A new program through the Mid-coast School of Technology could help career and technical students graduate high school with a year’s worth of college credit at a significantly lower cost, according to Director Beth Fisher.
The program, call the Bridge Year, is the result of a pilot program between Hermon High School, United Technologies Center – a career and technical education school in Bangor, Eastern Maine Community College and the University of Maine.
“The goal of the program is get students to participate in college that might not otherwise be inclined to go but certainly have the capability,” Fisher said in an interview Aug. 22.
The students would apply for the program in their sophomore year, spend two years in the Bridge Year program where they would attend half time at the CTE school and half time at their high school. At the completion, the students would graduate with a high school diploma, hopefully a career or technical certification, and 30 college credits, Fisher said.
The MSAD/RSU 40 board of directors unanimously approved committing to the Bridge Year program at their meeting on Aug. 15, but several steps remain before the program would be implemented.
The board at MCST has been waiting for the first high school among those they serve to commit to the program, and though Medomak Valley High School is the first and only as of Aug. 22, the MCST board has not yet had an opportunity to decide what action they will take, Fisher said.
If the board does decide to move forward with Medomak Valley, an application would need to be submitted to the Department of Education by Sept. 1, Fisher said.
The DOE would evaluate the application and its potential for success before deciding whether to provide some of the $500,000 included in the state budget for the purpose of expanding the program, she said.
Likely only one of the high schools that send students to MCST would be approved for the program at first so the system is not overwhelmed by the change, Fisher said.
“That doesn’t mean local school districts couldn’t do it if they came up with the independent funding,” Fisher said.
The money from the state would be provided only to assist with start-up and future funding would need to be provided locally, according to an Aug. 8 letter to school directors from Dwight Littlefield, a consultant for the DOE.
If a Bridge Year program at Mid-coast School of Technology is approved, this coming school year would be a planning year where teachers from Medomak Valley would work with university professors to create the curriculum and students would hopefully begin the program in the 2014-2015 school year, Fisher said.
During their two years in Bridge Year, the students would take courses as a cohort and complete a semester’s worth of college level English, math, science, and social studies throughout each school year, Fisher said.
Unlike Advanced Placement courses, which may not be accepted by the college a student chooses to attend, Fisher said, the students in the Bridge Year would have 30 transcripted credits from the University of Maine, and would not need to go through an application process as students at the university, she said.
Estimated costs for participating students would be approximately $35 per credit hour, and work would be done to provide scholarships for students that need them, Fisher said. Compared to the cost of a year attending college, “it’s a really good deal,” she said.
Fisher has a meeting scheduled with some of the group that implemented the pilot program. After gathering information on the various components she plans to create a draft budget.
“I don’t think that it’s been an extremely costly program but I believe it’s been a extremely beneficial program,” she said.
Fisher described the program as “a fabulous opportunity for students and families” and said she hopes all the high schools can eventually implement the program. “As a parent that has a student in college, anything you can do to get a head start is a great idea,” she said.
