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Kimberly Burnett
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Salem State University, in partnership with Salem Public Schools, will begin offering college level courses to cohorts of Salem High School students in fall 2018. Fifty students per year will be accepted into the Forten Scholars Program for Early College and Careers and will choose between a healthcare or business/information technology track.
Salem State University received preliminary designation as an Early College Program earlier this year and just recently learned it was one of five programs in the state to be awarded a Formal Early College Designation. In addition, $140,000 has been awarded to support the first year of the program.
“We welcome the opportunity to partner with Salem Public Schools on this important initiative, which will help students to prepare for future college success, whether at Salem State or another higher education institution. We have a long history of leading the state in dual enrollment activity and view this as building upon that success to further our mission of facilitating access to a quality higher education experience,” said Scott James, Executive Vice President of Enrollment Management.
Students will receive their first two early college courses during their junior year at Salem High School (SHS). Salem State faculty will partner with SHS teachers to teach general education courses in English and history. In their senior year students will travel to Salem State’s campus to take two additional courses relevant to their chosen track. All courses are designed with courses that are highly transferable to any public or private college or university, and will count toward high school credits. There is no cost to the students for tuition, books and transportation.
The Early College Program also includes partnerships with LEAP for Education and the North Shore Workforce Investment Board. LEAP for Education will provide a summer college preparation program for accepted students before they start the program and ongoing academic support and college access services throughout. The North Shore Workforce Investment Board will provide career services and workshops to the students in the fields included in the program.
“I am very excited that Salem Public Schools will be partnering with Salem State University on this innovative college readiness initiative,” said Mayor Kim Driscoll, who chairs the Salem School Committee.
“Being prepared to succeed in college is one of the key goals of the school district’s strategic plan and drives many of our efforts at Salem High School, and even in our younger grades. By giving fifty high school students a chance to go through the higher education experience early through the Forten Scholars Program, we will not only better prepare them for college academically, we can help instill in them a value and appreciation for achieving a college level education,” the mayor added.
For more information, contact Matthew Baione, Director of College and Career Center at Salem High School, at matthewbaione@salemk12.org.