Helping high school teachers challenge students

Burnsville High School teacher Mary Lenhardt has taught the U's College in the Schools political science courses since 1997.

Photo by Tim Rummelhoff

From eNews, May 2006

High school teachers are always looking for ways to help their students reach their full potential. For some Minnesota schools, participation in a special program provides select teachers with not only unique educational opportunities for their students, but also for themselves.

For 20 years, the University of Minnesota's College of Continuing Education has offered College in the Schools (CIS), a "concurrent enrollment" program that enables high school teachers to teach regular U credit courses to students right in their own schools. Through CIS, students gain direct experience with the pace, academic standards, and individual responsibility inherent in college education and earn college credits transferable to many colleges and universities.

Equally as important, though, is the connection CIS teachers have to each other and the University of Minnesota. Each year, CIS teacher cohorts gather on campus for a series of professional development workshops. Each discipline generally meets for a full-day workshop in the fall and spring and for a multi-day workshop in the summer.

In addition to these on-campus workshops, a CIS listserv enables instructors to connect at any time throughout the year. Teachers are also credited with professional development hours that can be applied to license recertification, and first-year CIS instructors are eligible for up to four tuition-free graduate credits. The ongoing relationships with the University faculty also provide CIS teachers with access to the latest research in their particular field.

"As high school teachers, we can't always keep up with the research," explains Mary Lenhardt, who has taught at Burnsville High School for 33 years and has taught CIS political science courses since 1997. "The resources we receive through CIS provide relevant, current material we can use the next week, or even the next day, in class."

Mike Novak, veteran CIS American history instructor at Eden Valley-Watkins High School, credits CIS with rejuvenating his 35-year teaching career. Prior to his appointment with CIS, Novak says that he often left work completely drained and unsure how to motivate some of his students. CIS has changed his outlook. "I could retire any time now, but I'm not even close to being burned out and don't feel like I'm at the end of my career by any stretch," he says. Since partnering with CIS, Novak feels that he has become a better historian and a better teacher and says that from this, there's a ripple effect that positively influences other teachers in his school.

At a Glance: College in the Schools

* 28--Number of course titles offered through CIS

* 78--Number of Minnesota high schools participating in the U's CIS program

* 1,027--Dollars paid for tuition by a student for a four-credit freshmen level course on the Twin Cities campus

* 5,315--Registrations from high school students taking CIS courses

* 22,902--U credits granted to Minnesota high school students via CIS

The figures above are based on the 2004-05 school year

The teacher-faculty benefit is a two-way street, adds Nate Sawyer, CIS communications director. "Our faculty members value the exposure to secondary educators," says Sawyer. "They gain a real understanding of the high school culture and see firsthand what high school teachers deal with every day. Our faculty and CIS instructors become friends, colleagues, and partners, and there is tremendous professional growth on both sides that comes from these connections."

There are other opportunities outside of CIS for high-achieving high school students to earn college credits, some of which take student leaders out of the high school and put them into college classrooms. These programs are typically referred to as Post-Secondary Enrollment Options (PSEO), although both PSEO programs and CIS fall under Minnesota's PSEO law.

"It baffles me why more schools don't offer CIS courses," Novak says. "They look at the program and think it will cost them $131 [during the 2005-06 year] per student to offer a CIS class without fully understanding that they are saving the per-pupil allotment they would lose if the student left the high school campus to take college courses. The dollars our school spends for our CIS courses are easily offset by the State dollars we keep."

Although concurrent enrollment and PSEO programs expose high school seniors to the rigors of college course work, many people--including high school administrators, teachers, and parents--feel it is better for high school seniors to spend their last year among their peers. "CIS students can develop the skills necessary for the challenges and responsibilities of college courses without leaving our school," Lenhardt argues. "In turn, our high school benefits from the physical presence of these motivated young people and from the many ways they contribute to our school."

For more information on College in the Schools, visit the College of Continuing Education or call 612-625-1855.

Edited from CCE Current, spring 2006, a publication by the College of Continuing Education.