college classes in high school

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The letter went out to students at all HSs. Northwood (and Northwest?) does have the full program and some onsite classes (still necessary to take some at MCC). I went to the presentation night, it is complicated and students are just beginning to complete it. The cost is about $7000 without financial aid. Here's their presentation: http://tinyurl.com/northwoodmc2017Slideshow

Also went to the Wheaton open house and I didn't realize they were offering this.

The letter my Wheaton kid received yesterday refers to the Early College program (not the one you linked to above). It says if a child qualifies (GPA, appropriate SAT, ACT or accuplacer score), they may enroll in college classes for high school credit. Here is a link:

http://montgomeryschoolsmd.org/curriculum/partnerships/dual-enrollment.aspx

I think that letter went out to HS students across the county, my Blair junior received it yesterday, too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The letter went out to students at all HSs. Northwood (and Northwest?) does have the full program and some onsite classes (still necessary to take some at MCC). I went to the presentation night, it is complicated and students are just beginning to complete it. The cost is about $7000 without financial aid. Here's their presentation: http://tinyurl.com/northwoodmc2017Slideshow

Also went to the Wheaton open house and I didn't realize they were offering this.

Is the Northwood Program aimed at students who are already on track to go to a decent college? Or, is it to encourage kids who might not otherwise be able to attend college? do the credits transfer to schools outside the U of Md system? I apologize if the link answers these questions. I can't get it to open for some reason.

I'm not sure what motivated it. It's actually a statewide program, not a county initiative. Northwood sells it like an IB program, a signature program for the highly motivated student. And also a way to make college more affordable similar to arguments about AP shaving some credits off the time in college. In this case it's an actual associates degree. I think the first seniors would graduate this year and it may be only a couple on track to complete that, more in the pipeline.

[Anonymous]

MCPS is getting ridiculous. How about you change your GPA back to normal standards and start making the high school courses a tad bit harder than remedial courses.

[Anonymous]

Why only selected HSs have the program? What about equal access and oppotunity?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why only selected HSs have the program? What about equal access and oppotunity?

Different schools have different specialty/signature programs, developed over time for different reasons. Some of the programs get piloted at one school, and then slowly expand to others depending on success and need. You could say the same about IB programs. Started at RM, gradually expanded into other schools (7? now). All students are eligible for dual enrollment, it is just that some schools offer some courses at the high school instead of students going to MC campus.

[Anonymous]

My child has taken advantage of this, albeit through a different county, which offers dual enrollment in two settings- select classes taught at the hs or a broader selection of classes at the community college. Some of the classes (ie dual enrollment) satisfy both hs graduation requirements and are also transferable to UMD. For my child, the primary benefit has been the challenge of partaking in more academically challenging classes, as well as enjoying the relative freedom of being on the community college campus for part of the day. Some caveats - outside of UMD, not all of the classes, specifically those taught at the hs with other hs students, will be transferable. For example, an “elite” college dc visited wouldn’t offer kid credit for the Eng101 class taken at the hs; had he taken it at the cc with other college students they would. Why? We were told - off the record by an English teacher st the hs that many feared that the hs taught college classes were being dumbed down and that there was pressure on teachers to inflate grades. Same with math - if taught at the cc, good for credit; no if taught at the hs. If your child has an idea of where they might apply for college in the future, a little due diligence will help you decide if it is worthwhile for your child. Alternatively, if you go the open campus route where your child goes to the cc for classes, transportation is definitely an issue. Will the hs offfer a bus (some schools do). I had to give up my nicer, safer car so ds could get back and forth to classes - I’m in the beater third car for now. Not a big hardship of course, but something to consider.

I like the program - it worked for us because we were looking for intellectual challenge and exposure to college level material but do read the fine print to make sure it’s what your child needs. Of the classes Ds has taken or taking (Eng101, Eng102, Bio101, Bio103, Bio104, Comp sci, Logic) - he will likely only get college credit for Biology101 and Eng102.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My child has taken advantage of this, albeit through a different county, which offers dual enrollment in two settings- select classes taught at the hs or a broader selection of classes at the community college. Some of the classes (ie dual enrollment) satisfy both hs graduation requirements and are also transferable to UMD. For my child, the primary benefit has been the challenge of partaking in more academically challenging classes, as well as enjoying the relative freedom of being on the community college campus for part of the day. Some caveats - outside of UMD, not all of the classes, specifically those taught at the hs with other hs students, will be transferable. For example, an “elite” college dc visited wouldn’t offer kid credit for the Eng101 class taken at the hs; had he taken it at the cc with other college students they would. Why? We were told - off the record by an English teacher st the hs that many feared that the hs taught college classes were being dumbed down and that there was pressure on teachers to inflate grades. Same with math - if taught at the cc, good for credit; no if taught at the hs. If your child has an idea of where they might apply for college in the future, a little due diligence will help you decide if it is worthwhile for your child. Alternatively, if you go the open campus route where your child goes to the cc for classes, transportation is definitely an issue. Will the hs offfer a bus (some schools do). I had to give up my nicer, safer car so ds could get back and forth to classes - I’m in the beater third car for now. Not a big hardship of course, but something to consider.

I like the program - it worked for us because we were looking for intellectual challenge and exposure to college level material but do read the fine print to make sure it’s what your child needs. Of the classes Ds has taken or taking (Eng101, Eng102, Bio101, Bio103, Bio104, Comp sci, Logic) - he will likely only get college credit for Biology101 and Eng102.

Did he finish an associates degree, or just take a handful of courses. Any idea if finishing an accredited degree would force colleges to accept more credits?

[Anonymous]

Which do you suppose is more challenging AP English or Eng 101? They are supposed to be quite similar classes right?

[Anonymous]

Pp at 09:39 re the AA degree: he didn’t get an AA, but I believe if he had more of his credits would have been transferable. Again, I think it really depends where they end up. His bio103/104 classes won’t count for credit, be he can use them as prerequisite for a class that he wouldn’t otherwise be able to take freshman year.

Re: comparison between AP and 101, he claims all his college classes were easier than AP. Most of the cc only meet twice a week, plus one graded assignment per week vs his two hour per day, everyday graded/writing. From my view, there was a lot more work for the AP classes.

One other benefit I will add: in his Bio103 class his lab partners were a veteran, a guy who was changing careers, and an older woman (“like older than you, mom!”). Good life experience