LISD students get early start

LISD students get early start

By Christi Covington Friday, 17 April 2009

Students in the Leander Independent School District received almost $100,000 in free tuition at Austin Community College in 2008 while getting credit for both high school and college.

Camille Clay, LISD’s transition administrator, remembers first learning about the program, called Early College Start, 10 years ago.

“When we heard about the free tuition, we knew it was a big deal,” Clay said.

Through the program, students can take two college-level courses per semester without having to pay. Clay said students mostly take classes to meet graduation requirements and to advance their college careers. Last summer 349 LISD students received college credit.

Clay said the district saw an increase in interest when its transition coordinators got more involved in ECS six years ago. The coordinators provide information and help with the application process.

To join the dual-credit program, students must complete the ACC application process, an experience that gives them their first introduction to higher education.

“It gets them through the process at the high school level, so it’s not so foreign to them. It plants the seed for post-secondary education, it’s not an option not to do it,” Clay said.

Typically, coordinators and counselors encourage students to start the application process at the end of their sophomore year. Scores from standardized tests, such as the ACT, SAT or 10th- and 11th-grade TAKS, can exempt students from additional college entry tests.

Sandra MacLachlan, a transition coordinator at LISD, said what she values about the program is the confidence it instills in students.

“There is a sense of pride that they can really handle a college level course,” she said.

MacLachlan and Clay have found the challenge of the program is aligning high school curriculum with college courses because higher education classes tend to focus on more in-depth subjects. It is difficult to find a basic science course appropriate for 11th and 12th grade students at the college level.

However, each semester there are 50 to 60 courses that students can take at any ACC campus or center.

Summer registration begins in early May. MacLachlan said classes fill quickly. Registration usually begins at 5 a.m., but within two hours courses often reach capacity.

ACC around the community

Not only can high school students who join the Early College Start Program attend any Austin Community College campus, they can also take courses offered at LISD high schools.

Many of these courses are open to the public, an opportunity LISD Transition Administrator Camille Clay hopes the community embraces. She said if these classes became more popular, it might accelerate the process of Leander getting its own ACC campus, similar to Cedar Park’s Cypress Creek campus.

Summer 2009 classes at LISD high schools

• ACC LEA Center at Leander High School:
  • Principles of Macroeconomics
  • English Composition I
  • English Composition II
  • United States Government
  • Texas State and Local Government
  • Introduction to Speech Communication
  • Essentials of Medical Terminology
  • Drawing I
  • Introduction to Philosophy
• Vista Ridge High School:
  • Principles of Macroeconomics
  • United States History II
  • Introduction to Speech Communication
• Note: Course offerings are subject to change

Books from LEEF - To help students who want to participate in Early College Start but cannot afford textbooks, the Leander Excellence in Education Foundation has started a scholarship fund this spring. As a result, LISD students in the free or reduced lunch program can get $150 each semester in textbook vouchers. To continue to receive future aid, they must earn at least a B. Once the course is completed, the books are returned and resold, which replenishes the fund for other students.

Summer 2009 registration

• Current and former students: May 4-27
• New students: May 11-27