East Greenbush Central School District continues its push to offer college-level courses at Columbia High School as the Board of Education approved Advanced Studio Art through Russell Sage College at its public meeting on June 12.
It marks the fifth course for college credit approved this year and the 26th now available to Columbia students. These college-credit bearing courses offer students more rigorous academic options and more ways to cut college costs down the road.
“One of the primary indicators for college readiness is the successful completion of higher level course work – AP courses and courses for college credit – while students are still enrolled in high school. I applaud our teachers for taking the initiative to seek these agreements,” said James McHugh, Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction.
The courses for college credit are taught at Columbia during the regular school day and the college credits are approved through Hudson Valley Community College, Schenectady County Community College, Siena College, SUNY Albany and SUNY Oswego. The credits are highly transferable throughout the SUNY system, and may be accepted at other public or private colleges.
To earn college credit, a student must:
- Submit college credit registration
- Pay fee of $55 per credit hour ($175 for three credits of German)
- Earn passing grade in the course
The Advanced Studio Art class is a full-year course with a range of projects that help students build a varied and personalized art portfolio. The Sage Art and Design faculty is willing to review those portfolios during the class, which would provide valuable feedback and serve as practice for their college applications.
“I’m excited about teaching this course and to help our students grow as artists,” said Columbia Art Teacher Valerie Gordon. “It’s a challenging course, but I find students really connect with one another and a community of artists forms. It’s amazing to see them overcome challenges, embrace their own artistic style and their own voice.”
One of the other courses added for next year, Personal Finance, is a result of the Class of 2018 graduate survey conducted last June. Students responded with a desire to have more knowledge in that area by the time they left high school.
“The Business Department is excited to offer this new course in Personal Finance,” said Columbia business teachers Katrina Gruet and Donna Shepardson. “Students will learn about important topics such as budgeting, banking, income and property taxes, consumer credit and loans, renting vs. purchasing a home, leasing vs. purchasing an automobile, insurance options, investments and planning for retirement.”
The district has also added other classes recently to help prepare Columbia students for college and careers, including Curriculum Equivalent Algebra IA and Algebra IB, which are not for college credit but provide more students with an opportunity to take an additional year of math and focus on practical, real-world knowledge and skills.
“Under Mr. Simons’ leadership we have added many new classes to Columbia High School’s Program of Studies with particular focus on providing more opportunities for the students we serve,” Mr. McHugh said.
Parents can learn more about college credits by contacting their child’s school counselor.
Columbia High School Courses for College Credit
- Art
- Advanced Studio Art* (Russell Sage College/3 Credits)
- Career and Technical Education
- Business Communication (HVCC/3 Credits)
- Intro to Entrepreneurship (HVCC/3 Credits)
- Principles of Marketing (HVCC/3 Credits)
- Organization Management (HVCC/3 Credits)
- Personal Computer Concepts (HVCC/3 Credits)
- Personal Finance* (HVCC/3 Credits)
- Foreign Language
- French IV (HVCC/3 Credits)
- French V (HVCC/3 Credits)
- German IV (SUNY Oswego/3 Credits)
- German V (SUNY Oswego/3 Credits)
- Spanish IV (HVCC/3 Credits)
- Spanish V (HVCC/3 Credits)
- Math
- Statistics (HVCC/3 Credits)
- Honors Pre-Calculus (HVCC/3 Credits)
- Calculus I (HVCC/4 Credits)
- Calculus II (HVCC/4 Credits)
- Introduction to Computer Sciences* (Siena College/3 Credits)
- Music
- Music Fundamentals* (SCCC/3 Credits)
- Science
- Intermediate Science Research (SUNY Albany/2 Credits)
- Intermediate Methods Research (SUNY Albany/4 Credits)
- Advanced Science Research (SUNY Albany/2 Credits)
- Advanced Science Methods (SUNY Albany/4 Credits)
- Social Studies
- Psychology* (SUNY Albany/3 Credits)
- Technology
- IT Essentials (HVCC/3 Credits)
- Personal Computer Concepts & Applications I (HVCC/3 Credits)