Having an affordable college curriculum available in high school is a big step toward making post-secondary education more tangible. This is becoming a reality for LHS students.

Dual credit classes, which have coursework equatable to entry-level college classes, are new to district high schools and allow students to start getting college credits early.

“I’ve been here for 10 years and people were requesting it when I started here,” counselor Lori Stussie said. “I can only assume that they did before that as well.”

Juniors and seniors can now sign up for English 101 and Math 101. Completion of each course, with the payment of $309 and a passing grade, equates to three college credits.

Since the transcript is provided by KU, the credits are transferable to almost any other college.

“I might end up going to KU,” senior Math 101 student Nesreen Iskandrani said. “But even if not, the credits transfer, so I might as well do the work I’m going to do next year.”

English teacher Michael Carriger, who teaches English 101, said the offering is beneficial.

“I think [dual credit] is an interesting opportunity for students,” he said. “I’ve had concerns about how it fits within what we do already, and if students make the choice to take it, my fear has been that they might miss out on some curricular stuff that we do. But, overall, I think it’s a wonderful chance for us to have a relationship with KU and to provide our students with some avenues that we haven’t in the past.”

Although the courses’ curricula align with the entry level college classes, class sizes also set the dual credit courses apart, Carriger said.

The small classes ­— around 15 students each — allow for a more personal environment in which students are able to collaborate and contact the instructor with ease, giving students who don’t understand the material a better chance than in busier classes at universities.

“The smaller the class, the more intimate the class, the safer the class,” Carriger said. “That…allows people to find their own voice.”

For years, college-bound students have had the option to get college credits through Advanced Placement courses and exams. However the dual credit classes allow students to get credits that don’t rely on a test score.

While college credits through AP exams are dependent on what tests and scores are accepted at individual schools, as long as dual credit students earn C’s or higher and pay the course fees, they are guaranteed three college credits.

Although English and Math 101 are the only dual credit classes offered this year, Stussie said that if enrollment in them continues to grow, more could be introduced in the future.

“Since it’s the first year things are just getting started,” she said.