WVNCC Tries A ‘Middle’ Road

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WHEELING - A growing segment of society believes the typical high school environment with its social pressures just isn't for everyone.

"Middle colleges" may provide an answer for those people, and West Virginia Northern Community College has launched the first such initiative in the Mountain State. Proponents of the concept, aimed at struggling students, believe middle colleges have the potential to slash dropout rates and change the way teens prepare for life beyond high school.

At the Northern Middle College Early Entrance High School at WVNCC, rising 10th- and 11th-graders in Ohio, Marshall and Brooke counties can earn their high school diploma on the college's Wheeling campus - and can even begin post-secondary course work, according to college President Martin Olshinsky.

Olshinsky said he was involved in starting similar efforts in the Pittsburgh area and felt it would be appropriate to try locally. WVNCC launched the program on a trial basis with 28 students for the 2009-10 school year, and officials were pleased with the results.

"Some of (the students) are really blossoming," Olshinsky said. "They just needed another venue to express themselves."

Thanks to gifts from various foundations and private businesses, there was no tuition cost for students to attend last year, nor will there be this year. Olshinsky is hopeful that will continue.

The "real secret" to middle colleges, he said, lies in two key points: mentor-based instruction and location. Smaller class sizes - often five to 15 students - provide more time for one-on-one instruction, and Olshinsky said it's not uncommon to see teacher and pupil join each other at the lunch table.

"Students and teachers sit together and talk, which a lot of times is what a young adult needs," he said.

Candidates for middle colleges include students who feel disconnected from the traditional high school environment, and are seeking to distance themselves from the accompanying "drama" and social pressures that can make adolescence difficult, Olshinsky noted.

There may be a discrepancy between their performance on standardized tests and their actual grades - they often are gifted in certain academic areas but struggle in others.

"The student has to be willing to make a change," said Olshinsky, adding he admires the courage of the pupils who choose to participate. "They need to have parent support, and students need to be average students who, for whatever reason, just don't feel comfortable in what they're doing in the high school."

Statistics provided by WVNCC show enrollment at Northern Middle College had a positive effect on the students' performance last year. Those students incurred a total of 761 absences during the 2008-09 school year; however, that figure plummeted to 295 in 2009-10.

In their last year of traditional high school, the 28 students' average GPA was 1.89. It rose to 2.4 during their year in the pilot program. Every student increased their skill level in algebra, while 57 percent showed an improvement in reading and writing. All state-required content standard objectives were met, Olshinsky noted.

The students collectively earned 83 college credit hours, an average of nearly three per student. While getting one's high school diploma is the primary focus of Northern Middle College, Olshinsky hopes that statistic will signal a trend.

"The ultimate goal, in a couple of years, is to have these students graduate with an associate's degree and a high school diploma at the same time," he said.

Expansions to the program for the coming school year include addition of another math instructor and a part-time Spanish instructor. Eventually, WVNCC hopes to offer courses in American sign language.

Olshinsky urges anyone who believes they may be a good candidate for the program to discuss it with their high school guidance counselor. Faculty-parent and faculty-student interviews are conducted prior to acceptance into the school, and both students and parents are required to sign "contracts" demonstrating an understanding of expectations.

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atoddh
07-30-10 7:12 PM »Report Abuse	Bla: It is a magnet school concept of sorts.
EllisWyatt
07-30-10 7:10 PM »Report Abuse	Smaller class sizes are one of the required talking points from the whiny teachers' unions. They must indoctrinate new teachers with this BS. Smaller class sizes is code speak for easy work. Teachers already teach less than 6 hours per day, 180 days per year. They want smaller classes in order to hire more teachers, collect more dues and do less work. Think about this. You are a teacher with 6 classes of 30 kids each. Now, the school cuts your classes to 6 classes of 20 kids each. Your workload was just reduced by 1/3. Shouldn't you take a 1/3 (33%) pay cut now?
EllisWyatt
07-30-10 7:02 PM »Report Abuse	Smaller class sizes are one of the required talking points from the whiny teachers' unions. They must indoctrinate new teachers with this BS. Smaller class sizes is code speak for easy work. Teachers already teach less than 6 hours per day, 180 days per year. They want smaller classes in order to hire more teachers, collect more dues and do less work. Think about this. You are a teacher with 6 classes of 30 kids each. Now, the school cuts your classes to 6 classes of 20 kids each. Your workload was just reduced by 1/3. Shouldn't you take a 1/3 (33%) pay cut now?
BlaBla
07-30-10 12:04 PM »Report Abuse	atodd, I completely understand the program. I just didnt repeat what I saw before in comments. I agree it is a good program. It takes kids who aren't dumb, just kids that aren't..****fortable,for lack of a better word, in the normal high school setting. It puts them in a different setting that both challenges and gives them more positive attention thus they finish high school and have some college time to boot.
wilson2008
07-30-10 9:43 AM »Report Abuse	Instead of bashing the program, why don't you nay-sayers stop by & talk to the Middle College teachers, Dr. Olshinsky, or call up the people who donated to the Middle College. The Middle College idea isn't meant to take "flunkies" and keep them as "ungrateful". Those kids aren't meant for this program & they usually weed themselves out anyway. These kids have to interview, sign a commitment contract, and are actually doing fewer hours in school with a more rigorous schedule because college & high school classes are taken concurrently. Those kids actually change.
atoddh
07-30-10 1:23 AM »Report Abuse	Bla: The program is dumbing up not down.It is a super deal for the students and their parents.They are offering a HS diploma and an Associate College degree in one in the same - or not much more - ammont of time.Going away to (four year) College costs a fortune now. The plan is very cutting edge.WV needs this kind of forward thinking.
BlaBla
07-29-10 11:24 PM »Report Abuse	Well said Steeler. I am aware of the program and have seen the effects of the program. It takes kids who would likely be drop outs and changes the situation. It doesn't "dumb down" the education it simply presents it in a more intimate setting which most of these kids respond to thus keeping them in class and getting them an education. The program is a good one I hope continues on.
atoddh
07-29-10 10:28 PM »Report Abuse	If the students receive both HS and college credits while high school age,they are way ahead on their BA or BS degree.It is a great plan from the student's point of view.
Rusty1
07-29-10 8:53 PM »Report Abuse	So a "growing segment of society" believes this crap, eh? Funny I can't find anyone who has ever heard of this nonsense. The question to ask is who is going to benefit monetarily from this propaganda?
Honeybun
07-29-10 7:37 PM »Report Abuse	The kids enrolled in this program can either grow into taxpayers or taxsuckers. In case you haven't noticed, we're into third generation entitlement collectors. The kids that graduate from this program will hopefully become productive citizens, thus breaking the entitlement chain that many of their parents and grandparents took for granted. Further, their future children will grow up with goals to graduate high school and/or college in order to become gainfully employed. This is a program that needs to be cultivated and embraced by the community.
atoddh
07-29-10 6:53 PM »Report Abuse	The technical programs at WVNCC are very worthwhile:HVAC etc.
EllisWyatt
07-29-10 6:46 PM »Report Abuse	Public schools should not be controlled beyond the local level. Parents should be responsible for transporting and feeding their kids. If you have kids in school, pay tuition. In return, get a voucher for that amount. Then, shop around. If "poor" parents (who generally do not value education) think that their kids will get a better education sitting next to smarter or wealthier kids, let them write a check and send their kid to that school. Do away with property tax funding for schools-or any government function. Charge people X for police, Y for fire, Z for general government, etc. Many educated people have stated that today's freshman year of college has replaced the senior year of high school in learning. That is, colleges must teach freshman the skills they should have learned in high school. Year 1 of grad school has replaced Year 1 of college. Kids have few morals, no practical skills and no patriotism. But they can text and tweet!
LittlePeople
07-29-10 5:44 PM »Report Abuse	an increasing divergent student population.
LittlePeople
07-29-10 5:42 PM »Report Abuse	Community colleges serve a variety of purposes that local communities have identified to be useful for students of all ages. It takes people who can think outside the box to design programs that fit the needs of
CoachC
07-29-10 2:01 PM »Report Abuse	Bravo steelercrazy. This is an excellent program.
steelercrazy
07-29-10 12:39 PM »Report Abuse	There are a lot of extremely revolting posts on here about WVNCC and its Middle College concept. The institution serves an extremely vital role in the well-being of the Ohio Valley, and those that continue to denigrate it only show their bias or downright ignorance towards community and technical colleges...
formerohvalleyresident
07-29-10 11:13 AM »Report Abuse	"College" used to synonymous with "higher education". This smells a lot like the "dumbing down" of America. Flunk out of high school, go to a "college" to finish? Say WHAAAT? Most large school districts in the country have "Continuation High Schools" where troublemakers, pregnant teens, and other "problem students" can finish school in a more specialized environment and earn a diploma. But don't call them a college. This just reinforces the stereotype image of WV: "You may be a R*dneck if you think higher education means completing 8th grade!"
acousticportal
07-29-10 9:43 AM »Report Abuse	This will definitely create a feeling of comfort and familiarity with WVNCC for those participating. Excellent marketing strategy for the college.
topofthehill
07-29-10 9:05 AM »Report Abuse	With all of the colleges/universities offering so many programs - that surround Wheeling, hard to understand why WVNCC exists.Just a thought.
dyingov
07-29-10 7:29 AM »Report Abuse	How was this paid for? I smell a GRANT!
wvsailor
07-29-10 6:54 AM »Report Abuse	*****I would **** on a sparkplug if it will work at educating our youth. The mountian state needs smart movatitated young adults that can help rebulid the area in to a good place to live, work and raise children.
atoddh
07-29-10 12:35 AM »Report Abuse	Likely a plan to boost enrollment and funding at WVNCC. Yet obtaining college credits, while still in high school, is an attractive idea and cuts college costs for students and parents.
OhValleyGuy
07-29-10 12:16 AM »Report Abuse	While this sounds like a great idea, and may be a good "feeder system" to encourage students to remain on this campus and enter college right away, I'm not so sure it's such a wise idea to remove students from the HS environment. Some of that peer pressure and "drama" of high school, as this article puts it, is also a valuable tool for preparing students for the real world.

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