Taking dual credit to another level

RATHDRUM - The Lakeland College Academy dual-credit program can get students within one semester of an associate's degree - before even graduating high school.

"We're really trying to focus on the core classes toward an associate's degree," said Conrad Underdahl, Lakeland High School principal.

English composition, communications, psychology and biology are among the classes that will be offered.

All of the academy's classes are taught at Lakeland High, saving enrolled juniors and seniors the costs of commuting to NIC's Coeur d'Alene campus.

The 18 classes currently offered through the academy are taught by certified Lakeland High teachers.

Ginger Winckler, who administers NIC's dual-credit program, said if students complete all of the academy's dual-credit classes, they can come within one semester of having their associate's degree before high-school graduation.

The Lakeland College Academy dual-credit program has given Kaidan Kelsey, a junior at Lakeland who plans to get some North Idaho College core classes out of the way before graduation, a sense of academic direction.

"This has helped me figure out (where to attend college)," Kelsey said.

Lakeland has offered dual-credit classes for 15 years, but the academy offers an organized program, not just individual classes.

"This is a sequential program that allows students to complete many of their core classes through NIC," Underdahl said.

Winckler said the Lakeland program is more extensive than many high school dual-credit programs.

"The Lakeland program is well-planned and cohesive, so that it's very understandable for students and parents," Winckler said. "The dual-credit programs at other schools are more individual-driven."

Colleen Hall-Headley, a Lakeland High teacher involved in the academy, said the program allows students to enjoy the high school experience to the fullest and still get a head start on college.

It is also expected to lead to more students earning a college degree, which the state has sought for years, she said.

"If students take dual-credit courses in high school they're much more likely to finish their college degree," she said.

Underdahl believes the program will also challenge some students to not take mostly easy classes their senior year, and to get ready for college.

"We want to make that senior year a valuable year and a jumpstart to college," he said. "We're really trying to change the mindset of making your senior year an easy year."

The cost NIC charges for dual-credit classes is $65 per credit.

Students from other school districts are invited to take courses through the Lakeland academy. The Lakeland School Board last month decided to waive out-of-district tuition on a one-year trial basis for those students.

Currently, more than half of Lakeland High's juniors and seniors are enrolled in dual-credit classes. Underdahl said that percentage is expected to increase with the academy.

For more information on the academy, call 687-0181.

Editor's note: This story was updated to reflect the correct cost per credit for this program.