News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
York Institute collaborating with Roane State Community College to help high school students graduate with Associates Degrees.
Director of Schools John Bush said the process to create a “Middle College” has been several years in the making. Students will earn degrees in general studies, including courses in science, math, and English.
“We shouldn’t just be holding them up saying no you’re going to finish this high school curriculum and then you can start college,” Bush said. “If they’re ready and they can handle the advanced coursework, I just think it’s a moral imperative that”
Bush said the program will begin with the current class of 2025. He said the next steps will be to form cohorts of about 10 to 12 students, but there is no set number.
In addition to students of York Insitute, Bush said the Middle College opportunity will be open to all high school students in the Upper Cumberland. He said his goal is to have York Institute as an educational hub of the region and to help remove any potential barriers to education.
“This is a positive evolution in the business of teaching and education, where we’re doing less of that gatekeeping where we put up a lot of roadblocks and barriers to get to that advanced coursework,” Bush said. “(…) Not letting behavior and maybe attendance be issues that keep a kid from taking Honors or an AP course, now, it’s if the students are able or willing for post-secondary work while they’re in high school, we need to be supporting those kids do that.”
Bush said the process was made possible through the help of Roane State officials, York Institute officials, and Senator Ken Yager.
