High school students in several southeast Iowa school districts could soon have a new opportunity to earn some college credits.
The West Burlington School Board has authorized the district to join the Southeast Iowa Jump Start Academy.
The Burlington School Board could follow suit this week, followed by the panels in Danville, Mediapolis and Wapello in the near future.
Monica Hinkle is the Director of High School Relations at SCC says the academy is actually an agreement between the five districts, SCC, and the local Great Prairie Area Education Agency to expand dual credit offerings.
She says SCC already offers dual-credit courses with each district, so these new courses will be in the areas of agriculture, animation, automotive and construction technology.
"Those were the four areas that kind of rose to the top in terms of a place to start," says Hinkle, "related to common gaps that (districts) may have had in their curriculum."
She says the parties involved have been exploring the idea of the Southeast Iowa Jump Start Academy for about two years.
Hinkle says similar efforts, though on a smaller scale, are underway in other southeast Iowa counties to expand dual-credit opportunities.
The new courses in should get underway this fall on the West Burlington campus or an appropriate location. The districts should share the available seats in the classes.
