From the moment she entered the classroom, Rose DeJarnett felt a sense of hope in the air. It was the Beacon College faculty member’s first visit to see the college’s new dual enrollment program in action at a local high school. She wasn’t disappointed.
DeJarnett saw students energized to succeed in a college-level course they never imagined they could take. Some had ADHD, dyslexia, or some other learning disability. Whatever the case, they were right in Beacon’s wheelhouse as the country’s first accredited college exclusively for neurodiverse students with learning disabilities and attention issues.
This was Beacon’s first venture into dual enrollment — one of the fastest growing areas of American education. Nearly 2.5 million high school students in the U.S. took dual enrollment courses last year, triple the number a decade ago, according to Columbia University’s Teachers College.
Beacon’s dual enrollment course — “Learning Essentials & Self Discovery” — began this past spring for juniors and seniors at Leesburg and South Lake high schools. Designed for high school and college credit, the course is modeled on the same one for Beacon first-year students.
“The dual enrollment program at Beacon College, like those at Lake-Sumter State College and Lake Technical College, along with our various Career and Technical Education certification programs, give students a competitive edge and sets them up for success,” said Lake County Schools Superintendent Diane Kornegay. “It is through these postsecondary partnerships that we are able to ensure that every student has the opportunity to accelerate their learning and graduate prepared for college and the workforce.”
(Read the full story on the Beacon College website.)