ECISD advances opportunities

Crockett Junior High eighth-grader Daniel Garcia said having the chance to earn high school credit in eighth grade could pay off in the future.

The 13-year-old said it could help students excel in their education faster.

"It's good," he said. "You get advanced."

Eighth-graders across the Ector County Independent School District can now earn more high school credits through completing a half-semester of keyboarding and a half-semester of a course called Career Connections in the 2008-'09 school year.

The career class focuses on introducing students to and getting them to think about college and career goals.

Keyboarding and the career course are offered in addition to other course options - like Algebra I and Spanish I - that have already been offered for a few years, said Ian Roark, ECISD director of career and technical education.

With the state Legislature increasing the number of math and science requirements for students to graduate, Roark said, ECISD will need more course choices.

"It's going to be more important that students have more credit opportunities," he said.

In an effort to better prepare high school students for college and the workforce, the state Legislature passed a bill in 2007 requiring high school students to take an extra math and science course to graduate.

This legislation, dubbed 4-by-4, starts with this year's sophomores, the class of 2011.

Crockett Junior High counselor Donna Carrasco said eighth-graders need to start thinking about high school and the added course offerings can help students do that.

"We're trying to point them in the right direction," Carrasco said.

Crockett parent Tabitha Miranda said the chance for eighth-graders to earn high school credit seems like it could motivate students, including her 14-year-old son.

"It might encourage him to strive harder," she said.

Miranda's eighth-grade son, Caleb Payne, plans to take keyboarding in the 2008-'09 school year. Miranda said she puts high expectations on her son, and it's up to parents to enforce rules and standards for success.

If Caleb doesn't pass his classes, Miranda said, he won't be allowed to get his driver's permit.

"He's gotta earn it," she said.

Roark said the eighth-grade is one of the most "critical gap years," in which a high number of students statewide and across the nation drop out of school. The other "gaps" typically occur during the high school years between the ninth and 12th grades, he said.

He said research shows that if students start setting college and career goals they're more likely to finish college.

"It's important that we give them opportunities for academic success and also an opportunity to see the relevance of the high school education they are about to enter," Roark said.

EARNING HIGH SCHOOL CREDIT

>> Eighth-graders now have more options for earning high school credit while in junior high.

>> Some of the offerings students may take include Algebra I, Spanish I and the one-credit Keyboarding and Career Connections course.