Post Secondary Education Option new at TJ.
Artwork by Rebecca Holt
At Thomas Jefferson High School, Post Secondary Enrollment Option (PSEO) gives students an opportunity to take college classes for which the district pays. This program gives students the chance to take classes and gain the college experience by taking courses in their major, to see if they really enjoy the subject. The program also gives students the chance to see if the college atmosphere is what they see in their future.
“At some DPS high schools the PSEO classes are at school, so for them it is available for ninth and tenth graders,” said Stephanie Stone, TJ’s PSEO counselor. TJ is following the example of other DPS high schools by deciding to bring the college classes to TJ. With this program now on-site, more students will be lining up to take advantage of it because it will be more accessible to the students who work or have other responsibilities after or during school.
“Here at TJ, we encourage the students to have taken an AP class before enrolling in PSEO. Taking an AP class helps the students to prepare for the college classes,” said Stone. Since AP classes help prepare for the strenuous work, students who take one or more AP classes usually do better.
With DPS paying for the first 12 credits the student takes with this program, they are able to get a head start on college. “It gives students more opportunity,” said Stone.
PSEO is not the only program available to students in DPS that allows them to get college experience and credit. “Students that are in the Career Education Center (CEC) are also eligible to get PSEO credit,” said Stone. CEC is another program that gives students a chance to gain experience in the field they want to pursue.
With the focus on bettering TJ there has been talk of bringing the PSEO program inside the school. With the program here even more students can be involved. “We are probably starting with a social studies class and working our way up from there. We are thinking that the first college we will work with is Arapahoe Community College,” said Scott Lessard, assistant principal.
“So, another possible plan is having CU Succeeds come and either have the Silver program that is a teacher from CU, or the Gold program where a teacher here at TJ-with a-Master’s Degree would teach a class at TJ that the student would get college and high school credit for taking,” said Lessard. CU succeeds is a program that works with University of Colorado at Boulder, University of Colorado at Colorado Springs and University of Colorado at Denver.
The main difference between AP classes and PSEO, other than the location, is that with AP classes students have to pass the class and get at least a three on the AP test to get college credit. But with the PSEO classes, students have only to pass the class. “The hard thing is that the college classes are a lot different than even AP programs. The students have to step up. In the college classes students don’t have that support system of teachers, friends and parents like you have in high school. You have to keep yourself accountable by going to classes and doing your work. The colleges won’t call your house and make sure you show up, so it is harder for us to make sure students are doing what they should be doing,” said Stone.
