LTUSD and LTCC working together to create a college-going community

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - As a community, South Lake Tahoe has fewer residents than most with a college degree, and administrations with Lake Tahoe Unified School District (LTUSD) and Lake Tahoe Community College (LTCC) are working to address that.

During their joint board meetings this past week, the trustees heard from leadership the changes they have been implementing to meet their goal of having all local students graduate high school with college credits, and creating a college-going community.

Since the addition of dual enrollment, where South Tahoe High School (STHS) students earn college credits from LTCC for some classes for free, many have taken advantage of it, but not all.

Statistics presented at the joint board meeting show that STHS students who have dual-enrollment credits are more likely to attend college after graduation. For the Class of 2022, 78 percent of students who took dual-enrollment classes went on to LTCC, another 2-year program, or a 4-year college. For those who did not take dual-enrollment classes, that number drops to 57 percent. (see above graphics)

To address this, the dual classes offered are increasing and are also now available to students at Mt. Tallac High School (NTHS). There is also a change with a trial Physics 1 class - students are taught collaboratively with LTCC faculty and an STHS teacher.

Adam Eynon, LTCC’s dual enrollment grant manager, presented information on the Dual Enrollment program between LTUSD and LTCC. Students who participate in the Dual Enrollment program take LTCC classes at STHS for free and receive college and high school credit for those classes.

Since last year the two have launched a new joint health course at STHS, Healthy Lifestyle Choices for all 9th graders, and by the fall they are projecting to add multiple courses including English 103 (Critical Reasoning), Math 201 (Statistics), and Chemistry 100 (General Chemistry). They are working to add Spanish, Social Sciences, and Arts classes.

The Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum (IGETC) is a series of courses that California community college students can complete to satisfy most freshman/sophomore-level general education requirements before transferring to UC or CSU. Prior to the current school year, there were 11 IGETC classes at STHS. To help students, LTCC has added a dual-enrollment advisor that is at STHS and MTHS that:

● Gives extra support to students with IEPs (Individualized Education Programs)
● Grade checks with students and support
● Pushes into dual classes to support teachers and students
● Provides LTCC resources to students; Connects students to health and wellness resources, Connects students to LTCC basic needs center
● Assists in registering for concurrent courses at LTCC
● Collaborates with counselors
● Member of the College and Career Committee at STHS
● Supports Spanish-speaking students

Statistics show a higher percentage of the Latin/a/o/x community do not go to college after graduation, especially a 4-year college, so staff is working to bridge the gap. Across all races and ethnicities, students who do not take dual enrollment are more likely to not attend college after
graduation though this is more true with the Latin/a/o/x community.

One roadblock to getting more students into dual-enrollment classes is the advanced placement courses (AP). During the meeting, some members of the public spoke in favor of the Dual Enrollment program and emphasized the benefits of students taking those classes over taking AP classes.

Dual enrollment: Automatic college credit if passed, college courses that are transferable to universities, college credit that also fulfills high school requirements, positive for college apps, no culminating test required to determine college credit, no discrepancies based on university, no cost. The administrations said this of AP classes in comparison: Not transferable to colleges/universities, students have to take a test to earn college credit, may emphasize teaching to the test, students have to pay to take an AP test, not all colleges accept the same test score (such as UC San Diego and UC Merced0, created and ran by College Board, and stress and anxiety associated with AP tests.

Research shows students who participate in dual enrollment programs are more likely to:
Graduate high school
Enroll in college
Persist in college
Complete a college degree or credential
Low-income and underrepresented students experience the biggest positive impacts on their ability to access and complete college by getting a jumpstart
Improves students’ college applications. Positive impact on traditionally high-achieving students

Michelle Batista, LTCC vice president of student services, provided an update during the meeting on staffing investments and programming to create a college-going community. During the 2022-23 school year, 14 different departments and programs have been collaborating with LTUSD. To date, LTCC has held 40 events across LTUSD campuses. More than 192 event hours have been spent working with students and families for education, orientation, and support through the registration and financial aid process. This academic year has featured strong collaboration between the LTCC staff and STHS leadership including Justin Zunino, Principal, and Kim Ilvento, College and Career Coordinator and Counselor, and other STHS staff.