PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The class of 2021 at one of Philadelphia's high schools already has a leg up on the competition, thanks to a unique dual-enrollment program. 94 students at Parkway Center City Middle College are graduating next month with two-year college degrees, as well as their high school diplomas.
It's Parkway's first graduating class. High school students at Parkway simultaneously attend classes at nearby Community College of Philadelphia, tuition-free. Parkway principal Anh Nguyen said CCP professors were surprised by the quality of her students' work. "A lot of times, they didn't know actually they were high school kids,” she said on a Zoom call with reporters.
"When you talk about going into a college campus when they're 13, 14 and then we hit against also the pandemic - and each and every single obstacle that has come their way, they have risen above them."
"Graduating with a high school diploma and an associate's degree is pretty amazing,” said Parkway senior Anissa Wheeler-White, who was accepted to the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Wheeler-White said the dual-enrollment experience challenged her.
"I learned a lot about myself," she said. "I learned how to fail and I learned how to not just read a textbook, I've learned how to think in different ways. I've learned how to further my intellect."
Parkway senior Elijah Robinson is headed to Chestnut Hill College to study marketing. "We showed that we can really stand like, being in those classrooms and learning the same as everybody else learned to do the work," he said.
CCP president Dr. Guy Generals noted that all 94 members of Parkway's graduating class are heading to four-year universities. "The proof is in the pudding in the fact that they are graduating and they are being accepted to four-year institutions which are totally independent from this program," he said.
School District of Philadelphia Superintendent William Hite said nearly all of Parkway's first cohort of graduates persevered to earn their high school diploma and associate degree.
"95% of the young people who started this program are finishing with both." Hite said. "That is a measure of success in my book."
Hite said the district is exploring ways to expand the dual-enrollment program.