Juniors offered college courses

The course is designed to help students get a higher education.
By D.A. WILKINSON
VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU
LISBON -- A new program is designed to get more Columbiana County students into college and to help them stay there.
Carol Straub, who works part time for the Columbiana County Education Service Center and part time for Kent State University, said the free program will be offered for high school juniors this summer at two locations in Lisbon.
Students will be eligible to receive both high school credit and college credit by taking the classes.
Straub said it's the first time such a program has been offered in the county.
The teachers are ready, the money is there, and now all she needs are students.
"I'm very excited about this," Straub said. "It meets a critical need in the county."
The program will help challenge high school students who have completed their requirements to graduate from high school.
Some students spend the last part of their high school years taking electives rather than those courses that will help them prepare for the work involved in getting higher education, Straub said.
One set of figures shows that 25 percent of the county's population has a college degree, but that figure includes multiple generations.
What numbers show
Anna Marie Vaughn, superintendent of the center, said that figures from the Appalachian Regional Commission show that 17.2 percent of county residents have had some college education.
That includes 5 percent of the population who have an associate's degree, 7.4 percent who have a bachelor's degree, and 3.3 percent who have a master's degree or higher.
High school students in the county must have a grade point average of about 3.0 to be eligible to take the classes.
"Fifteen kids have signed up," Straub said.
Each of the four classes can have up to 25 students. In addition to free tuition, students get free tests and materials. KSU instructors will teach the classes.
The Ohio Department of Education has provided 38,000 for the program.
The program must have math, science and foreign language courses. The program is offering sign language courses that qualify as a foreign language.
For more information, call (330) 424-9591, Ext. 170.
wilkinson@vindy.com