Last December, I introduced you to Erin (above), a junior in our high school at the time who is also a junior at Purdue University NW. She is studying biotechnology and will earn a full bachelor’s degree in 2021 BEFORE graduating from our high school. At least that is the plan. And that was before the Covid-19 crisis.
One might think the Covid-19 crisis would throw a curve ball to these plans but I just received Erin’s latest transcript and she earned straight As this past semester at Purdue and will be a senior at Purdue in August…well on her way to becoming our second high school student to earn a full bachelor’s degree while in our high school. Pretty cool!
And while she will be our second student to earn a full bachelor’s degree, she is one of 30 students to earn a full associate degree from Ivy Tech while in our high school over recent years. The momentum is building in Gary, Indiana and spreading to Baton Rouge where our second high school is located.
This past year, more than 30% of our inaugural class of Baton Rouge freshmen (pictured right) experienced and successfully completed their first college courses. Some earned a full 12 college credits. And several are (voluntarily) taking courses over the summer. How about that? Who says students don’t want to learn? This is so cool!
Can we scale this? I don’t see why not.
While many may argue Covid-19 is cause for slowing down progress in education, I might argue that it isn’t any different from all the other barriers to students being able to achieve all they can achieve and that GEO can and will confront Covid-19 just as we confront all other barriers–by breaking away from traditional paths and providing additional opportunities for students to succeed. We will do this and we will take this model to scale.
Yes, it’s fun changing the world together! Join us. You will be glad you did!
Sincerely,
Kevin Teasley