Dual Enrollment Popular in Georgia Schools

LAFAYETTE, GA. (WDEF-TV) – It was unheard of just a few years ago, but dual enrollment programs are changing the lives–and the futures of many high school students.
Combining high school and college courses is also popular with parents because its free.
The story now from Lafayette High school.

"How many of you are interested in taking the dual enrollment program next year? "

Joel Warren is a history teacher at Lafayette High School, who’s also an adjunct professor at Bellhaven university. He’s an example of the new relationship between high school and college that’s taking hold across the country.

DAMON RAINES, SUPT. WALKER CO. SCHOOLS "We’re working with Georgia Northwestern and Dalton State where we’re having kids either go there on those campuses to complete college credits or we have them on our campuses teaching thosed same classes."

It didn’t take industrious students long to catch on.

MCKINLEY LANGFORD, JUNIOR "I’ve always been the one that would take all the college classes and try to get as many credits as I could so I was really excited about this opportunity."

MADISON HARRIS, JUNIOR "My grades are still good..but I have to work hard…it’s not easy."

TREVOR BOWMAN, SENIOR "No one from my immediate family had ever even finished high school. I’ve always been a bright student and and I saw the opportunity and I said, here’s my chance to go out there and actually get college credit..get a head start."

And this high school has worked out an internship program with Roper, Walker county’s largest employer.

JOHN PARKER, COORDINATOR SECONDARY INSTRUCTION "We’ve been in talks wityh them for the past 6 months and will continue to plot out a program with Roper so that we can get kids the skills they need."

BEN OWENBY, INTERN AT ROPER "I heard about it ..the announcement..my civics teacher, Mr. Stay mentioned it to me …and I went, I might as well go for it."

MIKE CULBERSON, PRINCIPAL, LAFAYETTE HIGH SCHOOL "We have, excuse me, 131 students enrolled in the dual enrollment program right now."

DAMON RAINES " I can’t think of a better deal than to guaduate high school …go in as a second year person in college and it didn’t cost the family anything."

Principal Mike Culberson says there are now 131 of his junior and senior students taking part in that dual enrollment program.
Some will enter college as sophomores—one of them will be a junior.