Growth of dual-credit participation benefits D214 students

Student participation and success in dual credit courses continues to grow rapidly in High School District 214. This is significant because students who complete dual credit courses are both better prepared for the rigor of college academics and also save money by accumulating college credits while still in high school.

In an update to the District 214 Board of Education during its October 29 workshop, Dr. Lazaro Lopez, associate superintendent for teaching and learning, explained the many ways in which dual credit success continues to expand. For instance, while only 11 percent of students from the Class of 2014 participated in a dual credit course -- accruing a total of 705 course enrollments -- 74 percent of this year's seniors will take at least one dual credit course, and the total dual credit enrollment count for the Class of 2021 will approach 11,000.

Dr. Lopez said, "We could not have delivered these opportunities for our community without the support of our several higher ed partners and the commitment by our teaching staff to earn the advanced degrees in their content areas needed to be credentialed as university faculty."

For years, school districts have fallen short in establishing equity for all students in dual credit classes. In that regard, District 214's numbers and trend also are encouraging. Dual credit participation is relatively balanced by gender, race and income status, Dr. Lopez reported. The percentage of District 214 Latinx and African American students participating in dual credit programs has increased from 12 percent in the 2013-14 school year to 69 percent for the current year. Participation across all demographics is 67 percent for the District.

"With over 92 percent of seniors graduating having taken a college course and 61 percent transitioning to higher ed with at least 8 semester hours of credit, our students are fully prepared academically for the next stage of their education," Dr. Lopez said.

Among the most popular dual credit courses are college speech communication, college composition, college intermediate Spanish, college algebra and college business.