Dual enrollment for students in the Snowflake Unified School taking classes at Northland Pioneer College has frequently been a topic of discussion, especially in public meetings held earlier this year by NPC regarding proposed changes at the Silver Creek Campus. The governing board approved an intergovernmental agreement for dual enrollment with NPC July 9.
“We hope to continue that (dual enrollment) with NPC,” Superintendent Hollis Merrell said at last week’s meeting of the governing board, noting that the district’s attorney has approved the intergovernmental agreement.
Dual enrollment enables high school students to get college credits, possibly giving the student an associate degree as well as a high school diploma, and both the high school and the college receive state funds for each student participating.
Snowflake High School Principal Larry Titus said that no student has been turned away from participating in dual enrollment, when asked by Governing Board President Cory Johnson.
Merrell said that NPC is writing a grant that the district would participate in, and the grant would bring multiple classes onto the SHS campus. With this grant, NPC would be able to fund equipment in the classrooms at the high school.
Merrell said there is a need for Spanish, and stated, “On top of that, they are trying to get this grant and they can provide a much higher level of service than they can now. We’re hopeful that will work, because there’s some neat opportunities if it goes through.”
Foote said that he felt this could be the salvation of NPC.
“It would be an opportunity for them to capture a lot of students,” said Merrell.
