In an innovative effort to expand early access to higher education, Santiago Canyon College has partnered with Santiago Charter Middle School in Orange to offer dual enrollment opportunities to the school’s seventh and eighth graders. Through the Santiago Canyon College Early College Program, students have the opportunity to earn free transferable college credits and get a head start on their academic journeys.
The decision to establish this program at the middle school stemmed from a fortunate combination of timing and opportunity. Two years ago, Santiago Charter administrators Ashley Pedroza and Lauren Salloum attended a dual enrollment professional development program for high school educators.
With a statewide goal to increase the number of high school graduates with 12+ dual enrollment units by 15% by 2030, Pedroza and Salloum thought, why not offer this opportunity to middle school students?
“As Orange County’s first charter school 30 years ago … we are consistently looking at opportunities for students that differentiate our program from other programs,” said Pedroza, the middle school’s principal.
Now, nearly two years later, Santiago Charter’s and SCC’s collaboration just saw the program’s first 64-student cohort complete its first college course, a counseling class with a focus on academic and career success, educational planning and college career exploration.
Leading up to the launch, SCC and Santiago Charter collaborated to design a program and a support system that would ensure the 12- and 13-year-old students have the tools they need to succeed. Starting with accessibility, the Santiago Canyon College Early College Program is open to all Santiago Charter students who are committed and interested in a new experience.
“Dual enrollment is not meant to be exclusive to our highest achievers,” Pedroza said. “(It) is an opportunity to inspire and create confidence in students that they are capable of being successful in a college course.”
Students apply for the dual enrollment cohort through an essay submission, a teacher’s recommendation and an interview. Out of Santiago Charter’s 1,200 students, more than 300 picked up applications. The 64 selected last fall are a highly motivated group that represents a true cross-section of the student body, including six different home languages, students with disabilities and all academic levels.
Before starting the SCC course in February, students spent two months with Santiago Charter teacher and dual enrollment coordinator Joan Ekdale learning college-level success strategies, including taking a field trip to SCC to receive their student ID cards.
SCC professors teach on the middle school campus with Ekdale present in the classroom, where she serves as both a support resource and a liaison between professors, students and families. She also holds office hours to provide additional guidance.
“Program partnerships like the one we have work because of the collaborative nature of our agreement,” said SCC Professor of Counseling Dora Elena Escobar, who taught Santiago Charter’s inaugural cohort.
The program offers age-appropriate courses that meet UC and CSU General Education requirements. After completing the counseling course this past spring, students will take online summer classes in either geography, Spanish or American Sign Language, followed by an in-person History of Cinema course in the fall. The initiative is fully funded by the California College Promise Grant and other grant sources, covering tuition and textbooks at no cost to families.
One aspect of the program is that regardless of which high school Santiago Charter cohort students attend, Ekdale will continue to support and track their online course progress through graduation. Students who start the program in seventh grade can earn up to 15 college credits before entering high school and potentially complete an associate’s degree by the time they graduate. As a Title I school, this opportunity can be transformative for students and their families.
“We have many students who are first-generation college students, and these are students who, for the first time, are really seeing themselves as someone who is destined to go to college,” Ekdale said.
The completion of the middle school’s first semester with SCC saw some scheduling challenges, but overall, tremendous success with all 64 students passing the class. Half of the cohort will move on to high school, and applications will open next fall for a new cohort to be formed.
“By starting dual enrollment now, I am creating a path for myself where I put myself up for success so that I will be happy with what I choose to do, where I go and how I live the rest of my life,” said recent Santiago Charter eighth grade graduate Madison Resch.
Pedroza and her team hope that SCMS’s successful partnership with SCC serves as a model for others to follow and inspires similar efforts across the state.
“Dual enrollment is a great way for me to challenge myself, prepare for college and explore different career paths early on,” said Santiago Charter rising eighth grader Jonathan Vazquez. “I’m excited about the opportunities it brings and the impact it will have on my future.”
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