Floyd County School System and Coosa Valley Technical College Hold Dual Enrollment Summit

Representatives from the Floyd County School System and Coosa Valley Technical College met on Friday to discuss a plan to increase dual enrollment for high school students and enrollment for the Floyd County College and Career Academy.

“The reason we brought all of you here today is because we’ve got an opportunity to do something special for students of the Floyd County School System this upcoming school year,” stated CVTC President Dr. Craig McDaniel.  “Today we are making a plan to increase dual enrollment and enrollment in the career academy.  We want to make sure that we have everything lined up and in place.”

“We want to identify the programs where we can begin enrolling students both in Floyd County Schools and Coosa Valley Technical College in a dual enrollment situation next year,” stated CEO of the Floyd County College and Career Academy Frank Pinson. “We need to pinpoint potential obstacles that are in place that we might have to overcome in an effort to make dual enrollment possible.”

Early in 2007, the Floyd County Board of Education and Coosa Valley Technical College formed a partnership in the creation of the Floyd County Charter School in an effort to increase the number of high school students dually enrolled in high school and technical college, meaning that students can earn college credits by taking classes in CVTC programs of study while they earn their high school diploma.  In November 2007, Lt. Governor Casey Cagle announced that Floyd County was one of six school systems to receive a $3.2 million grant to fund the Floyd County Schools College and Career Academy.  The academy was put in place to provide students with a seamless transition between high school and college and to serve as a catalyst for dual enrollment with Coosa Valley Technical College. 

Recent changes in regulations pertaining to fees the school systems receive for dual enrolled students has made plans for increasing dual enrollment a little more difficult.  The state will only be giving school systems an administrative fee for each student participating in a dual enrollment program, which is significantly less than the amount they received previously.

However, Pinson said that would not deter their plans to move forward with increasing dual enrollment.

“We are totally committed to dual enrollment and I feel like what we will come away with today will be a proactive plan that will demonstrate to people at the state level that we are going to be moving forward with dual enrollment.  I think if we can send that message, then we’re going to fulfill our promise to the people in our community and certainly to our students,” said Pinson.

Floyd County Board of Education Chairman Bryan Shealy agrees with Pinson that creating a plan for dual enrollment is vital.  “Dual Enrollment is important because students can get started on their career path earlier.  It enables students to get college credit while they are in high school and they have more employable skills when they hit the job market,” said Shealy.

“Not only are we benefitting the students of Floyd County, but we’re also benefitting our entire community by supporting economic and workforce development,” stated Floyd County Schools Superintendent Dr. Lynn Plunkett.

Plunkett added, “The Floyd County College and Career Academy is a model for the state.  I’ve talked with people in other areas involved in career academies and I realize how much we have accomplished here in Floyd County.  They ask me how we are able to achieve what we have in Floyd County and I tell them it’s because of our partnerships, and from these partnerships we are able to deliver results.”

Today’s meeting yielded an action plan, timeline, identification of programs suited for dual enrollment, and procedures for testing and registration.