Main Menu
Contact: David West (west@alpha.nsula.edu
)
News Bureau
Northwestern State University
Natchitoches, LA 71497
(318) 357-6466
12/6/2001
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NATCHITOCHES- A group of seniors at Grant High School have gotten their first taste of college and can't wait to come back for more. This semester, 26 top performing students had the opportunity to take classes offered by Northwestern State University during the school day.
The course offerings at Grant High were a pilot program that is part of Northwestern's High School Articulation Initiative. According to Susan Moak Nealy, coordinator of the Carl D. Perkins Program, Northwestern is talking with other school systems in its service area to develop similar programs.
The students were able to take English 1010 and Education 2020 during the fall. The classes were taught by Grant High faculty member Elizabeth Futrell, who has been an adjunct faculty member at Northwestern and the University of Louisiana at Monroe. In the spring, students will be able to take either English 1020, Education 1380 or Math 1020.
Eligibility requirements for the program included a 2.75 cumulative grade point average, a composite score of 18 on the ACT, a score of 18 on the English section (for English 1010 only) and the recommendation of the school principal. Tuition is $100 per course, a substantial discount from NSU's regular tuition rate.
"This was a great opportunity to take a few hours, so I won't have to do so much later," said Grant High senior Melissa Lacour, who took both classes this semester. "It was also an advantage to be able to take the classes at a cheaper rate than they pay on campus."
Fellow student Haley Garza, who plans to major in secondary education at NSU, said taking Education 2020 helped solidify her career choice. As part of the class, the students went to Pollock Elementary to work with students each week.
"I didn't realize how much fun teaching can be," said Garza. "Working at the elementary school let me see how rewarding it is to see children learn and understand."
Lacour also plans to major in secondary education at Northwestern. She thinks she will have an advantage when she enrolls full-time at NSU.
"I will be more confident when I start classes," said Lacour. "I am more confident about my major. I want to go into education even more. The classes have been a great experience."
Futrell, a teacher with 36 years experience, said she saw her students work extremely hard to master college level material.
"I saw a great deal of progress during the semester. In the English class, I knew I had some good writers and they made improvements," said Futrell. "Students in Education 2020 got an idea of the kind of work teachers do including taking inventory and handling textbooks. They also got to work with a supervising teacher in a real classroom. I look forward to seeing some of these students working as teachers in the Grant Parish school system."
Grant High principal Norman Garlington said the program has helped raise academic standards at the school.
"At first students didn't understand the opportunity that was available to them," said Garlington. "But now, you hear juniors talking about it because they know what the seniors got out of it in terms of earning credit and saving money. Students who are on the borderline in terms of grade point average and ACT scores are working hard to qualify."