Program aids with college transition

The transition from high school to college can be a difficult one, especially for first-generation students.

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, 34 percent of undergraduates are the first in their families to go to college and about 28 percent have parents who have some college experience but not a bachelor’s degree. This means a significant number of students may not have a built-in professional support system to get them through the next steps advancing after high school graduation.

For students at Jay County High School, that’s where initiatives like the Early College and Career Program are designed to help.

“The goal of the Early College Program is to prepare students to be successful in whatever type of training or education they pursue after high school,” said Melanie Stockton, who teaches dual-credit English at JCHS. “We want them to be successful academically, financially, socially, physically and emotionally.”

Jay School Corporation first began pursuing the Early College endorsement of the Center for Excellence in Leadership of Learning (CELL) in 2014. CELL and the Indiana Commission for Higher Education defines an Early College Model as a blend of high school and college in a rigorous yet supportive program, aimed at reaching students who are not likely to pursue a college education, according to the program handbook. Currently, Jay Schools is in the final stage of being officially certified as an early college high school.

Over the past three years in the program, JCHS has partnered with multiple colleges, including Ivy Tech, in order to give students an opportunity to take a sequence of dual-credit courses and earn a General Education Core Transfer Certificate.

Jay County students can receive 30 college credits hours, the equivalent of about one year of school, that are transferable to any associate’s degree or bachelor’s degree program at any state university in Indiana. That can result in thousands of dollars of savings on tuition.

“This program is a big deal for Jay County students and their families,” said JCHS Principal Chad Dodd. “We are giving students the extra support challenging them more academically so that they can essentially complete one year of college in high school.”

While the program is open to all academically qualified students, the early college model was specifically designed to help low-income, first-generation college students, English language learners and students of color, all of whom are statistically underrepresented in higher education, according to the program handbook.

“The reality is, college-bound kids are going to be fine without or without us,” Dodd said. “This is for that second-level of academic kids that really didn’t have the support to know where to go to pursue college.”

With JCHS offering 52 dual credit courses, students can apply for the early college program freshman year. The school’s first group of early college students are now seniors.

Throughout the three years in the program, students are not only enrolled in college-level classes, but they also have opportunities to take part in other activities in an effort to help prepare them for post-secondary success.

Each nine weeks, students go on college visits to places including the University of Indianapolis, Indiana University – Purdue University Fort Wayne and Anderson University.

Chrissy Krieg, who teaches dual-credit English and was one of the first teachers involved in the program at JCHS, said the college trips were designed as “cultural outings,” exposing students to new opportunities they might have known existed.

“I had a kid who came in sophomore year who was determined that he did not want to go to college but his mom forced him to be in the program and said, ‘You’re going to do this,’” Krieg said. “Then we stepped foot on a college campus that he fell in love with later that year. His whole goal in his high school career since then has been to get into that school.

“That is why we do this. It’s wonderful to see these kids grow and learn and have their eyes opened a bit.”

Students in the early college program also get to listen to guest speakers, including college students who share their own experiences. Other speakers include professionals from the community to talk about how to get the most out of a college experience and choose a career path.

“The idea is that the more they hear, the more they'll understand what to expect and how to prepare,” Stockton said. “We try to give them a number of other opportunities to maximize their potential to find success when they leave JCHS. We want them to have a toolkit for success, so to speak.”

Since giving back to the community through volunteering is stressed at the college level, early college students are also required to participate in service learning projects.

Last year, Stockton took her students twice to Jay County Retirement Center to play games and make crafts with the residents. This year, the group sponsored a fundraiser for the victims of the Nov. 5 tornado.

Jay County’s program was recognized this summer, as Ivy Tech awarded the school a Certificate of Appreciation for helping students earn 2,366 college credits and $319,764 in tuition savings.