California students get chance to take college classes
CALIFORNIA – Students in the California Area School District already have the chance to earn college credits in their own classrooms, but they may also be getting the chance to take classes on campus at Penn State-Fayette, the Eberly Campus. One student is already signed up to participate in the dual enrollment program this year, taking college classes at half cost through the state program. The school district is looking into the state eGrant program that would cover all or most of the tuition in the future.
Jasmin Brown, the career advisor at Penn State-Fayette, the Eberly Campus, presented information about the grant program to the school board at a continued meeting Monday. Brown said last year four of the six school districts in Fayette County applied for the loans and all four received the money for their students. Brown said districts can apply for funds on behalf of home-schooled and cyber school students as well.
Brown said in order for a district to apply for the grant money, it must have a concurrent agreement with a post-secondary school and list the number of students who will be enrolled. Students can begin taking college classes in the second semester of their junior year, Brown said, and they can take up to eight credits each semester.
“They can have up to 24 credits under their belt when they graduate,” Brown said.
Students need to maintain a 3.0 grade point average at the high school level and a 2.0 grade point average at the college level to participate. The college classes must be in core academic areas is compliance with the No Child Left Behind legislation and they will receive both college and high school credit for the college work.
Brown told the California board members that the concurrent agreement would need to be in place and the grant application completed by August 15 in order for the district to participate in the program for the 2006-07 school year.
“It’s been our policy here not to rush into things. We’ve had problems with that in the past,” said board president Tom Russell.
Brown said she had been trying to reach district administrators since March, but did not receive return phone calls.
“At least we can start working on things for the 2007-08 school year,” Brown said.
District superintendent, Dr. Tim Marks, said that by starting to plan now for next year’s program, the high school could get information out to the students.
In other matters, the board voted to hire Susan Bitonti as a substitute second grade teacher and Kirsten Betonte as a secondary Spanish teacher. The board also voted to accept the resignation of an eighth grade language arts teacher, pending receipt of a signed letter of resignation. At present the district has only been notified of the resignation by e-mail.