High School: Erasing Borders

Journal of College Admission, Fall 2006 by Wright, Dianne, Bogotch, Ira

Out of 165 applications, 14 students were selected the first year of implementation (which is the focus of this article). Of the 14 students selected, 11 10-12th graders chose to come to University High for year one of the program's implementation. According to student interviews, they came for "the academic challenge to be in college" and "the opportunity to [complete] two plus years of college while still getting [their] high school diplomas," and, because "the state was providing them with free university tuition, fees and texts."

To many observers, these students are pioneers (although some would call them "guinea pigs"). The official Web site refers to this group of 11 students, who left behind public and private high schools throughout the southeast portion of the state of Florida, as "The Vanguard" (www.coe.fau.edu/fau.high/fau-info.pdf). In return for giving up traditional high school courses and extracurricular activities, the students, with a signed parental release letter, were "free" within limits to explore any and all aspects of university life. In a number of courses, the university administration held seats in course sections so that these students could attend their college classes as a cohort. The idea of a cohort was to create learning communities among the students for purposes of social and academic support.

The curriculum of these "pioneers" was specific to the 19 required courses for university admission and a state of Florida scholarship known as "Bright Futures" modeled after the Georgia's well-known "Hope Scholarships." Students completed 24 credits, a quality senior project, administration of the college placement test or ACT/SAT beginning in the 10th grade, and 100 community service/learning hours. In addition, once a week, i.e., on Friday afternoons, these 11 University High students would meet for a freshman seminar, or PSY2930, titled "Strategies for College Success." This course provided a common time for bonding, information and/or resource gathering, and academics. The class was designed as an orientation to college life and held in a temporary classroom. During the seminar/course, the students met with the University High program coordinator, a guidance counselor, a math and a science teacher, the director of the university school, and oftentimes, the University School's K-8 principal. Because the University School is designated as a State University Lab school, it functions as its own school district. Therefore, many of the student's class discussions during the Friday afternoon seminars evolved into actual policies governing this innovation, as well as the K-8 school.

At year's end, with two graduating students (one accepted into the University's own Honor College with a full scholarship and the other to one of the state's top-tier public universities), many questions still lingered, such as whether the students could have returned to their home high schools with higher GPAs; whether they earned college credits through AP exams or the traditional dual enrollment program; or if University High students earned grades of C's or less, would they be penalized and would they be scholarship eligible?