Early College conversations focus on cost and content

By Brady Gillihan 349-1420 | bgillihan@heraldt.com

Cost and class content were on the minds of local residents at a forum this week on the Early College program.

The forum, billed as a “Community Conversation,” and sponsored by the Foundation of Monroe County Community Schools, was designed to help settle many of the questions from more than 200 parents and kids in attendance at the Wednesday evening meeting at Tri-North Middle School.

Early College classes, to be installed within Bloomington high schools South and North by fall 2008, will let students earn course credit toward both high school diplomas and college degrees with the same courses. The program is designed to include students of all ability levels by giving them the support needed to successfully take and complete the dual-credit courses.

Tuition for college coursework taken through the program is free if students are 21st Century Scholars or qualify for free or reduced-price lunch.

Other students may take part in the program, but would pay course fees.

Jaclyn Flint, 13, an eighth-grader at Tri-North, was at the forum with her mother, Laury Flint. Both know Jaclyn will attend college, but Flint realizes there are obstacles to be overcome if a college-level education is on her daughter’s agenda.

“Number one, college is expensive. So it sounds like Early College will be a great way to get some credits out of the way. Number two, a lot of college students don’t know what they want when they first attend, so maybe this will help narrow her focus. Number three, the adjustment period in the first year of college can knock a lot of students out, so Early College sounds like a great transition,” Flint said.

Jaclyn agreed with her mom, just not in so many words. “It’ll help me get into college,” Jaclyn said.

“There was nothing like this when I graduated IU 25 years ago,” Flint said. “We had college prep courses, but this is so much more.”

Flint said Jaclyn is applying to New Tech — the new high-tech, project-based high school that’s starting up in the fall in MCCSC — but if she isn’t among the 100 freshmen selected for that, then Early College will be plan B.

Nick Jessee, 13, also an eighth-grader at Tri-North, wants eventually to work in music, technology or architecture. He agrees that he has “lots of fallbacks,” and knows college is his ticket to pursuing one or more of his passions.

“Of course I want to go to college,” Jessee said. “And I know Early College can teach me the basics now, so I shouldn’t wait.”

His parents, Doug and Tina Jessee, said that after hearing the panel discussion, they realized Early College was targeted toward 21st Century Scholars and to students on the free and reduced lunch program.

“I didn’t know the program was pretty much focusing on students who are financially underprivileged,” Doug Jessee said. “And unfortunately, we won’t qualify for the free tuition. But, he’ll still go. We’ll just pay for it out of our pockets.”

Tuition, which would be about half the cost of college courses at IU, would have to be paid by the family if the child does not qualify for free tuition.

A panel of five area leaders in education fielded queries from the audience Wednesday. The panel, made up of Ivy Tech assistant dean of academic affairs Nancy Frost, IU School of Education Dean Gerardo Gonzalez, Bloomington South principal Mark Fletcher, Bloomington North principal Jeff Henderson and MCCSC assistant superintendent Mary Sugg Lovejoy, was moderated by Bob Zaltsberg of The Herald-Times.