Kent to offer CWU courses in high schools

Juniors and seniors in the Kent School District will have a new option to earn college credit starting this fall. The district will partner with Central Washington University to offer college classes in high school classrooms.

Originally, the district had hoped to offer the courses as a part of the Running Start program, allowing students to take the courses without bearing the expenses of tuition, but the state Legislature changed the way program funding is allocated.

Kent students will be able to take the CWU courses as dual enrollment and pay $55 to $65 per credit.

Running Start in the High School was created to serve students at more rural schools who would not otherwise have access to running start courses because of their distance from a college campus, said Ann Anderson, CWU’s director of community and government relations.

The program became popular in more urban areas, as school officials saw that it gave more students the opportunity to take Running Start, she said. CWU offers college courses in more than 100 high schools across the state, Anderson said.

“It really helps that those students can stay on high school campus to take these accelerated classes,” she said. “School personnel – superintendents and principals – really liked this model.”

Under the new legislation, funding for the Running Start in the High School courses first will go to schools more than 20 miles from a Running Start program on college campus and then to small schools as classified by the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction. Schools that have a low-income student population then would be able to apply for any funding that is left.

High schools already offering the program will receive funding for the 2015-2016 school year, but Kent schools won’t fall under that category since the program hasn’t started in the district.

Eric Hong, Kent’s executive director of college and career readiness and school improvement officer, said the partnership with CWU expands students’ options for earning college credit while still in high school.

“We want to have a series of pathways that give kids many opportunities to earn college credits,” he said.

Currently, Kent students can earn college credit through Advanced Placement courses or by taking Running Start courses on a local college campus. Students at Kentridge, Kentlake and Kentwood can earn dual credit through University of Washington courses offered at their schools, similar to the CWU program. Kent-Meridian doesn’t offer the UW program, but students there can take International Baccalaureate courses. Students in the program have the option to earn an International Baccalaureate diploma, which can translate to credits at a college.

Amrinder Bains, Kent-Merdian’s International Baccalaureate Diploma program coordinator, is excited students will have another option for earning college credits without leaving campus.

The CWU courses will be offered in conjunction with the International Baccalaureate courses. Students will choose if they want to receive CWU credit or take the course toward an International Baccalaureate Diploma.

“There are some students who do not think they can be totally successful in IB,” Bains said. “This will enable them to stay here in an IB class and get college credit.”

Bains said Kent-Meridian hopes to make four courses eligible for CWU credit in the fall: physics, calculus, French and standard level English language and literature.

Teachers for the courses apply as adjunct faculty at CWU, Bains said.

Interest in the International Baccalaureate program is growing, Bains said. This year, 425 students took at least one International Baccalaureate course. Next year Bains projects 530 students.

Kent-Meridian offers about 15 different International Baccalaureate courses, including nonacademic courses, such as film and physical education, Bains said.

Hong said the other high schools in Kent have not decided what CWU courses could be offered in the fall, but are considering math, history and human geography.