Students at Montgomery County’s high schools in Maryland can get a jump start on their college education by opting into the dual enrollment program.
The partnership between Montgomery County Public Schools and Montgomery College means high school students can take any of the more than 575 courses offered — from molecular biology to Maryland contract law — and receive college credit.
On Friday, Montgomery County school superintendent Monifa McKnight visited Seneca Valley High School to talk about ways to encourage more students to opt into the program. Among the advantages, said McKnight, “They are able to, in many cases, earn an associate degree before they graduate from high school!”
Genevieve Floyd, supervisor of the career and postsecondary partnerships at MCPS, explained that the credits students earn are widely accepted.
“They all transfer to any public institution in the state of Maryland,” Floyd said, adding that while out-of-state schools have differing right-of-refusal policies, many do accept the credits earned through Montgomery County’s dual enrollment program.
Ricardo Hernandez, Acting Principal at Seneca Valley High School in Germantown, told WTOP that the program introduces students to rigorous course work and allows them to accumulate college credit for free.
“So that when they do go to school, they’re maybe walking in as a second-semester freshman, or a first-semester sophomore or even a junior,” said Hernandez.
Hernandez said the dual enrollment program is a great complement to the other offerings at the high school, like Career and Technical Education. He explained students can take “trade-type coursework and take college credit at the same time.”
Hernandez emphasized that the introduction to college-level classes also provides students with a chance to sample careers while still in high school. “This allows them to try things out!” he said.
Montgomery County Council member Marilyn Balcombe visited the school Friday during the discussion on growing the dual enrollment program, and was impressed. “It’s such an exciting program, and I think that Seneca Valley’s done a really great job.”
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