High School students in Harrisburg are reaping the benefits of an expanded educational opportunity. A dual enrollment program gives students from Harrisburg’s Sci-Tech High, college credits while they’re still in high school.
Four years ago, the Harrisburg School District faced a financial crisis. They cut programs to make ends meet. Many of the programs were prepping students for higher education. So now, the district gets an A+ in bringing back a program that transitions students into a smooth college experience.
Sky Thomas’s desire to be a geneticist began at Harrisburg University. She says, “It was something I never thought to look into.” Now she’s earning college credits in bio-technology.
Sky is combining her experience in college with her last year at Harrisburg’s Sci-Tech High. It’s through a dual enrollment program within the Harrisburg Public Schools Foundation.
She says, “It shows me how college is going to be when I enroll officially and also allows me to put things on my resume as well as learn about another study.”
Harrisburg School District Superintendent, Dr. Sybil Knight-Burney says, “There is a quote that goes we are all faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as impossible situations.”
Dr. Knight-Burney introduces the program to current Sci-Tech High students. She says the renewal is made possible by a $333,000 donation from Penn National Insurance.
And it’s benefiting students like Sky. She says, “Gives us an opportunity to be able to experience not only college life, but different studies they might be interested in when they go into college.”
Once high school students complete the courses, they will be accepted to HU to earn a degree. If they choose to enroll in another school, their credits earned will transfer.