Superintendent of Perry Township Schools
Southport and Perry Meridian high schools have made a concerted effort over the past five years to expand their curriculum offerings to enable students to pursue their career interests. An aspect of that expansion is to provide opportunities for students to enroll in courses that also are instructed at a level so that college credit can be obtained at the same time.
I must emphasize that this is no easy task, and we are proud that we have hundreds of students enrolled in these courses. Advanced Placement classes provide opportunities for students to take a test at the end of the course. Depending upon the student’s score, he/she may qualify for college credit depending upon the criteria of the college that they plan to attend.
Dual credit courses are classes sponsored by a university and taught by one of our teachers. Students receive credit if they pass the courses. Credits are awarded by the university.
As you can imagine, we have students who graduate from high school with enough credits to begin their college career as second- semester freshmen and even as first-semester sophomores. These students have completed a full year of college before they enter a university’s doors. This is a huge savings for our families as they budget financially for their children.
This past summer Perry Township was honored by the Indiana Department of Education for having a significant number of seniors graduate with a 3 or higher on AP exams for two years. The popularity of AP and dual credit courses has grown. Our students have the opportunity to enroll in more than 25 of these courses at both schools.
In Perry Township we are never satisfied with the status quo, and we strive for continuous improvement. Beginning with the Class of 2018, our high schools are preparing to offer the AP capstone diploma, which will provide an opportunity to graduate with as much as two years of college credit.
With today’s challenging and competitive academic environment, students must prepare at a younger age for the rigors of collegiate academics. The AP and dual credit courses are that link. As students progress through these courses their confidence builds and they realize that they can be successful in college courses as well as advanced training classes in a particular job venture.
These opportunities will be available for incoming freshman due to the strong partnerships with the University of Indianapolis and Vincennes University. This will be a unique path for about 125 students – eventually in each grade – who may not be interested in a traditional four-year college experience.
This upcoming program along with AP/dual credit courses continues to place Perry Township Schools as a leader in academic offerings on the Southside. This is an excellent partnership that includes a premier four-year institution like UIndy joining forces with a progressive two-year institution such as Vincennes to assist students in taking a major step forward on their path to a college diploma.
Perry Township, Perry proud.