INFORMATIONAL

TO:

Division Superintendents

FROM:

Jo Lynne DeMary

Superintendent of Public Instruction

SUBJECT:

Governors Senior Year Plus Early College Scholars Agreement for 2005

I am pleased to announce the Governors Senior Year Plus: Early College Scholars Agreement for 2005. The Early College Scholars Agreement is intended to allow and encourage eligible high school seniors to complete requirements for a high school diploma and concurrently earn at least 15 hours of transferable credits toward a college degree, resulting in a more productive senior year and reducing the amount of college tuition for families.

Encouraging and selecting students to participate in the Early College Scholars program will be an important function of parents, principals, teachers, and guidance counselors. For the graduating class of 2005, students should:

Have a B average or better

Be pursuing an Advanced Studies Diploma

Be completing or have completed college-level course work (i.e., Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, Cambridge, or dual enrollment) that will earn at least 15 transferable college credits

The Governors Early College Scholars Agreement will be signed by participating students, their parents/guardians, and the high school principal and guidance counselor. A copy of the agreement is attached. The agreement sets forth the expectations and responsibilities of all parties in meeting the terms of the agreement. A student who signs an agreement to participate in the Early College Scholars program and who graduates from high school and completes all the terms of the agreement will be recognized as an Early College Scholar and receive a Governors certificate of recognition. In addition, students who participate in the Early College Scholars program can enroll in the Governors Virtual Advanced Placement (AP) School and will have tuition and AP examination fees reimbursed by the Department of Education for any Virtual Advanced Placement School course taken.

I encourage you to identify students in the graduating class of 2005 who are expected to meet the agreement criteria for the Early College Scholars program. Please note that it will be the responsibility of the principal to determine if at least 15 hours of college credits have been earned. The Department of Education will provide each school division certificates of recognition for Early College Scholar recipients. The number of students participating in the Early College Scholar Agreement will be requested in the fall.

If you need additional information about the Early College Scholars program, please contact Maureen B. Hijar (mhijar@mail.vak12ed.edu), director of secondary instruction, at (804) 225-2894.

JLD/MH

Attachment

/administrators/superintendents_memos/2004/inf110a.pdf