Durham Public Schools, Durham Tech to offer high school students college courses in new partnership
About 58% of Durham Public Schools students enroll in college within a year of high school graduation, data from the district shows.
The district’s stats are lower than the national average of 61.8% of high school students enrolling in college within a year of graduating, according to 2021 data from the National Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Durham Public Schools and Durham Technical Community College are partnering to improve the numbers.
Durham Tech President J.B. Buxton said the community college will bring classes to students while they're in high school and tuition is free.
"I think what we're talking about in a lot of ways is, when you're a high school student in Durham Public Schools, you're also a college student,” Buxton said.
School Board Chair Bettina Umstead said the new partnership will begin in the fall.
“Riverside High School is going to be one of the [pilot programs],” Umstead said. “Durham Tech instructors will come during their third period class.”
Data on students attending Durham Public Schools, Orange County Schools and Chapel Hill and Carrboro City Schools show:
- 3.6% earn a degree from Durham Tech after graduating high school
- 1.7% earn a certificate from Durham Tech after graduating high school
- Fewer than 1% of students finish a degree or credential from Durham Tech while in high school
Transportation and cost can be barriers to higher education. The new partnership aims to eliminate those barriers.
"We know that the majority of our students qualify for free and reduced lunch, their families do, so this really is an opportunity for them to get some advanced college course credits and not have to worry about taking out debt or finding scholarships to cover that money,” Umstead said.
Durham Tech wants 25% of DPS students to complete a certificate or degree by the time they graduate.
"It's a doable goal because we've got the systems that we can build on to do it, and it's also doable because we can waive tuition,” Buxton said.
