MHCC, Reynolds to initiate ‘Middle College’

By Rachel Kramer

Following discussions between the Reynolds School District and Mt. Hood Community College, plans for a Middle College are beginning to take form.

Middle College is proposed to be a drop out prevention program for high school juniors and seniors. Students who are found to disconnect from high school, but have the scholastic ability to succeed, will be invited to take classes at MHCC to start experiencing the college lifestyle.

“We collectively believe that there is a group of students in high school who are able and capable of finishing high school, but they are disconnecting from high school and are likely to drop out,” Hill said.

Following a presentation at the September MHCC board meeting, the concept of Middle College began to take form.

“This is still a proposal,” said Paul Hill, MHCC vice president of student learning. “Nothing will be finalized until both the [Mt. Hood Community College District] board and Reynolds School District board agree.”

A project that has been in the works since last spring, Middle College would be a partnership between Reynolds High School and MHCC.

.“I have talked about this for five years, but until now we didn’t have a partner,” said MHCC President Robert Silverman. “Now Reynolds has stepped forward and said we want to partner with you.”

The Middle College is based on the concepts of several colleges and universities around the country, according to Hill.

“We have had a chance to go out and look at what has worked for other institutions and learn from what they have done,” Hill said. “This way we don’t have to reinvent the wheel.”

As more decisions are made, Silverman hopes to gain input from additional members of the staff and faulty.

“Once we have the framework of this [project], we will bring in more faculty and staff,” Silverman said. “Then we will take the foundation and build from there.”

According to Hill, a pilot version of Middle College should be ready to begin fall term 2007. Reynolds would identify a group of potential students and the final selection would take place in the spring.

“By bringing [the students] to the college and creating a more adult environment, many times students will rise up to the [college] level... and start behaving more like adults,” Silverman said. “We think that environment will keep kids in high school.”

According to Hill the pilot program will have a maximum of 30 students per year. Hill describes the middle college student as someone intellectually and academically ready for college, with no history of behavior problems.

“This is not about rebelling against high school,” Hill said. “This will be for kids who are socially ready for college, but at risk of dropping out. This is about drop out prevention. We are looking for students where high school is not right for them.”

The identification process is still to be determined according to Hill, as it will be a joint process between MHCC and Reynolds.

Once potential Middle College students are identified, “we would then work with them and their families,” Hill said. “This kind of a change, from high school to college, takes a big commitment on their part. It is a big change of culture and responsibility. We want to make sure their families are involved.”

All Middle College students will take the assessment test in high school to determine what classes they will take.

According to Hill, students would take a mixed schedule their junior year, with classes at both Reynolds and MHCC, then transition to a full load at MHCC their senior year.

“The idea is that a student could finish high school and get a real head start on college with a year or more of college credit,” Hill said.

Middle College students will be integrated into the MHCC environment, taking classes with MHCC students.

“It is being in class with the college students, being in the more responsible environment, that we believe is the key,” Hill said.

The number of students in each college class will be monitored, according to Silverman.

“There will be some limits on how many high school students can be in a class,” Silverman said. “We don’t want the classes to come down to the high school level. We want the students to come up to the college level. They will need to adjust.”

According to Hill, through the experience of the pilot program, they will learn what works, allowing the program to grow in the future, both in the number of students and the number of schools involved.

The current plan is that Reynolds will pay all of the student’s fees and tuition, as well as buying all textbooks needed, according to Hill.

In addition, the proposal is that Reynolds would pay $500 per student to the college.

“This would be to help us develop and manage the program,” Hill said.

One concern Reynolds has, according to Hill, is that they limit their total expenses to at most 95 percent of the money they get from the state per student.

A key factor in college life is the Family Education Right to Privacy Act (FERPA). Under these guidelines, the college is unable to release information with out the students consent. This is the opposite of high school guidelines, which require information to be released when a parent calls.

As college students, Middle College students will follow all MHCC policies and procedures.

While at Mt. Hood, (FERPA) guidelines will be followed.

Continued here