Dual enrollment for Tuscaloosa City Schools reaches all time high
The number of students participating this spring in dual enrollment courses has reached a record level, according to officials with Tuscaloosa City Schools.
Last week, the city school system said it had reached its largest-ever participation in its dual enrollment program with 382 students enrolled in 473 courses for spring 2024. Dual enrollment allows students to earn college credit by taking college-level courses while they are still enrolled in high school.
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Of the students eligible for dual enrollment, 32.9% of TCS students were enrolled as of fall 2023, ranking above the 25% nationwide average participation in the program. Central High School has the highest percentage of the three TCS high schools, with 43.4% of eligible students enrolled in dual enrollment, according to a news release.
About 34.1% of eligible students at Northridge High School were enrolled in dual enrollment, and 25.1% at Paul W. Bryant High School. To enroll, students must be in 10th grade or higher in a city high school, be in good standing and have a 2.5 minimum grade point average, the release states.
“In the Tuscaloosa City Schools, the growth of our dual enrollment participation speaks to our high expectations for each and every student,” said Andrea Markham, coordinator of post-secondary engagement for TCS.
“Dual enrollment participation is one of many ways in which students can access rigorous course work,” she said.
TCS dual enrollment participation has increased sharply in the past few years, growing 65% from the fall of 2021 when 232 students were enrolled.
One reason for the boost in dual enrollment participation is due to scholarships offered through Elevate Tuscaloosa, a plan designed to boost education, transportation, recreation and public safety initiatives over the next three decades funded through a 1% sales tax.
The Elevate scholarship, created by the City of Tuscaloosa in 2020, has expanded to allow eligible 10th-, 11th- and 12th-graders to take up to 12 free credit hours at the University of Alabama, Shelton State Community College and Stillman College.
Shelton State also gives students who take dual enrollment at Shelton State using the Elevate scholarship during high school the option to take 12 additional credit hours at Shelton State in the summer or fall after they graduate high school for free.
The Elevate scholarship is a unique opportunity offered exclusively to TCS students, said TCS Superintendent Mike Daria.
“This is access at its best,” Daria said. “When we give our students access, we give them opportunity.”
Students can also take dual enrollment courses through Shelton State at the Tuscaloosa Career and Technology Academy in welding, cosmetology, culinary arts, modern manufacturing, ready to work and industrial electronics.
TCTA is another unique offering for TCS students, providing a college and career readiness curriculum with a focus on the development of workplace skills.
TCTA students taking dual enrollment classes must have a 2.0 minimum GPA, Markham said.
She said dual enrollment will open the doors of higher education to more students.
“We anticipate that our participation numbers will continue to grow," Markham said of the dual enrollment program.
Reach Jasmine Hollie at JHollie@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Dual enrollment for Tuscaloosa City Schools reaches all time high
