High Schoolers Provided with Four Years of College Coursework

Citrus Community College District Trustee Dr. Edward C. Ortell (left) celebrates the Citrus College Promise with Duarte Unified School District Board Member Reyna Diaz (right) during a signing ceremony on April 27, 2018. Citrus College has worked closely with DUSD to enhance the academic opportunities available within the community.

By Dr. Edward C. Ortell, Citrus College Governing Board Member

Thirty freshmen from Duarte High School will soon enroll in a college course designed to aid in the development of their personal career plans. While these students may only be entering the second semester of high school, the course – COUN 145 (Career/Life Planning) – will not be their first experience with college-level curriculum. In fact, they recently completed two other college courses.

These freshmen are participating in an exciting academic opportunity made possible by a partnership between Citrus College and Duarte Unified School District (DUSD). Building upon the highly successful two-year Early College program for high school juniors and seniors, the Early College four-year pathway was introduced in fall 2017. At the time, it was one of the first dual-enrollment programs in the San Gabriel Valley that was available to students throughout all four years of high school.

The Early College four-year pathway is a general education program that allows students to receive up to 60 college units while earning their high school diplomas. Program participants are selected by Duarte High School, which evaluates the GPA and Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium scores of all of DUSD’s eighth graders. The parents of qualified students are invited to an information session; those students who decide to participate in the program take their first two college classes during the first semester of high school.

Of course, dual enrollment is nothing new for Citrus College or DUSD. The two community partners were at the forefront of creating concurrent enrollment when they joined forces in 2009 to establish the Early College program. One of the first of its kind in the region, the Citrus College and DUSD Early College program quickly became part of a state and national movement to accelerate learning and introduce new opportunities to high school students.

The program expanded in 2016 when California added Assembly Bill 288 to the California Education Code. This legislation authorized California community college districts to enter into formal partnership agreements with local school districts to provide dual enrollment opportunities. Since that time, what began as a unique partnership between Citrus College and DUSD has evolved into much more.

Citrus College currently offers 33 Early College classes at eight high schools within the Citrus Community College District. Each class is taught on the high school campus by a Citrus College faculty member. In addition, participants receive the same student services that are available to traditional Citrus College students.

Completing an Early College program is beneficial in many ways. The program enables students to save time and money, graduate with college credits, and build a solid foundation for future success. The benefits of the Early College four-year pathway are even greater. First, program graduates have a very high acceptance rate with California State University and University of California institutions. Upon completion of their freshman year at the four-year college level, these students skip their sophomore year and can ultimately graduate with their bachelor’s degree almost two years early.

As the Duarte area’s representative on the Citrus Community College District Board of Trustees, I am proud that the Early College program has allowed students in our community to save a tremendous amount of time and money. I am confident that the new Early College four-year pathway will be even more successful.