SHERIDAN — Sheridan County School District 2 Board of Trustees met Monday evening with Sheridan College trustees to receive an update on the strong partnership between the district and the college that continues to flourish, according to school leadership.
SCSD2 offers concurrent enrollment courses to students at Sheridan High School and John C. Schiffer Collaborative School, as well as in Sheridan County School District 1 high schools.
Dual enrollment at SCSD2 increased to 135 students enrolled in a course through Sheridan College in the 2021-2022 school year from 96 students during the 2020-2021 school year. The estimated value of tuition these students saved through the concurrent enrollment courses is estimated at $317,169.
There are currently 24 concurrent enrollment courses offered to high school students including Welding II, A+ Computer Maintenance, Advanced CADD, Advanced Machine Shop, Athletic Training, Basic Emergency, Certified Nursing Assistant, Human Anatomy & Physiology, Child and Family Studies Practicum, ENGL-1010, Culinary Professional, Human Biology, Intro to Accounting, Intro to Health Occupations, Intro to Public Speaking, Advanced Chemistry, Machine Shop I, Microsoft Applications, Networking Academy, Spanish III, Spanish IV, Woodworking III, Woodworking IV and an Emergency Medical Responder course.
“My grandson participated in the dual enrollment program while he was in high school,” said Sheridan College Trustee Gary Koltiska. “When he started his freshman year (of college), due to his participation in the dual enrollment program, he was a sophomore, which allowed him to take extra classes and receive a double major. He received a 3.99 GPA out of college.”
Trustees raised concerns of not having coinciding spring breaks between SCSD2 and Sheridan College, which Sheridan College President Walt Tribley assured he would work toward the goal of aligning all the Sheridan County school districts and Sheridan College’s spring breaks, which based on his past experience is not a small feat, he said.
The college will hire a student support position to help support the growth of the concurrent enrollment program. This position will act as an advisor from the college to help students maximize opportunities through concurrent enrollment courses, which will help address SCSD2 trustee concerns of needing an orientation for high school students ahead of taking college courses on Sheridan College’s campus.
“The college, in partnership with funding from Whitney Benefits, is hiring a student support person to help with the heavy lift that is happening with your staff,” Tribley said to SCSD2 Superintendent Scott Stults. “We really appreciate all you've done. This kind of work needs some extra, some backs to shoulder in and help the work get done.”
