Colfax school district receives “gold” for transcripted credit classes
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TRANSCRIPTED CREDIT CLASSES — Students at Colfax High School who took transcripted credit classes through Chippewa Valley Technical College gathered for a photograph in the lobby at Colfax High School. The classes are taught by Colfax High School teachers who have met CVTC licensing requirements. The students receive both high school and college credits for the classes. Colfax High School received a gold award from CVTC for the transcripted credit program because Colfax offers five or more classes. —photo by LeAnn R. Ralph
By LeAnn R. Ralph
COLFAX — The Colfax school district has received a “gold” award for the transcripted credit partnership with Chippewa Valley Technical College.
CVTC held an awards banquet for schools participating in the transcripted credit program last Wednesday, and Colfax received a gold award, said John Dachel, high school principal, at the Colfax Board of Education’s April 22 meeting.
Transcripted credit classes are offered through Chippewa Valley Technical College but are taught at the high school by high school teachers who have met CVTC licensing requirements and have worked with CVTC to match the curriculum.
Schools participating in the transcripted credit programs are rated by their level of commitment with bronze, silver or gold, Dachel told the Board of Education.
Schools that receive a bronze award have one to two transcripted credit classes; schools that receive a silver award have three transcripted credit classes, he said.
Schools that receive a gold award have five or more transcripted credit classes, have involvement in the Dual Credit Academy as well as engagement in high school relations events, Dachel said.
Colfax offers transcripted credit classes in Medical Terminology, Microsoft Office Suite, publications, accounting, statistics, plant science and horticulture, he said.
The smallest school at the CVTC awards banquet was Cornell, and the largest school was Eau Claire, Dachel noted.
Dachel said he also had an opportunity to speak with the superintendent of the Chippewa Falls school district about the Colfax transcripted credit program, and she was “impressed with the classes we offer at Colfax.”
Colfax’s classes are not all strictly agriculture or all strictly technology education, and “we want to continue to expand,” Dachel said.
The transcripted credit program is possible because of the support from the Colfax Board of Education, Superintendent William C. Yingst Jr., the Colfax community and the students at Colfax High School, he said.
CVTC provided recognition for the 82 students at Colfax — sophomores, juniors and seniors — who participated in the transcripted credit program. Several students took multiple classes and also received Dual Credit Academy awards, Dachel said.
“The kids are taking such huge advantage of this,” he said.
At the March 18 Board of Education meeting, it was reported that the Colfax school district — and students in the district — have saved $23,135 on transcripted credit classes that allow the students to earn both high school and college credits in classes taught by Colfax High School teachers.
Polycom
Colfax also offers Distance Learning classes that are taught elsewhere but can be accessed by Colfax students through the use of a Polycom, which looks like a large television screen.
During class time, students can see and hear their instructor on the Polycom, and they can also see and hear the other students in the classes at other high schools.
During the superintendent’s report to the Board of Education at the April 22 meeting, Yingst said he was pleased to announce that Colfax had received a grant through the United States Department of Agriculture and Rural Development to purchase a second Polycom.
The Polycom is used for university level classes in sign language and psychology, he noted.
“I received notification of the grant today,” Yingst said.
The grant is a 50 percent matching award, and the Polycom unit is $10,000, he said.
School board members asked how a second Polycom would be beneficial to the Distance Learning program.
Right now, the Polycom is being moved from room to room, and a second unit will allow more flexibility and mobility in the program and will allow Colfax to expand the capability of the program, Dachel said.
“I was very excited to get the news,” Yingst said.
The second Polycom will be delivered this summer and will be ready to go for fall classes, he said.