Several Sebastian River High School students have accelerated their academic progress by taking college-level courses prior to graduating from high school and receiving both high school and college credit.
As a result of this Dual Enrollment/Early Admission program, ironically the students already participated in the May 2 graduation ceremonies at Indian River State College while still looking forward to their SRHS graduation next month.
On the Treasure Coast, the program is offered jointly by Indian River State College and the school districts of Indian River, Martin, Okeechobee and St. Lucie counties, and is locally available to all “qualified” high school students. As of the 2010-2011 school year, more than 46,000 students have participated statewide.
Studies have determined that students who participated in Dual Enrollment in high school “had significantly higher cumulative college GPAs three years after high school graduation than did their peers who did not participate.”
Enrique Valencia, chairman of Sebastian River High School’s Guidance Department who has been on staff since the school opened in 1994, explains that, to qualify for the program, a student must exhibit “great scholarship, and be academically and socially mature.”
After talking the college entrance exam, students in the program attend college full-time, working towards an AA, which requires five courses, English, Humanities, Math, Science and Social Science, for 36 credits, and an additional 24 elective credits. They can then transfer credits to any state school. High school students can get two years’ of college this way and there is no cost to the students.
Students attend classes in a college environment, Valencia says, and will “be treated like adults, setting goals, getting real-world experience.”
In any given school year, Valencia notes, about 20 to 25 SRHS students are enrolled in the challenging program, attending Indian River State College full-time. They may still choose to participate in high school sports, band, chorus and other special activities, including the once-in-a-lifetime high school prom. “They end up juggling academic and extracurricular programs – these kids are well versed in Life Management 101,” says Valencia.
According to IRSC records, SRHS Seniors currently on track to complete the program with an Associate’s degree from IRSC as well as a high school diploma (next month) include: McKenna K. Bachmann, Sierra Renee Gilbert, Nicholas A. Guenin, Katelyn Michelle Henderson, Scott Edward Howerton, Swapneal Kumar Jain, Justyna Maria Mliczek, Crosbie Marie Moore, Lynda Shepard and Jordan Lynn Marshall.
As with the parents of all dual enrollment students, Don and Regina Marshall have experienced firsthand the commitment a student must have and the sacrifices that must be made to successfully complete the program.
Very proud of her daughter, 18-year-old Jordan, Regina Marshall calls the accomplishment “Huge! How many kids can say at the age of 17 or 18 that they have a college degree? They make sacrifices like not seeing their high school friends every day, missing some high school activities – but they can also still participate in some activities and even possibly have a little extra time for a job.”
Although “a little extra time” doesn’t seem like much of a possibility given the grueling schedule and ongoing scholastic requirements, these dedicated young people are up to the challenge.
Jordan, for example, attended IRSC full time, on the main campus in Ft. Pierce, and played guard on the Shark’s girls’ basketball team. She also holds down a part-time job at Indian River Estates retirement community in Vero Beach, about which she says “I like serving people, helping the elderly, making a difference in people’s lives.”
Jordan, explains her mom, was in the International Baccalaureate program and, as a sophomore, “she had to decide whether to continue. We were kind of up in the air. We didn’t want to make the decision for her.” One of Jordan’s basketball teammates, a senior at that time, had made the decision not to enter the Dual Enrollment program, Regina Marshall explains, and told Jordan that, if she had it to do over, she would have entered the program. The advice of her teammate was key in Jordan’s decision to make the commitment, says Regina Marshall.
On the morning of Friday, May 2, Jordan was preparing for the IRSC spring graduation ceremony that evening. Her graduation regalia were set out alongside the flowing, full-length gown with black fitted top and purple skirt she would wear the following night to the Senior Prom. Regina Marshall says “Jordan has no time for dating,” and Jordan says, smiling, “No prom date. I’ve always been Miss Independent.”
Although the weekend would be a very busy one for Jordan, she, nevertheless, found time to talk about her experience in the Dual Enrollment/Early Admissions program.
All in all, Jordan felt the transition from high school to college went pretty well. “The classes were bigger. And, if you needed help, you had to find a teacher.” The study work load she viewed as “pretty moderate – about what I anticipated. They want you to study at least two hours at home; some teachers have homework. Most of the time it’s reading the books, making flash cards.”
”We go through lots of flash cards,” her mom interjects.
Did she feel she had missed out on a lot of the traditional high school activities? “I don’t think that was a very big issue for me.”
Was the college experience what she expected? “Actually, it was better than I expected. There was less drama, fewer issues, less disruption (than in high school.)”
After two intense years, Jordan’s summer plans don’t include any special adventures. “Probably just relaxing and working at Indian River Estates,” she says. She’ll also be shadowing her uncle, Dr. Jimmy Lockhart, who works at Health South Rehabilitation Hospital.
And there will be no time off from school, come fall. Jordan plans to return to IRSC to study biology and earn her BA, with an eye, currently, to pursuing a career in the medical field, possibly to becoming “a physician’s assistant – or a physician.”
“She has a scholarship to IRSC and she likes the school,” says Regina Marshall.
Although she played basketball for seven years, Jordan does not plan to play college ball. “It makes us a little sad,” Regina Marshall admits.
To other students who are considering the dual enrollment program, Jordan says, “I would encourage them to do any college they can while in high school. Some just do it in summer, even one class if you want.”
“Very excited” to be graduating and heading back to college, Jordan says “I couldn’t have done it without the encouragement of my parents and, if not for the great teachers at Sebastian River Middle School and Sebastian River High School. We had some awesome teachers. I would not have been ready to go to college at 16, or to take the college entrance exams without them.”
It is, says Valencia, ”an outstanding program for outstanding students – a win-win as far as the administration is concerned.
