Dual Credit Program offered at South Ripley

Wanda English Burnett, Editor

Dual credit will now be offered at South Ripley Jr. Sr. High School, according to Dr. John Mehrle, assistant superintendent, who said he is “very pleased with the expansion.”

The classes are offered through the school’s Dual Credit Program, letting students earn college credits and high school credit at no cost to the student. The dual credit courses are designed to enhance the educational opportunities for all students and enable them to meet the new graduation requirements for the Core 40 with Academic Honors and Core 40 with Technical Honors diplomas.

“The seven dual credit classes provide a great opportunity for South Ripley students to start their college careers with a number of college credits already under their belt,” stated Dr. Mehrle.

The seven classes include four with Ivy Tech: English Literature 12; AP literature; Advance math (trigonometry and statistics; and AP calculus. Three are through the Project Lead the Way program include: Introduction to Engineering Design, Principles of Engineering and Civil Engineering. AP composition is also offered.

Dr. Mehrle commended the work of the high school administrative team, which includes Bob Meyer, principal; Bev Ester, assistant principal, and Anne Poling, high school guidance counselor, in regards to implementing these classes into the curriculum. He noted that both Meyer and Ester made a commitment to increase the number of dual credit opportunities for South Ripley students at the beginning of the 2007-2008 school year when they assumed their current administrative positions.
Poling worked out most of the logistical details for the Ivy Tech dual credit classes and continues to serve as the point person. Ester chairs the broad-based Project Lead the Way committee and coordinates the Project Lead the Way dual credit classes. Nancy Durham teaches the language arts credit classes and Wanda Ploeger teaches the dual credit math classes. Troy Mohr, Janna Stonebraker and Ploeger serve as the instructors for the Project Lead the Way classes. The classes transfer to many of Indiana’s universities, as well as Ivy Tech campuses.

South Ripley students will be able to attend Ivy Tech in February to take placement tests and to get enrolled in the dual credit classes.