Early College Access Opportunities Wootton HS 2014-2015

1. Early College Access OpportunitiesWootton HS 2014-2015 College Institute & Early Placement

2. Concurrent Enrollment: When a student is enrolled in high school and takes a college course through a separate institution. Early Placement • One or more semesters: fall, spring, or summer • Must apply to college/ university offering course, ex. Montgomery College • MC’s application fee waived during certain period of time • Take classes on college’s campus with general college population College Institute • One or two semesters (fall and/or spring) • Must apply to Wootton program & submit Montgomery College application • MC’s Application fee waived • Take classes at HS locations with high school students

3. College Institute at Wootton A Partnership in Excellence between Montgomery College & MCPS since 2002 • Four High schools participate and our students access the College Institute at: • Wootton High School • Gaithersburg High School • —our closest Partner school

4. Program Coordinators and Staff • Ms. Amy Evans, Wootton’s College Institute Coordinator • Ms. Yvonne Hu-Cotto, MC’s College Institute Coordinator • Ms. Jennifer Taylor, Wootton’s Resource Counselor • 12th Grade Level Administrators

5. Primary Objectives • To provide high achieving seniors an opportunity to earn college credits while still a high school student • To provide more opportunity for students to demonstrate maturity & responsibility • To provide challenges beyond AP classes • To support the success of the students participating in the program

6. An important objective of the program is to enrich students’ senior year. Participants: • Become academically and socially oriented to college • Enjoy more freedom in their course schedule • Expand their academic reach beyond the AP level while still in high school • Select college courses that build on high school and AP classes of interest

7. Benefits of this program • Enhances college admissions profile • Experienced college faculty work with students during their first year of the college experience • Opportunity for students to earn college credits that can be transferred to their future college or university (students have earned an average of 6 credits in the past) • Courses taught at the nearby Universities at Shady Grove (USG) campus in state-of-the-art “Green” classrooms • Transportation provided by MCPS bus to and from USG

8. Benefits, Continued • Small class sizes, typically no more than 15-25 students per class • CI staff at Wootton provide schedule planning, course registration, guidance and support during students’ junior year • Grants available through Montgomery College for high school students Fairly simple process: fill out a one page form and submit parent/guardian’s previous year’s tax return form to receive a grant or scholarship for tuition and textbooks for one or both semesters.

9. College Course Selections Working together with students, MC, and Wootton administrators and staff, various course offerings are generated. Many academic departments participate, including: • Anthropology • Business • Computer Science • Criminal Justice • Engineering • English • History • Math • Meteorology • Philosophy • Political Science • Psychology • Sociology • Speech • Theatre • Women’s Studies **All classes must have a minimum of 15 students to run

10. Past Courses taught at USG and Gaithersburg HS include: • Intro to Socio-Cultural Anthropology • Human Evolution/ Archaeology • Art History I and II • First Year Seminar • Intro to Business • Administration of Justice • Intro to World Mythology • Intro to Engineering Design • Intro to Women’s Studies • Civil Rights in America • Intro to Sociology • Morality and Contemporary Law • International Relations • Abnormal Psychology • Intro to Psychology of Personality • Human Communication • Fundamentals of Acting • Multivariable Calculus • Women in the Western World • Intro to Political Science

11. Universities at Shady Grove (USG) • Located two miles from Wootton, about a 5 minute drive • Classes are held in classrooms or computer labs with state-of-the-art technology and equipment • The CI program is housed in USG’s Building III, known as the Camille Kendall Academic Center, which was • constructed to be both energy efficient and environmentally sensitive. (http://www.shadygrove.umd.edu/sites/default/files/old_site/pdf/Green%20 Brochure.pdf) • Satellite campus encompassing the innovative partnership of nine Univ. System of MD universities, USG offers more than 70 of the best and most popular degree programs from across the state (http://www.shadygrove.umd.edu/about/learn-more)

12. Resources available to College Institute Participants • USG, Building III • Two breakout rooms reserved Monday-Thursday for individual and group study • Free Wi-Fi service • Two computer labs with printers (small fee to print) (open every day) • Library—quiet study space, areas for group work, computer stations, laptop hook ups, photocopy machines (open every day) • Green Grove Café—get a bite to eat, coffee in the morning, study for classes, meet with a group to work on a project, etc.

13. Available Resources, Continued • Wootton: • Media Center—borrow books, use computers/printer, electronic research tools such as Noodle Tools (generate bibliographies and citations) • Writing Center—all three lunch periods in room 243 • Montgomery College • Library—use MC issued ID card to borrow books, use computers, on-site and remote access to electronic research databases, walk-in or reserve group study rooms (open Mon.-Sat.) • Writing Center—30 minute sessions with professional faculty tutors, networked PCs and Macs available (open Mon.-Sat.)

14. General Information about Program • MC and MCPS cover portion of the bill. MC covers 25%, and of the leftover 75%, MCPS covers 10% of that. • The majority of courses are 3 credits, twice a week, and meet for a total of three “credit hours” per week • All 3 and 4 credit classes meet either 2 or 3 days a week depending on the class • All Wootton CI classes will generally meet during periods 2-3. Gaithersburg HS class times vary (periods 1-3, 1-4, 3-5, etc.) • All courses are one semester longand students can elect to take one or two CI classes each semester

15. General Info, Continued • Travel time is included in the allotted periods; students may also elect to have a travel period included in their schedule • Bus to USG campus, students must provide transportation to Gaithersburg HS site • Most, if not all, courses are transferable to University System of Maryland campuses as well as colleges across the country. • Check out the website: http://artweb.usmd.edu/

16. College and High School course schedules Participation in the College Institute (CI) allows for students to design their own schedule for senior year. The CI can fit nicely into the schedule of Humanities and Arts and AOIT students, as well as students interested in having an internship or participating in one of Wootton’s academies or specialized programs. The courses a student selects can complement her/his current line of studies or expand beyond this to inspire her/him to explore new fields of study. As the following samples show, students can take a College Institute course one or two semesters, have an internship, take a variety of AP and honors courses, fulfill Program or Academy requirements, and even include an elective course. • Student A: • College Institute classes on Monday/ Wednesday/Friday • - Study in the Media Center or work in the Career Center on Tuesday/Thursday during 2nd and 3rdperiod

17. Student Eligibility The eligibility requirements are as follows: • On track to complete primarily all high school graduation requirements by the end of junior year (17 on average) • Evidence of increasingly difficult course load during HS: • Honors level courses • Take at least one AP course prior to senior year or concurrently with a College Institute course during senior year. • Take the SAT, ACT or Accuplacer exam (given by MC) • Achieve a minimum score of 550 on two SAT sections (critical reading & math) or a minimum score of 24 on two sections of the ACT (English & math) • Accuplacer: A computerized placement test designed to provide placement and advising information for students entering college. The untimed, adaptive test has three parts: reading comprehension, sentence skills, and math. • A minimum weighted GPA of 3.2 • An Appeals Process exists for highly motivated students with strong academic records whose achievements fall slightly below the criteria cited above

18. Interested In Applying? Students should… • Note on the Wootton Schedule Planning Card their intent to participate in the program • Select the DP (double period option) for all classes at USG • Some classes at GHS require 3 periods-in that case, check TP (triple period) • Bring the card to Ms. Evans for required signature • During the first week of February, when you meet with your counselor individually, you will have the opportunity to pick up a College Institute/Early Placement Application.

19. Interested In Applying? Students should… • Pick up an application packet in February from Ms. Evans’ office, which is located in Guidance-Room 103F (when you meet with your counselor). • Look through all the materials about the program and e-mail questions to Ms. Evans or MC’s Yvonne Hu-Cotto, or stop by Ms. Evans’ office to speak in person. • Meet with Ms. Evans in the Counseling Office during the week of Feb. 7th to discuss the program, select class(es), and finalize the 2012-13 schedule planning • All students will have an allotted time for these meetings during their social studies classes

20. For More Information, check out our websites • http://cms.montgomerycollege.edu/edu/department.aspx?id=23873 • http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/schools/woottonhs/programs/collegeinstitute/ • Contact Info • Ms. Amy Evans-Wootton’s College Institute Coordinator Amy_M_Evans@mcpsmd.org • Ms. Yvonne Hu-Cotto-MC’s Academic Coordinator Yvonne.Hu-Cotto@montgomerycollege.edu

21. Questions and Answers * College Institute Application packet will be due in mid-February * Students will turn in the application to Ms. Evans in Room 103F in Guidance