Staff report
GLASGOW — Carpe Diem must have been the thought when Barren County High School administrators learned of AdvanceKentucky. They did seize the day and their students who are interested in attending college after high school are the winners.
Barren County High increased the number of Advance Placement courses taught and attracted more students to those courses, which are designed to help high school students get a jump on their core college curriculum.
Prior to being one of 12 high schools in the state to join the partnership, BCHS had 72 students in AP courses in 2007-08. That number is 281 this school year. Not only enrollment in AP courses jumped, but those students’ scores jumped off the chart.
Students and teachers both receive monetary incentives for participation in the program. The students must score 3 or above out of five and the teachers are rewarded for each student they teach who makes a qualifying score.
A bonus for the high school is it’s likely the students who are performing well on the AP exams in math, science and English will also do well on the tests used to measure the school’s performance overall.
But for all the benefits to the district and its standing as an educational institution, the greatest benefit is to the students of Barren County High School.
Principal Keith Hale made a promising statement to the Daily Times.
“We have continued to see the residual effects of the benefits from the Middle College experience transforming the atmosphere of Barren County High School to a collegiate-focused campus dedicated to challenging each child to their fullest potential,” he said.
The aim of any high school should be to prepare its students to enter postsecondary education ready and able to succeed. The willingness by Barren County High’s administrators to get involved with the AdvanceKentucky program when the opportunity presented itself was a smart one. It is only one of two schools in southcentral Kentucky to participate — the other being Warren East.
If the chance comes for other school districts in the area to get into the program, we hope they take it.
