Students get course in college prep
Treg Cox has always wanted to be the first person in his family to go to college.
Aleanya McMahan would be the first in her family, too, and has been giving college a lot of thought lately.
Isaiah Hamblin “never really thought about it at all” until Tuesday. He’d be a first-generation college student, too.
The three Havermale High School juniors are attending a four-day “college camp” at Spokane Community College. The camp, which started Tuesday, is designed to introduce students from Spokane’s alternative school to post-secondary education.
About 120 juniors and seniors were bused to the campus where activities include mock lectures and meetings with SCC students and staff to talk about college life. They’ll visit classrooms for demonstrations and explore career opportunities.
“Most of our kids are first-generation high school graduates, so college is kind of a world that they have not had a lot of experience with,” said Fred Schrumpf, Havermale principal.
Typically about a dozen of the 100 students who graduate from Havermale each year go on to college or post-secondary educational pursuits, Schrumpf said. That compares with a national average for all high-school graduates of more than 60 percent.
School officials hope the new program encourages more to continue their education. They hope to make the college camp a part of the high school experience at Havermale, so that each year’s juniors and seniors “just know they are going to college for a week,” said Assistant Principal Jay Jordan.
The program is a first for both Havermale and the community college, which began a partnership last year.
SCC staff and student leaders have been visiting Havermale – home to students who have typically fallen behind – to talk about career choices and guide them through the process of applying for college, including help with financial aid.
In part through a community college foundation grant, every junior and senior was able to take the college placement exam for free, and some college application fees were waived. The applications are good for three years, and many students are beginning to get acceptance letters in the mail, Schrumpf said.
“It’s a step closer to the door,” Schrumpf said. “We are really trying to transition our kids from here to the community college; we believe that’s the best pathway.”
The community college is hoping to extend the camp to other area high schools and has already talked to several principals about forming partnerships, said Terri McKenzie, vice president of student and instructional services.
The number of students from Havermale enrolling in community college has increased by 15 percent from two years ago, McKenzie said.
“For us, this is a wonderful and unique opportunity,” McKenzie said. “To provide the possibility of a future that maybe they haven’t considered … that’s really exciting to be a part of.”