News
December 5, 2006
Contact: Suzy Ames, Director of Communications, SBCTC, 360-704-4310
Or
Jennifer Brown Lerner, American Youth Policy Forum, 202-775-9731 jlerner@aypf.org
Running Start highlighted in national publication
OLYMPIA –Washington state’s Running Start program was highlighted in The American Youth Policy Forum’s recently released publication, The College Ladder: Linking Secondary and Postsecondary Education for Success for All Students. This publication includes best practices of programs, schools, and policies across the country that allow high school students to take college-level courses. Students in these programs excel with higher graduation rates and greater success in college. The American Youth Policy Forum is a Washington, DC-based nonprofit, nonpartisan professional development organization.
Washington state’s Running Start program allows 11th and 12th grade students to take college-level courses, tuition-free, at Washington’s 34 community and technical colleges and at four of the baccalaureate institutions. Running Start is one of the most readily available college-level learning opportunities in the state. National research indicates that dual enrollment programs provide increased challenges and motivation for students in their final two years of high school. In addition, participating in Running Start reduces the amount of time students spend in school and can reduce overall college costs for students and their families.
On December 15, 2006, Sally Zeiger Hanson, assistant director for education services at the State Board for Community and Technical Colleges will be presenting information about Running Start in a Capitol Hill forum co-sponsored by the American Youth Policy Forum and Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Washington. This event will highlight dual enrollment programs for high school students that are a result of Washington ’s ”Learning by Choice” legislation passed in 1990. In attendance at this event will be Congressional staff, federal employees at the departments of education and labor, and representatives from national education organizations. This national audience will hear about best practices in the field and consider the role of federal policy in promoting innovations for more high school students.
“College matters. Whether you are planning to go in the workforce soon or are preparing for more education, skills and knowledge beyond the high school level are essential. We now know that earning at least 12 college credits while in high school greatly increases the likelihood that a student will go on to earn a college certificate or degree.,” the State Board’s Zeiger Hanson said. “Fortunately, Washington state is leading the way in creating opportunities for high school students to access college-level courses. Programs like Running Start are a part of the solution by making the high school experience more relevant and rigorous, decreasing dropout rates, and increasing college-going rates.”
A full copy of the report is available at: http://www.aypf.org/publications.
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The American Youth Policy Forum (AYPF), a nonprofit, nonpartisan professional development organization based in Washington, DC, provides learning opportunities for policy leaders, practitioners, and researchers working on youth and education issues at the national, state, and local levels.
The College Ladder: Linking Secondary and Postsecondary Education for Success for All Students was funded by Lumina Foundation for Education.