Fairfield County has a long road back, but we know where it starts: at school

From the abandoned V.C. Summer nuclear expansion to the closure of the DuraFiber Technologies plant, Fairfield County saw its share of negative news in the past year. Unemployment increased, the economy decreased, and little seemed to be going right. But an event on the evening of May 9 painted a very different picture.

More than six years ago, our school superintendent came to town with fresh ideas and a vision to make a cultural change to take our schools from ordinary to extraordinary. J.R. Green changed the curriculum, adding new classes, including teaching our seventh graders Latin, and increasing expectations from our students. His vision was for Fairfield Central graduates to matriculate with a high school diplomas and two years’ worth of college education.

It was an awesome idea, and if it worked, it would be amazing. If it worked.

Some of us, while hopeful, were still skeptical. We had seen progressive ideas fall short before.

Then Midlands Tech became a partner, offering dual-credit classes at Fairfield Central that allowed students to take college-level classes that counted for both high school and college credit. It began with a few class offerings; Midlands Tech even opened a facility in the high school to help prepare students for the college experience or for the offerings available to make students work-ready.

__________

What if more poor kids went to technical college after high school?

Our schools think we’re still a farm society, and it’s costing us $21 million a year

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Other school districts have since implemented similar dual-credit programs, but ours was was the first. And with two important differences, (1) the classes are taught on the campus of Fairfield Central High School during the regular school day, so students don’t have to travel to another campus and (2) Fairfield School District students don’t have to pay to participate in the program. It seemed like a dream: How could this kind of experience be available?

On May 9, that dream became a reality as the first cohort of the Fairfield School District STEM Program graduated from Midlands Tech with associate degrees in science or arts or certificates in general college students. These students received college degrees before they will receive their high school diplomas.

Those receiving associate degrees will leave Fairfield Central with at least two years of college credit from an accredited institution whose credits are accepted by four-year institutions throughout the state and nation, including the Ivy League. This gives them a two-year head start and saves them tens of thousands of dollars toward a four-year degree.

And this was just the first group of students in this program. This past fall, our sixth cohort began on the road that will lead them to earning college credits while still in high school. Even those who don’t earn an associate degree will leave our district with college credits they otherwise would not have had the opportunity to earn.

Obviously, no individual can be credited with this continuing success, but credit is due to Superintendent Green, Midland Technical College, our school administrators, our teachers, our students and our parents. All play a crucial role in the success that this program is and will be. And it shows that despite what the story of the day may be, the future is bright in Fairfield County as we continue to move from ordinary to extraordinary.

This story was originally published May 21, 2018 at 7:39 PM with the headline "Fairfield County has a long road back, but we know where it starts: at school."