DHS Dual Enrollment

  • Dual Enrollment Program Description

    The school leadership, outstanding instructional staff, hardworking support personnel, and community stakeholders at Delano High, have worked diligently throughout the years to provide high-quality educational programs and practices to all its students. The model program that the Delano High family dedicates its most recent success to is its Dual Enrollment Program. Delano High School’s Dual Enrollment Program allows students to take a variety of college courses that earn high school and college credit simultaneously. Additionally, students attending Delano High can take selected Career Technical Education courses that award college credit and lead to industry recognized certifications or help student’s complete courses that are part of a certificate program at Bakersfield College or Cerro Coso College. While the Dual Enrollment Program aims at helping students earn postsecondary credit, the intent of the program is to close the achievement gap for all students by increasing student performance in all state and federal assessments, as well as make sure students are college and career ready.  

    At Delano High, school leadership believes that implementing a strategic and researched based Dual Enrollment Program will create a college and career readiness culture that delivers a high-quality education for all students that better prepares them for a seamless transition to post-secondary education, career training, or the workforce. Keeping true to the Tiger way, the Dual Enrollment Program reinforces the school’s vision of “Achieving Academic Excellence - A Student at a Time,” by providing every student an opportunity to earn college and high school credit.

    In 2014, the Delano Joint Union High School District in collaboration with Delano High’s leadership team recognized the need to better prepare its students for post-secondary education and career readiness. As a result, Delano High implemented the College and Career Readiness course and utilized a standalone curriculum, “Career Choices,” that was designed to get incoming freshmen students to start planning and preparing for college and careers.

    The following year, Delano High collaborated with Bakersfield College, which was the beginning of the dual enrollment program, as Delano High aligned the College and Career Readiness course with Bakersfield College’s Student Development course; it allowed Delano High students the opportunity to earn their first college credits on campus.  This initial dual enrollment course was the beginning of many courses Delano High School would offer as part of the dual enrollment program to create seamless transitions for students as they graduated high school. Although these dual enrollment courses are challenging students academically, they are also saving students time and money as it reduces the number of post-secondary courses students need to complete programs and certificates as they transition. 

    During the 2016/17 school year, Delano High offered 21 dual enrollment sections. The following year (2017/18), a total of 40 dual enrollment courses were offered. This academic year, Delano High offers 73 dual enrollment classes and has established a partnership with Cerro Coso Community College, Bakersfield College, and California State University, Bakersfield.

    Dual Enrollment for this academic year includes: Agriculture Leadership Training, Agriculture Sales and Communication, Career, Life, & Education Planning, Child Growth and Development, Commercial Music Composition, Elementary Spanish I, Expository Composition, History of the United States, History of the United States Since 1870, Introduction to Agriculture Business, Introduction to GMAW and FCAW, Introduction to Microsoft, Introduction to Types of Literature, Introduction to Welding Processes, Medical Terminology, Music Appreciation, Principles of Health Education, Shielded Metal Arc Welding, Small Gas Engines, Clinical Medical Assisting I, Clinical Medical Assisting II, Communication in Healthcare, Electronic Health Record, Laboratory Procedures, Medical Law and Ethics for MA's, Medication Administration for Medical Assisting, MIS 2000 EXCEL 2016, and Perspectives in Business.

    To help support Delano High’s Dual Enrollment Program, strategic after school interventions have been included to support students with the rigors of college-level classes. As shown in our student data (See Results Section), Delano High is a thriving school thanks in part to its Dual Enrollment Program.

    Implementation and Monitoring

    The success of the Dual Enrollment Program begins with its College and Career Readiness course that is offered to most freshmen. College and Career Readiness is one semester class and is taught by highly qualified instructors who are approved adjunct professors for Bakersfield College, some who also hold a master’s degree. The foundational curriculum for the course is the “Career Choices” curriculum, which is used in nearly 5,000 schools and is aligned to the Common Core Standards for English Language Arts. The curriculum includes an online 10-Year Plan portfolio, which students can continuously revisit throughout their high school career and update it as needed. This online 10-Year Plan also serves as a resource for school counselors, teachers, and disciplinary staff to look at and better assist the student with college/career advice or interventions.

    During the semester of College and Career Readiness, counselors, CTE teachers, and school administrators present on available dual enrollment courses, CTE pathways, and A-G requirements needed for college and career readiness. In addition, surveys are distributed by counselors and completed by students to see what Programs of Study students are interested in. Within these Programs of Study, students have multiple opportunities to earn college credits in CTE classes as well as core subject areas, helping students complete required college courses as well as specific CTE courses to provide seamless transitions.  All student surveys are reviewed by a counselor and discussed with the individual student to determine proper future placement. As students successfully complete the College and Career Readiness course, they can easily transition to different courses under the Dual Enrollment Program, as they are already enrolled in the college system.

    While enrolled in a dual enrollment course, student performance is carefully monitored by the student’s guidance counselor, dual enrollment teacher, learning director (assistant principal), and Career Technical Education Director. For students in jeopardy of failing a college course, interventions have been put in place for academic assistance. After-school tutorials are provided Monday through Thursday for dual enrollment students. Tutorials have proven to be vital as not all students are readily equipped to handle the rigors of college courses. Students struggling academically in a dual enrollment class have the option, within the college drop window, to drop the class and take the equivalent high school class with less rigor and for high school credit. A final piece to the monitoring process comes from the student's parent, as they have online access to view their student’s grades through the Aeries Parent Portal.    

    Results and Outcomes

    At the Delano Joint Union High School District, program and school data are analyzed regularly to ensure the needs of all students, including English Learners, foster youth, and students with learning disabilities are met. Data will show that Delano High’s Dual Enrollment Program has been able to meet the needs of all its students. The district’s Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP) outlines goals that ensure College and Career opportunities are in place for Delano High students. The three LCAP goals for the district are:

    1.    Provide a high-quality education to improve academic performance and college and career readiness as measured by state indicators for all learners, including English learners and foster youth, in all core academic content areas.

    2.    Improve career readiness and maximize performance in foreign language, physical education, visual performing arts, and Career Technical Education

    3.    Provide all students with a high-quality educational environment where they can take pride in their facilities and look forward to coming to school every day.

    At Delano High, dual enrollment data demonstrate a positive impact on students. With 73 dual enrollment classes provided to students this 2018-2019 school year, Delano High offers more sections than any other school in the district and one of the highest in the county. Through a partnership with three post-secondary institutions that include Cerro Coso College, Bakersfield College, and California State University, Bakersfield, Delano High has been able to increase dual enrollment class offerings over the last three years. The increase in dual enrollment at Delano High School has not only had an impact on the number of college credits students can earn during the school day, but Delano High administration has also noticed an increase in the number of concurrent classes students take during the school year.  Dual enrollment has increased the confidence of students to take other college classes outside of the regular school day because the matriculation from high school to college has been completed and students are becoming more comfortable with the college level coursework and expectations. 

    According to the California School Dashboard, College and Career Indicator percentages for Delano High have increased over the last three years. In 2016, 46% of students were prepared for college/career as measured by the California School Dashboard. In 2017, the percentage increased to 53%, and in 2018 the percentage grew to 65%, which is the highest in the district as well as one of the top in the county.  Students continue to shine by working hard and taking advantage of dual enrollment opportunities. 

    The Dual Enrollment Program has also helped Delano High increase in A-G completion rates. Since the program’s implementation, Delano High is proud to have one of the highest completion rates in school history. In 2017, 58% of students were eligible to apply to CSU/UC campuses as a result of completing all A-G course requirements. In 2018, 57% of students met A-G requirements surpassing all schools in the district and exceeding county (37.9%) and state (49.9%) averages. Some of the dual enrollment courses offered meeting A-G requirements include Expository Composition, Elementary Spanish, Introduction to GMAW and FCAW, History of the United States, History of the United States since 1870, Foundations in Health Science, Music Appreciation, and the programs foundational course, College and Career Readiness. 

    Delano High School is doing its part to raise the educational attainment rates in their community.  The U.S. Census reports in 2010 that adults possessing a high school degree was 55% compared to the state average of 82.5%; adults with a bachelor’s degree was 7% whereas the state average is 32.6%.  Delano High School’s Dual Enrollment Program will bolster these numbers.

    Students are completing Career Technical Education (CTE) pathways at a higher rate than in previous years. Many of the CTE classes are articulated or dual enrolled with Bakersfield College, Cerro Coso College, or California State University, Bakersfield. In 2017, 41% of graduating students completed a CTE Pathway. This percentage was matched again in 2018 by graduating seniors.  Some of the pathways include: Agriculture Business, Agriculture Mechanics, Performing Arts, Residential and Commercial Construction, Education, Architectural Design, Multimedia, Business Management, Patient Care, Structural Repair & Refinishing, Public Safety, and Professional Sales.

    Our CAASPP data also show high levels of achievement. Over the last three years, CAASPP data in Math shows an increase in students having met or exceeded standards. Showing that 29%, 33%, and 41% of students met or exceeded standards in 2016, 2017, and 2018 respectively, Delano High sits atop the district (36.34%), county (21.85%), and state (31.37%) scores in 2018. While showing that 71% of students met or exceeded standards in English Language Arts, Delano High students continue to perform above district (63.7%), county (49.55%), and state (55.96%) scores in 2018. 

    Although some may speculate that the rigors of dual enrollment may harm graduation rates, that is not the case at Delano High. Students at Delano High have accepted the college and career readiness culture as graduation rates have remained very high over the last three years; 97.5% in 2016, 94.6% in 2017 and 95.7% in 2018. Delano High students consistently rise to the challenge, and with the supports in place, are able to succeed above county and state averages.

    For the 2023 graduating class, multiple students may graduate from Delano High with an associate degree from one of our partnering colleges and a high school diploma. Moving forward, Delano High is excited to continue its model Dual Enrollment Program so that all students have the opportunity to be prepared for post-secondary education, career training, and the workforce.  Delano High School has begun to change the landscape of their community.  By equipping students with the knowledge, experiences, and the confidence they need for life after high school, Delano High School students will be contributing and engaged citizens.