Mount Miguel to become an early college high school

The Exercise Science and Athletics building at Mount Miguel High School in Spring Valley Photo courtesy GUHSD Starting in fall Mount Miguel will become an early college high school with students able to dual enroll in the Spring Valley high school and nearby Cuyamaca Neighborhood College The Grossmont Union High School board voted to approve the change at its Oct meeting Teachers students and alumni attended the meeting to testify to the effectiveness of the Matador Early College activity which has existed for the past years to improve graduation rates now at and career and college readiness With the board s vote now all students at Mount Miguel will have the opportunity to take college classes while receiving promotion and assistance from the high school s staff For several students the undertaking is life-changing If it weren t for my experiences taking in-person classes on campus at Cuyamaca I would have given up If it weren t for these experiences I d be looking pretty with my GED working the McDonald s drive-through explained Mount Miguel novice Gabriel Battle The preponderance vital thing that this scheme has given me was hope It gave me a plan for the future It gave me a way out from the hopelessness that surrounded me at home Public members say the transformational change will elevate the school which serves a more impoverished pupil population than others in the district with of the students qualifying for free or reduced lunches The change comes after California s College and Career Access Pathways passed in enacted partnerships between higher guidance institutions and K- schools with underserved populations not typically seen as college ready Governor Gavin Newsom further strengthened those partnerships with a grant campaign Golden State Pathways meant to help more high schools become early or middle college high schools Mount Miguel received from the operation College experience vs college credits To Mark Jeffers who leads MEC and has worked to expand the scheme outside its cohorts the initiative s importance stems from high school students enrolling in regular college classes Students do not just receive college credit they have a college experience with the expectations schedule and self-motivation necessary Our students on the campus are treated like any other college pupil Jeffers declared Those who are part of MEC have more endorsement from high school teachers while adapting to the changes of a college program where there are less grace periods for late work less parental oversight of grades and less teacher-instigated interventions for struggling students Whether online or on campus in Rancho San Diego the dual enrollees need to meet the rigorous demands of a college syllabus which would not be adapted to younger learners Whether a -year-old adult taking night classes or a -year-old sophomore taking a class after sports practice both receive the same training from a professor Jessica Robinson president of Cuyamaca College spoke in favor of the change The Mount Miguel and Cuyamaca College alum shared that in spring Mount Miguel students took a total of courses at Cuyamaca College with the extraordinary conclusion of receiving thriving grades of C or higher I know the brilliance and determination Mount Miguel students carry and I know that they don t need us to give them talent They already have that Robinson noted What they need are doors opened earlier opportunities to step into a college classroom and the chance to see themselves as scholars before anyone else can tell them that they aren t The project does not mean the main career pathway promoted to students will only be a -year college Cuyamaca has career preparation programs such as water studies child enhancement real estate and automotive hardware that do not require further degrees Mount Miguel students could have a head start in those programs leading to better-paid jobs faster after graduation An SDSU nursing candidate Christian Haddock attended the meeting to share his own success in the effort and that of his high school best friend That friend revealed a goal to strive for and even studied for a final for the first time when taking an automotive class Without MEC I don t think he would have graduated high school so I m forever grateful that MEC put him in a position to graduate Haddock revealed He sees the campaign not as a way for students to turn into college class-taking machines but as a way for Mount Miguel students to compete with students from other schools with a larger trainee population more materials and where more parents are college-educated House system Mount Miguel students will not be required to take college courses But the venture has driven more interest in the school which suffers from a poor reputation Staff students and alumni came out in force to push for the change to an early college high school at the GUHSD meeting on Oct Photo courtesy GUHSD The school will undergo major changes but will not become a charter or magnet school for those outside the Spring Valley and Lemon Grove neighborhoods Instead Jeffers hopes families in the society will be less likely to transfer their children to outside schools with better test scores He wants local students to have the opportunity to excel in their locality and for the district to be proud of its school One substantial change coming to the school is the advent of houses Instead of cohorts now every staff member and attendee will be part of one of six houses debuting in Those houses will remain the same throughout high school with teachers growing deeper connections with students over all four years Rachel Moritz a MEC instructor explained at the meeting how a cohort develops an incredible relationship that is lasting where older students guide younger ones and teachers teach the same students multiple times With the switch to an early college high school Moritz announced It s about building confidence and progressing purpose and opening doors and career pathways that our students might not have otherwise imagined for themselves