High School for only 2 years? What do you think

[Becky2005]

Not sure. I guess if it was optional. I'm just thinking about our situation and it would be basically impossible for my DD to GET to our community college.

She doesn't have her license yet & even if she manages to get it next year, she won't have a car. There are no school busses to the community college and it's a fairly long drive away. No way could I drive her to classes and still manage to get her younger brothers to school.

We have a co-op thing here where kids can learn vocational things and they aren't even allowed to drive to that. They have to take the bus that the school provides & it's only Juniors/Seniors.

Now if they are going to put the college classes AT the High School then that would work I suppose. I could just see all sorts of legal issues with truancy laws and such.

 

[mum4jenn]

I like the idea. My entire senior year was nothing but electives and I still graduated 3 months early. If I had gone to class the full day (I got out early each day to go to my job through D.E.) I would have graduated after the first quarter (we were on a quarter system back then).

My 12 year old would be able to handle this when she gets to 10th grade.

 

[LisaR]

Many people thought we were totally crazy but we allowed our DD to take the CPT to get into college at the age of 14 (dual enrollment). She met all the requirements at the community college. She is VERY mature. She is not "gifted" but determined and focused. At the end of this semester (shortly before turning 15), she will have 14 credit hours. Knock on wood but so far she has received straight A's. DD is the kind of kid that loves a challenge and has made it her goal to have her AA when she graduates high school.

With all of that said, it takes a very mature kid to go this route. DS is 12. He is very advanced academically and is considered "gifted." However, he is socially immature - very immature. I can guarantee that college will not be an option for him at 14. We have our fingers crossed that he will be ready by the time he is 18. DH fears he will be living at home with us forever.

For DD, community college has been a perfect fit. There is a quicker need for a learning curve since a semester is only 16 weeks. She doesn't have any regrets and truly enjoys the challenge. It certainly isn't for everyone but if a teen is motivated, mature and determined, I think it is certainly a viable option.

 

[Inigo]

In 1982, I graduated from HS after three years in a four year program, taking just as many classes as those who finished in four years. If I had been able to finish in two years and head off to college, I would have loved it.

Two weeks after graduating, I moved into the dorm at Indiana University and started college at age 16. All my college friends were between 1 1/2 to 10 years older than I was. I did go to parties that year, but I didn't drink, so I had no problem turning down alcohol at those parties. I did have a few guys try to put the moves on me, but they quickly changed their minds when I told them my age.

One of the big issues was my roommate that fall. (I left housing assign my roommate.) She was...well, let's just say loose and rather free with her favors with the guys she met.

 

[laurie31]

Now if they are going to put the college classes AT the High School then that would work I suppose. I could just see all sorts of legal issues with truancy laws and such.

That is how it works here. There are enough high school students doing dual enrollment that the teacher comes to the high school.

 

[MizTink]

Just because they are able to pass the exam doesn't mean the students are ready to be thrust into a college environment...even a junior college. You are talking about 16 year old kids in classes with 18 and older students. I think it is a bad idea in general.

but kids in this age group are in high school together too. and if the student works, i'm sure there are older people there too.

Not sure. I guess if it was optional. I'm just thinking about our situation and it would be basically impossible for my DD to GET to our community college.

She doesn't have her license yet & even if she manages to get it next year, she won't have a car. There are no school busses to the community college and it's a fairly long drive away. No way could I drive her to classes and still manage to get her younger brothers to school.

We have a co-op thing here where kids can learn vocational things and they aren't even allowed to drive to that. They have to take the bus that the school provides & it's only Juniors/Seniors.

Now if they are going to put the college classes AT the High School then that would work I suppose. I could just see all sorts of legal issues with truancy laws and such.

the schools here provide the transportation to the community college/vocational schools (for dual enrollment). school buses take them....

 

[Melissa<3Disney]

I also did this! Basically how ours worked was that we took the CPT, and if we passed and had all our paperwork in order, we were accepted into the school. Some years there were so many kids trying to get in, the school had to hold a lottery, because only a certain number of slots were available. They called ours a charter high school. It was such an amazing experience. Basically how it worked for us is that we actually had a building on the community college campus that was considered our "high-school." We only had between 180-230 kids in our school. It ranged from grades 10-12. The 10th graders took prep courses from our professors in the school before actually being enrolled into the college course work. I transferred from my high school when I was a junior. How ours worked was that we took the required classes for an associates degree. We worked closely with our counselors to make sure that both our high school and college credits were being met. I loved the school. Although it is very similar to duel enrollment, it kind of cuts out the having to take high school courses and college courses simultaneously. At our school you just took the college courses and those counted as your high school credits as well. This left time for me to still go to work, and have fun with friends. Since state law requires that high school, middle school, and elementary school students be in a classroom for a certain number of hours a week. We basically would go to our college classes and then in between those classes we would go to a computer lab and sign in and do our work. Also with that law, on the extra time the college students got off for breaks i.e. after finals, we still had to take courses through our high school to meet the required hours for the high school portion. The funniest part of the whole thing was that I walked at my college graduation in April of 2004 and walked for my high school graduation in May of 2004. I will say though, if you ever have a chance for your children to do this. I would take it. It certainly isn't for everyone, and it takes a great amount of discipline to step up to the challenge of college at 16. But it prepared me for a four year university very well. I graduated from college two years after high school with honors with a Bachelor in Psychology. I would say the only downside to the whole experience is that if your child is into school sports they didn't offer the team options at our school. You could join the college symphony orchestra, college plays, etc. though! We even did dances, prom, and all those fun childish teenager things! I wish I could go back to high school sometimes!

 

[Melissa<3Disney]

I would also like to point out that we had buses to take the kids to and from the school if they didn't have a license or couldn't drive. And for those worried about the social aspect...my friends I made there are still my best friends to this day!!

 

[angwill]

I would have loved if this was available when I went to high school. It was extremely boring for me and just felt like a repeat of middle school with electives available. I had a half day Junior and Senior year and did work/study just because I had to be in school to earn my diploma and I would have rather gone on to college and skipped the last two years.

My DH moved from the US to Germany when he was started 9th grade. In Germany they only went through 10th grade and then went off to college or trade school. DH was far from mature enough but he was forced to grow up fast and it worked out fine for him.

 

[Julia M]

I'm curious-for those who have mentioned they have done an option like this-do your schools lack additional academic electives, and AP classes? Because one of the comments I've noticed is kids not being challenged.

I am curious, because in looking at DD's next few years, she doesn't have time for many electives. Or maybe more accurately, her electives are still academic. Basically, ENglish, social studies, math, science, foreign language and religion (Catholic school) make up 6 classes. For her 7th period, it includes 1 year of PE, 1 of fine arts, plus 1 semester of computer literacy. So that only leaves 1 1/2 years for an elective. She has the option (as a sophomore) of taking 3 honors classes and one AP class. This year she has 3 honors classes. It's not just because she attends a Catholic HS though; local public HS's alsp offer alot of honors and AP classes.

I know my friend's son attends a similiar program...the HS program is housed at the local JC. Students go 4 years and finish with a HS diploma and AA degree.

For my dd it wouldn't work-she is very "into" the HS experience.

For my friend's son, who doesn't do any activities like that, it's great. He also wasn't looking for a traditional HS experience.

Julia

 

[shortbun]

Our public school has a program where students can earn about 24 hours of college credit prior to graduation from HS. It's free and offered to any college bound student. I'm not sure how I feel about it, I'm all for students having the full social whirl of Hs and I think this might crowd their schedule or eliminate extra cirricular.

 

[Minnie*J*]

I just saw this on the news this morning. I'm not sure how I feel about. Alot of teenagers I know are not mature enough (imo) to be in college at 15 or 16 years.

 

[sunnyday123]

I think dual enrollment would be something I would consider for DD, however the skipping two years of high school I would have serious doubts. I think they mature greatly in those last two years, and starting college at 16 seems just too young. I started school when I was 4, so my freshman year in high school I was 13. I started college at 17 and honestly I just floundered around for a few years. I think the dual enrollment would be a better option for them to implement.

 

[powellrj]

It would have been great for my oldest DS. He would have done well, my middle DS who is in college now, not so much. I am not sure he is still ready for college but thats another thread! I think my DD is another who would benefit from the program.

 

[golfgal]

I'm curious-for those who have mentioned they have done an option like this-do your schools lack additional academic electives, and AP classes? Because one of the comments I've noticed is kids not being challenged.

I am curious, because in looking at DD's next few years, she doesn't have time for many electives. Or maybe more accurately, her electives are still academic. Basically, ENglish, social studies, math, science, foreign language and religion (Catholic school) make up 6 classes. For her 7th period, it includes 1 year of PE, 1 of fine arts, plus 1 semester of computer literacy. So that only leaves 1 1/2 years for an elective. She has the option (as a sophomore) of taking 3 honors classes and one AP class. This year she has 3 honors classes. It's not just because she attends a Catholic HS though; local public HS's alsp offer alot of honors and AP classes.

I know my friend's son attends a similiar program...the HS program is housed at the local JC. Students go 4 years and finish with a HS diploma and AA degree.

For my dd it wouldn't work-she is very "into" the HS experience.

For my friend's son, who doesn't do any activities like that, it's great. He also wasn't looking for a traditional HS experience.

Julia

Our state as a duel enrollment option too but it is to the 4 year colleges, not the community colleges. We do have honors/AP classes for the kids to take too and a challenging academic curriculum in general but the draw for those that take advantage of the post-secondary option is that they get those college classes for free. Many kids that aren't "into" high school will take the college classes full time and graduate high school with enough credits to start college as a junior. It comes down to saving money for most kids.

Also, every once in a while you get a student that needs even more of a challenge. There is a student in DS17's class that is a total math genius. He tested out of 4 years of COLLEGE math in 9th grade. He takes an independent study course at the University for math because he is beyond what is normally taught even in college. For all the rest of his classes he is a very good student as well but no where near what he can do in math so he takes his full high school load then drives over to the university for math in the afternoon.

Every state has different base requirements for graduation and those really determine how much time you have for electives. Some schools, like ours, go above and beyond the state requirements too. To graduate from our high school you have to have 4 years of social studies, 4 years of Language Arts, 2 years of a foreign language, 3 years of math, 3 years of science, 1 year of "arts" (music, performing, drawing, etc.), a trimester of economics and 2 years of PE. Freshman and sophomore year you have 2 hours/day that aren't required courses but for kids in band or choir that takes up one hour. If you are planning on doing 4 years of a foreign language, that takes up the other. In your junior year you have a little more room for electives but not much. Your electives are really choosing which classes inside of the required classes you want to take--say British Literature vs Creative Writing for your language arts credit. Senior year you are down to having required classes of social and Language Arts so you have more room for electives.

The idea is for kids to take some classes they wouldn't normally take to see if they are of interest for a future career.

 

[SydSim]

How does that work for families that are hoping for certain scholarships from 4-year colleges that you must be a freshman to have? If kids enter college as a junior, does that eliminate those scholarships and you are only eligible for transfer ones (which there seems to be a lot fewer of)? If you're not worried about that, I'm sure it's very helpful to only have to pay for two years out of pocket, but I wonder how it affects freshman scholarship eligiblity.

 

[golfgal]

How does that work for families that are hoping for certain scholarships from 4-year colleges that you must be a freshman to have? If kids enter college as a junior, does that eliminate those scholarships and you are only eligible for transfer ones (which there seems to be a lot fewer of)? If you're not worried about that, I'm sure it's very helpful to only have to pay for two years out of pocket, but I wonder how it affects freshman scholarship eligiblity.

No, it doesn't effect scholarship eligibility at all. They technically still start college as a freshman but can graduate earlier because of the credits they start with. Most of the college information we see list "first year student" vs "freshman" and I think that covers that issue.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

How does that work for families that are hoping for certain scholarships from 4-year colleges that you must be a freshman to have? If kids enter college as a junior, does that eliminate those scholarships and you are only eligible for transfer ones (which there seems to be a lot fewer of)? If you're not worried about that, I'm sure it's very helpful to only have to pay for two years out of pocket, but I wonder how it affects freshman scholarship eligiblity.

It is going to depend on the wording of the HS. Here we ran into that issue with my dd graduating early. Dual enrollment allowed you the language to stay within the scholarship requirements. She was NOT dual enrollment and therefore was not allowed to take classes at the community college. If she did that she would be a "transfer student" and not be eligible for freshman scholarships.

I imagine that their could be issues with early graduation and then going to community college. Technically you would be a transfer student.

So you would need to get accepted to a 4yr college after the 2yrs to get those scholarships UNLESS they change the requirements.

 

[Feralpeg]

but kids in this age group are in high school together too. and if the student works, i'm sure there are older people there too.



the schools here provide the transportation to the community college/vocational schools (for dual enrollment). school buses take them....

My concern is not whether a student can handle the academics. It is whether the student can stand the difference in the social environment. I have a friend whose daughter graduated early and went to a local community college at 16. It didn't turn out well. She ended up making friends with older kids who were into a lot of things that were way to mature for a 16 year old. She ended up dropping out of school and waiting until she was older to go to a regular university. It could have had a very bad ending if her parents hadn't stepped in to pull the plug.

I realize that this sort of thing can happen to any college student, but a 16 year old is usually very different that an 18 year old when it comes to level of maturity.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

My concern is not whether a student can handle the academics. It is whether the student can stand the difference in the social environment. I have a friend whose daughter graduated early and went to a local community college at 16. It didn't turn out well. She ended up making friends with older kids who were into a lot of things that were way to mature for a 16 year old. She ended up dropping out of school and waiting until she was older to go to a regular university. It could have had a very bad ending if her parents hadn't stepped in to pull the plug.

I realize that this sort of thing can happen to any college student, but a 16 year old is usually very different that an 18 year old when it comes to level of maturity.

My 13yodd is more mature than my college freshman dd.

Honestly, you can't win them all. It is not fair to deny kids opportunity either for those that are ready.

That is part of the epidemic of dumbing down of America in schools.