Claudia Gamez Elias never thought she’d go to college.
She believed a teacher from another state who told her she’d never make it because she’s Hispanic. So when the 18-year-old was invited to join a new dual enrollment program at Lakeside High her senior year, her first thought was, “Why me?”
That’s exactly why she was a good candidate for the new version of dual enrollment at the school, those involved in the program say. Traditional dual enrollment programs give students a chance to attend classes on a college campus while they’re still in high school. But the new program offers college-level classes as part of students’ normal high school schedules. They’re also taught by high school teachers in high school classrooms.
It’s ideal for students who don’t have a way to get to college campuses in-person, or who have unreliable internet access for online courses, organizers say. And for students like Gamez Elias, who never really considered college, it’s a way to build confidence.
Credit: Steve Schaefer
Credit: Steve Schaefer
“Our big thing was trying to respond to our student population, and making sure that no matter what a kid’s background is that they still have access to college classes,” said math teacher Taylor Ohlstrom, who started the program through nearby Georgia Piedmont Technical College after seeing a version of it where she formerly worked in Colorado.
Ohlstrom began conversations with school and district officials in 2020, bringing in English teacher Lauren Lamoly to round out the program. Teachers and counselors at the school recommended students for the program who could be successful in dual enrollment, but needed an extra push.
They’re students who may have a language barrier or exceptional needs, or who can’t make it to in-person college classes. At Lakeside High, about one-fifth of students are not native English speakers. And almost half of the school’s 2,100 students qualify for free and reduced-price lunches, which is often an indicator of poverty.
About 80 students joined the courses in the fall. Ohlstrom and Lamoly hope to get 160 students signed up for next year as word spreads.
Credit: Steve Schaefer
Credit: Steve Schaefer
Now decades after the introduction of dual enrollment to Georgia schools, the Lakeside High initiative isn’t the only way schools are innovating how they deliver the program, said Matt Smith, director of policy and research for the Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education.
When dual enrollment started in Georgia, the idea was to give students experience at the postsecondary level. As the years passed and the program gained popularity, policymakers wanted to make sure they were getting the most value out of the courses when the state is covering the tab. In 2020, lawmakers restricted the number of credit hours the state would pay for to 30 per student.
Now, Smith said, the focus has shifted to making access to college more equitable and offering more career pathways to students.
Some districts have done so by providing transportation to take students to college campuses, or by bringing college professors to high school campuses to teach once or twice a week. Some districts offer series of courses for students to get credits geared toward a specific career or vocation.
At Lakeside High, the students work each day to learn college-level algebra and English composition — two of the most common college courses. The course is condensed to one semester, like in college. Unlike college, they get to see their teachers every day.
“It wasn’t that hard,” Gamez Elias said, after her initial hesitation about the classes. She said the English course was mostly “writing, writing, writing.” One of the biggest challenges was staying on top of the workload.
“I learned how to be responsible,” she said. Now, she hopes to go to college to become an endocrinologist.
Credit: Steve Schaefer
Credit: Steve Schaefer
No other schools in the DeKalb district offer the program. It took about two years to get started at Lakeside High. The teachers must essentially be hired by the college and trained as adjunct professors — meaning they need a master’s degree with a certain number of credits in the subject they’re teaching. The college doesn’t compensate the teachers for the extra work, per an agreement with the district. But Ohlstrom and Lamoly feel like it’s worth the effort.
“We would love to help out getting it at other schools,” Ohlstrom said. “We want to see all kids in DeKalb and in Georgia and everywhere succeed.”
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