| |
|
 |
| |
|
McCracken County Schools Superintendent Tim Heller, Marshall County Schools Superintendent Ruth Etta Buchanan, WKCTC President Barbara Veazey and Ken Wheeler, president of the Paducah Junior College, Inc. Foundation sign an agreement to partner in the implementing of a Middle College at WKCTC |
In an effort to help more average students pursue college, officials from McCracken and Marshall county public schools have joined forces with Paducah Junior College, Inc. and the Lay Family Foundation to implement a Middle College on the campus of West Kentucky Community & Technical College.
More than 100 community leaders and local educators celebrated the launching of The Middle College – the first of its kind in Kentucky - during a ceremony and reception April 17 at WKCTC.
Students will come on the college campus and take high school classes at the Middle College while also being enrolled in WKCTC courses. The program will begin in Fall 2009 with 50 students - 20 selected from Marshall County High School and 30 from high schools in  McCracken County. One of the advantages of the Middle College is to allow students to achieve college credit during high school while also having the opportunity to complete a minimum of 36 college credits – free of cost. Tuition and some of the cost of books will be covered through a unique public and private partnership, which will result in a savings of at least $5,000 for each student.
“The Middle College will allow high school faculty and college faculty to align the curriculum so that students truly experience a seamless education,” said WKCTC President Barbara Veazey, adding that an advisory board will select the students, who would be good students but who are not actively engaged in the high school setting and could benefit from the college environment.
Thanks to a partnership with the Lay Family Foundation of St. Louis, students will not have to pay for their classes. The Lay Foundation will provide $620,000 and the school districts have agreed to use attendance funding to help defray the cost. The estimated cost savings per student is $5,000. Paducah Junior College, Inc., the foundation of WKCTC, will serve as the fiscal agent of the Lay Family Foundation award.
 Charles Luber, CEO of the Lay Family Foundation, talked with Russ Buchanan, South Marshall Middle School principal, about ways the foundation could help area schools. Luber moved to Marshall County from St. Louis after his retirement. The foundation was established through a trust by the late Henry Lay, who had a strong believe in the importance of education. Lay who had worked with Luber for 25 years died of cancer in 2000 at the age of 59. Luber said Lay believed that education was the way to a better life many young people.
“The foundation’s hope is that this (Middle College) can become a national model,” he said. “It provides qualified students a way to get to the college environment. This is meant for those kids who really want to have a head start.”
High school teachers, employed by the respective districts, will teach the high school courses. All classes will be in the Nemer Building at WKCTC. Students also will have access to a guidance counselor and a career counselor.
“This is the opportunity of a lifetime for our students,” said Marshall County Superintendent Ruth Etta Buchanan. “We feel this initiative will enable more students than ever before to be successful in college.”
|
