The Union-Recorder
MILLEDGEVILLE —
Earlier this week, a handful of area teens embarked on a journey with lasting implications as they settled in for the beginnings of their college experience. Yes, college — for high school juniors. The students are a part of the Georgia College Early College’s legacy class, the first in the accelerated program’s five-year history to reach this level.
The group of students, from Baldwin and neighboring Putnam County, have been enrolled in the program since seventh grade, when they began tackling accelerated coursework in preparation of beginning college-level classes during this, their junior year of high school. The students were selected for this experience based on a lottery pool of applicants who meet the program’s criteria. They have the opportunity to earn up to 60 college-level credit hours by the time they graduate high school.
As education enhancement programs in many communities are facing shrinking resources and budget cuts, the success of the local Early College program as well as other local educational outreach programs with similar objectives with regards to student achievement such as Y.E.S., Communities in Schools and numerous others, should serve as a reminder of how well young minds can flourish if they are given the right resources and opportunities.
The skills and foundation these students are establishing now will allow them to develop into more highly-skilled, self-sustaining adults, and these skills can be put into practice in other aspects of their lives and can potentially influence other family members. By allowing these students to engross themselves in the college experience, these students are gaining the chance to form new study habits, learn to self-navigate, develop time management skills, establish a stronger work ethic and consideration for setting goals and meeting them.
That sort of payoff allows these students to get a jump start on creating their on path in life — a path that will leave a lasting legacy all its own.
