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Thursday, July 14, 2005
Eligible Finney High School students could receive high school diploma and associate’s degree simultaneously.
Detroit Public Schools is teaming up with Wayne County Community College to give Finney High School students a head start on getting a university degree.
Under an innovative program to be launched this fall, qualified 11th graders at Finney, a comprehensive high school located on the city’s far eastside, will have the opportunity to take courses for credit at Wayne County Community College’s eastern campus. At graduation from high school, they will receive a diploma from Finney. Depending on their performance in the program and the amount of credits amassed, they could also receive an associate’s degree.
An open house for the Middle College program will be held on Friday, July 15, at the college’s eastern campus, located at 5901 Conner (at I-94), Detroit from 9:30 a.m. until 1 p.m.
Known as Middle College, it is a pilot that school officials hope will become a signature program for Finney High School. Curricular options include a strong focus on high demand careers and technology programs as well as courses for credit that could be transferred to baccalaureate degree-granting institutions. Students who complete just one year of the program will be eligible to receive vocational certificates in one of five areas – heating, ventilation, air-conditioning and cooling, automobile service technology, pharmacy technology, business inter-technology classes and business administration.
Letters of invitation have already been sent to Finney students entering the 11th and 12th grades in the coming school year. Interested students will be required to demonstrate competence in mathematics, English composition and reading. District and college officials will further explain the program in detail to all Finney students on August 18 and 19. This year the program will be limited to 200 students. Tuition, books and transportation costs will be picked up by the District.
“This program will make Finney a more attractive option for DPS middle school students,” said William F. Coleman III, CEO of the Detroit Public Schools. “It will put Finney on the radar of many of our middle school students and their parents. It will entice many students to stay in school and encourage many others who hadn’t previously thought about college to pursue degrees. Not only does it steer students toward their interests, it also gets them thinking about careers and living their lives productively at an early age. It shows what can happen when a school system and a higher education institution collaborate for the benefit of our young people. This has the potential to transform both the District and the city. It is a signature program, an attractive educational option that no other k-12 educational system in this city offers.”
Dr. George W. Swan III, president of the college’s eastern campus, called it “an exciting venture and an opportunity to build a vibrant learning community.”
For more information on the open house, call 313-579-6947.
