Leer en Español, traducido por El Vocero Hispano
Godwin Heights — “Wow,” was junior Shani Valdez’s initial reaction when she learned she could earn 30 college credits by the time she graduated from high school.
“I couldn’t believe that I could get this far in my college education just in high school,” said Valdez, who plans to study law at the University of Michigan. “I thought what a great opportunity for scholarships and for saving that money.”
With the addition of three dual enrollment courses this year and being an approved College-Level Examination Program testing site, Godwin Heights now offers its students the opportunity to earn up to 30 college credits. That’s nearly enough to complete the Michigan Transfer Agreement — a statewide initiative that guarantees general education credits from Michigan community colleges will transfer to participating four-year colleges and universities.
“The counseling team’s focus is to ensure every student has the opportunity to earn college credit or gain a certificate experience before graduating high school,” said school counselor Kelly Ibarra. “This early exposure helps students see postsecondary education as both relevant and achievable, leading to greater engagement and more students pursuing education beyond high school.
“It also empowers them to make career choices based on their passions and strengths, rather than limiting their options out of fear of the time or requirements involved.”
Changing the Definition of College
Godwin has offered dual enrollment for a while: a senior English class at Godwin Heights High School and Grand Rapids Community College on-campus programs.
Counselor Kristi Bonilla said students were doing well with the on-campus English course, with 99% of them passing and the average grade being a B. To earn the English course’s six college credits — and MTA credit for any dual enrollment course — a student must earn a C or higher.
She noted that this was with the students having zero prep for a dual enrollment course.
Ibarra said the counseling team has been encouraging students to take advantage of dual enrollment — and the chance to earn free college credit — since at least the start of the pandemic.
Given the strong student outcomes in the on-campus program, the team took a closer look at why more students weren’t enrolling in dual enrollment, she said.
“What we found is that students had the wrong definition of college and who could benefit from these classes in their postsecondary plans,” Ibarra said, noting students had a lack of self-efficacy on whether they could be successful in a dual enrollment class.
Junior Bayron Diaz was one of those students who thought college was not for him.
“When I was in seventh and eighth grade, I had not done a very good job (in school),” Bayron said, adding he worked to improve his grades his freshman year at Grand Rapids University Preparatory Academy. “When (his former) principal told me about dual enrollment, I was surprised because I was not thinking about going to college.”
Bayron said that although the curriculum was challenging, instructors supported students by encouraging group work and being available on campus for one-on-one help.
After finding success in University Prep’s dual enrollment program, Bayron enrolled in Godwin Heights’ offerings when he transferred there his junior year. He now plans to study business at either the University of Michigan or Michigan State, he said.
Putting the Pieces Together to Make 30
When looking for ways to grow dual enrollment, the counseling team identified classes at the high school as the most effective solution, Ibarra said. This approach eased concerns around time, transportation, and instructor access, while also opening the door for Kent Career Tech Center students to participate, she added.
Along with expanding CTE dual enrollment options for seniors at GRCC’s Leslie E. Tassell Michigan Technical Education Center, the high school added three on-campus dual enrollment courses.
‘This early exposure helps students see post-secondary education as both relevant and achievable, leading to greater engagement and more students pursuing education beyond high school.’
— counselor Kelly Ibarra
There is a semester each of psychology and sociology, each worth three college credits and which fulfill the Michigan Transfer Agreement’s social science requirements. The school also added a second section of senior English, a six-credit, yearlong class that fulfills the MTA English requirement.
Next year, the high school plans to add a six-credit science and humanities dual enrollment class, fulfilling an MTA science requirement.
Turning Skills into Opportunities
Since Godwin Heights has a large number of Spanish speakers, Ibarra said the team knew they could earn their MTA humanities requirement through CLEP testing, earning students between six and 12 credits. (This applies to GRCC equivalency for the scores; the amount of credits earned varies from college to college.)
“Being multilingual is so powerful but because so many students at Godwin use this every day, they don’t always see the gift and power it can have in their careers or educational aspirations,” Ibarra said. “CLEP acknowledges and celebrates students for their multilingual abilities while also taking away requirements for their postsecondary majors or degrees.”
Shani and Bayron both have taken the CLEP test, earning 12 credits. Shani said she is on track to earn the 30 college credits through Godwin. Since Bayron had dual enrollment courses in 10th grade at his former school, he could earn up to 42.
With the program pieces in place, the counseling team began to ramp up marketing efforts to students with the goal of reshaping the definition of who is a dual enrollment student.
Ibarra said they looked at students earning a 2.0 or higher to see who could be successful in this type of class and started having face-to-face meetings with those students. As a result the program increased to 63 students, of whom 24 are juniors. Six of those juniors have the potential to earn 30 college credits, fulfilling most of the MTA by the time they graduate in 2026. They would still have to take a college-level math class not offered at Godwin.
The counselors say it’s all part of the team’s mission to help students explore their post-high-school goals and build the confidence they need to pursue them.
“Every student regardless of what they want to do, how much education they plan to take, will have some opportunity to earn college credit or accreditation at Godwin Heights,” Bonilla said. “That is how we help them have lifelong success.”
Read more from Godwin Heights:
• Opening career pathways through work-based learning
• Mobilie program provides glimpse of hands-on trades opportunities
