DCSS to focus on dual enrollment

ALBANY — The Dougherty County School System is preparing their high school students for the upcoming year with a full schedule of AP courses and dual enrollment programs. Kenneth Dyer, the superintendent for DCSS, said that the system is really emphasizing their dual enrollment programs for the upcoming school year.

The DCSS contains three high schools: Dougherty Comprehensive High School, Westover Comprehensive High School and Monroe Comprehensive High School, each offering AP courses and dual enrollment programs for their students to get a head start on their college careers.

“We have AP classes scheduled at our high schools that we have had for some time,” Dyer said. “But we are focusing more on our dual enrollment courses that students can take at the college and earn credit toward both their high school and college degree.”

The dual enrollment program is a way for high school students to enroll in college-level courses while earning college credit and credit for the high school course at either no cost or very little cost. Students can take the classes either at the college or online and they can be from any qualified university in the state of Georgia. Students can begin dual enrollment as early as ninth grade.

“We partner mostly with Albany Tech and Albany State, but through the state’s dual enrollment program a high school student can take a course through any state school in Georgia,” Dyer said. “Our students are not restricted to those schools.”

Dyer said that in previous years, the system’s dual enrollment programs have been popular and successful, with some students earning degrees through the program.

“We had about 550 students that took some dual enrollment course throughout the last year,” Dyer said. “And we had about 21 of our student graduates finish their high school diploma at the same time as they finished either an associate’s degree or a college certificate.”

Dyer said in order for DCSS students to enroll in dual enrollment they must meet with their counselor to fill out the necessary form and look over what courses they will need for graduation. They will then see what courses the college offers that students can get credit for as well. High school students must also meet the admissions requirement of the institute of higher learning that they would like to take courses at.

For more information, contact the DCSS high school in the area.