credits going into your technical field," McNaughton added. "You can add the academic pieces as well. We're going to have English 101, English 102 and Pre-Calculus. Next year, we're hoping to add a Psychology elective. Students can basically leave their high school once they graduate and have around 22 hours of credit.
McNaughton noted the financial savings for families with escalating college education costs.
"Our students don't have to travel. They stay right here on our campus. You don't have the cost of a dorm. You don't have the cost of food like when you're in some other city on a campus somewhere. To be able to gain that much ground into your college education is a great opportunity."
The dual-enrollment program involves about 50 students per year. It originally began at THS four years ago. Students and instructors have been on the local campus for the past three years.
Tallassee City Schools superintendent Wade Shipman talked about the program.
"We'd like to see the program expand," Shipman said. "I've talked with Keith about our community colleges to see what we can do to offer more for our students, whether it's in the summer time or evening. Maybe in some point in the future, we'll see other offerings."
-- Michael Butler, WTLS-AM 1300 and FM 106.5