Meets the needs of certain students, keeping them better interested

By Thomas Smith
Staff Reporter
tsmith@elkintribune.com

Yadkin Early College Principal Tracy Kimmer thinks the "Learn and Earn" program he oversees can be a tremendous opportunity for students in Yadkin County.

In its first year, Yadkin Early College held on the Yadkin Center of Surry Community College located on U.S. 601, is designed to promote students to be first-generation college graduates and reduce high school dropout rates.

The program allows students to receive both a high school diploma and an associate's degree from Surry Community College in five years at minimal cost. Sponsored with funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Yadkin Early College provides interested students the opportunity for an alternative to traditional high school.

Kimmer said that while with any new experience apprehension is inevitable, he feels the program is starting out as promising. "I think a true community of learners has been built here," Kimmer said. "The kids trust each other, they trust the instructors. It's about relationships, rigor and relevance, and with the smaller number, we are going to have here, we are able to make those contacts, those different things to make those kids feel important."

Students are able to choose from three areas of college study to go along with their regular high school curriculum. The program offers students the choice of associates degrees in medical assisting, criminal justice and college preparatory.

Kimmer said the students basically receive a free Surry Community College degree obtained throughout their time in the program. "After their fall semesters ended with Surry these kids had, if they passed both classes, four hours of college credit already," he said.

"So just having that behind them as a 14 or 15-year-old is an amazing opportunity." While Kimmer lauded the positives of the program, he said the style of the school is not meant to fit all students. "The program "Learn and Earn" is not for everyone," he said. "We don't have some of the offerings that regular schools have, like we aren't going to go out and field a football team and play Starmount and Forbush. We are in the business of getting that high school diploma and that associates degree.

"The academics is the most important thing and that goes back to theidea of relevance. We want to make everything they do productive towards getting that future job in the 21st century because we know they aren't only competing against people locally and in the U.S., that these kids are going to be competing globally.

"So we have to make them think globally and not just in the old mentality."

Pamela Bledsoe, an instructor at Surry Community who works with both the Surry and Yadkin Early College Program teaching public speaking said she sees a big difference between the enthusiasm of her high school freshmen and that of 18 and 19-year-old college freshmen. "I think it is a wonderful opportunity," she said, "They give you such energy and they get excited and that's what hard to get college freshman to do.

"These students get excited about everything the enthusiasm is much better here. They haven't lost it yet. I love both of them but this gets me excited."

The social aspect is a concern to some students but several said they did not feel like they were missing anything at a traditional high school.

Abby Lucas, who is in the college prep program and wants to be a photographer, said she wanted to participate in Yadkin Early College, so she could get out of school faster. "I want to get out of school early because instead of six years here, we do five years," Lucas said. "I wanted to have a better opportunity for jobs and my parents said it was a good way to do that." But Lucas said the loss of the social aspect isn't for everyone. "I do like it here," she said. "But just like the whole social thing like clubs, we have clubs here, but more clubs, and like PE and stuff like that."

Classmate Carolyn Dotson, who said she wants to be a pediatric oncologist, said the size is appealing to her. "I like the setting because we get more attention here and the teachers actually care about us because of the small classes,"

she said. "We want them to be college ready to move on to a four year school," Kimmer said. "To be mature and to be able to put forth the relevant work to have that rigor to be able to explore the work enough to know its not just hit, memorization and move on.

"For some of them, they are "straight A" kids, they are the best kids in the whole world but there are still areas we can strengthen. Whether it's the kid who has the lowest or the highest grades, we are trying to put forth the effort to make them feel like they are the most important kid at this school."

Yadkin Early College is in the process of recruiting for the upcoming school year. There will be two open house opportunities for parents and potential students, March 6 at 7 p.m. and March 8 at 2 p.m.