A Washington County Regional Center student works on a project
Washington, Iowa (February 15, 2016)–With its second year of serving students fully underway, Kirkwood’s Washington County Regional Center has welcomed an increase of almost 28 percent in concurrent credit high school enrollment.
Director Tera Pickens credits the success to the partnerships with local school districts.
“Our school partners have been so supportive and encouraging of the regional center concept,” said Pickens. “They recognized a need for expanded programming and have provided valuable input to bring these programs to life.”
According to Pickens, the opportunities to explore careers and earn college credit while enrolled in high school have been very well received by area students. When compared to last year, the number of credits earned is set to increase by at least 37 percent.
For high school students and their families that means significant cost savings. For the 2015-16 academic year, Washington County Regional high school students taking classes on-site are on track to earn college credit valued at $446,000. Add to that the savings of concurrent credit offered at their high school, online courses and post secondary enrollment options and the amount continues to grow.
Looking toward the future, the Center plans to continue to work closely with their partner school districts, local business and industry, as well as the community they serve. In the 2016-17 academic year, Washington County Regional will begin to offer two new academies – Business Exploration and Hotel Management. Both areas indicate the need for skilled professionals in the coming years.
“Each district already has outstanding faculty, staff and programming happening within the walls of their buildings, but we’re going to continue to partner to best serve all students in our area,” said Pickens.