High schoolers often assume that graduating from college is the biggest milestone that one will ever reach, and that it’s by far the hardest thing to accomplish in life. While it’s true that earning a college diploma is a monumental task, the latter part of the assumption above is incorrect. In fact, a common worry college students have is landing the right career after graduation. Finding an enjoyable, manageable, and financially rewarding job that they are well suited for is a challenge that these students face; however, there is a solution to this problem – Dual Enrollment Academy.
As stated by Waukesha County Technical College (WCTC), the Dual Enrollment program “is designed to give high school seniors a jump in high-demand occupations, awarding participants with a WCTC certificate upon successful completion along with earning high school credits.” For example, a senior from BCHS is able to enroll in the Welding/Fabrication course at WCTC and can attend the class on the college campus daily. The Welding/Fabrication course would consist of “learning the basic skills necessary to program and operate computer-controlled press brakes, and shears, plasma arc cutting machines and microprocessor-based power sources.”
What sets the Dual Enrollment program apart is that students are trained for the job in a professional and real life setting. With millions of dollars invested in the machinery and equipment that students use, there is no stone left unturned in preparing them for actual on-the-job situations. In this distinguished program, students would be dually enrolled at Brookfield Central High School and at WCTC, hence the title Dual Enrollment. After passing the Welding course at WCTC, the student would be primed and prepared to go straight into the workforce after high school. But where did their college education disappear off to? With Dual Enrollment, the student would have attended real college courses during his or her senior year and would now be ready to work straight out of high school.
Without question, the Dual Enrollment Academy benefits all those who enroll, and it is strongly encouraged that students that are interested in enrolling or have questions about the program should contact Mr. Groh in Student Services, or email him at [email protected].