Page 16 - BusinessWest April 3, 2023

lege, I asked, ‘are these real college classes, or are they watered- down college classes that are a version for high-school kids?’” he recalled. “And Worcester State sternly said, ‘these are the same col- lege classes.’ So the expectations didn’t change, but what had to be put in place was just a lot of supports for students.”
And what he’s learned over the past 20 months or so is that the students can handle these classes, academically; it’s the other aspects of that challenge, as they are for actual college students, that prove to be the bigger hurdle.
“These students didn’t have trouble doing the work,” he explained. “The challenge was more just ‘teenager stuff’ — follow- ing through, doing your homework, and submitting your assign- ments. Some of the students will say some of the classes they will take in the colleges are easier than 10th-grade English class.
“A lot of it was just executive functioning,” he went on. “But when it came to the actual content of the classes, they were just fine because what we know about all of our kids is that, cognitively, they all have the capacity to learn.”
Learning Experiences
The learning at DHS has a stated purpose, said all those we spoke with — to put students on a path to not just a high-school diploma, but that living wage Brunell spoke of.
And this goes back to that notion of the students taking them- selves seriously, an undertaking that comes with that confidence gained from taking those college classes, thus making students more ready not only for their actual college experience, but what can come after it.
“Early college for these students is an identity thing,” he explained. “They develop an identity around going to college, and there’s a lot of demystifying of going to college that happens along the way — they no longer have to wonder what college is like. Maybe they’re the first generation in their family to go to college, and in their freshman year, they can break down that psychologi- cal barrier of going to
college.”
Declan O’Connor, principal of Discovery High School, says students there “gain an identity” by taking college classes.
Staff Photo
Holyoke Community College, Springfield Technical Community Col- lege, Worcester State University, and Quinsigamond Community College in Worcester. Classes take place at Discovery, online, and on the Quinsigamond campus.
As they take them, they are provided with plenty of support, he noted, adding this is an essential ingredient in this success formula, because they are real college classes, something he needed to be assured about himself.
“When I first started this and as I was learning about early col-
This ability to estab-
Discovery
“We’re really excited to see our Black and Brown students not be afraid of college, for their families not to be afraid of college and whether it will be attainable for them, to see parents become interested in returning to college and maybe take some of the classes that their children are taking.”
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Continued on page 18
THANK YOU!
For helping raise
$302,674
for local kids during the 94.7 WMAS Radiothon!
16 APRIL 3, 2023
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