Beaufort County School District

Students Benefit From Tides Program

story by JENNIFER BROWN-CARPENTER           photos by PAUL NURNBERG

For years now, Beaufort County School District (BCSD) has partnered with the Technical College of the Lowcountry (TCL) to provide dual enrollment opportunities to students in the Beaufort County area. This program has been a huge benefit to students (like Zoe Way, also featured in this issue) as they seek to pave a path for their future. Current student Zakk Cooke at Whale Branch Early College High School (WBECHS), Class of 2024, says: “Early college through TCL has truly transformed my high school experience. Not only have I plunged into higher-level coursework, but I’ve also earned tangible college credits and engaged in high school activities along the way. The college professors who guide us through this journey have become my favorite mentors, enriching my learning in ways I never imagined. I truly urge every student to seize this opportunity, as it has propelled me light years ahead in life compared to my peers.”

Feeding off the model of the already excellent dual enrollment program, Beaufort County School District alongside TCL recently announced the BCSD Tides. This new and exciting dual enrollment partnership will allow rising ninth-grade students to enroll in a full-time dual enrollment cohort. These cohorts will be available at either TCL New River campus or the Beaufort Mather campus to address student populations both in the northern and southern areas of Beaufort County.

The early college model at WBECHS and the already functioning traditional dual enrollment programs (for juniors and seniors) are praiseworthy. “This expanded partnership is going to take our community by storm,” says Davina Coleman, principal at Whale Branch Early College High School.

Interested students from WBECHS will also be coming onto TCL’s Beaufort Mather campus to engage in advanced studies to further create a communal, collegiate feel.

For the first two years, the students will be focusing on the Associative Arts and Associative Science courses. The goal is that by the end of those two years, the students will have gained enough credits for an Associate of Arts or Science degree. These degrees will be able to be transferred to any four-year university in the state of South Carolina per an articulation agreement between TCL and these four-year universities, including USC and Clemson.

That first associate’s degree is then a launching pad to go into a second associate’s degree in one of three areas:
• Computer Technology or IT Pathway (This will cover programming, networking, and cyber security. Embedded in these courses are the industry certifications necessary when being hired for these types of jobs.)
• Business Administration (This is a highly sought-after career especially here in the Lowcountry. These students will be able to concentrate on accounting, entrepreneurship, supply chain and logistics, etc.)
• Healthcare (This is not only a popular career in our area, but a popular career among students. The second degree will be concentrated in Allied Health Science courses, which will prepare the student to gain the prerequisites necessary to go into the nursing program at TCL, the radiology program, physical therapy, surgical technician, etc. They will be able to enter these programs right out of high school without having to take any extra classes.)

At the end of their high school career, most of the BCSD Tides students will graduate with not one, but two 2-year degrees and other certificates as appropriate.

Right now, as this is a pilot program, TCL and BCSD are looking at a total of 80 students across two cohorts. These cohorts are in place so that these students are together through at least the first two years of the program, and potentially all four years of the program. This will provide them with community and stability. The students will be able to return to their South of the Broad home schools and WBECHS North of the Broad for any extracurricular activities. There will be tutoring and student services available, along with a BCSD representative with the students every day. These students will follow the BCSD calendar as they would at their home schools.

This dual enrollment opportunity provides a huge benefit to students by giving them immediate access to college courses that will help them prepare as they work toward secondary education. The majority of students who take college courses while in high school will move on to a four-year university after graduation, and this program gives them the best leg up possible. This also provides lower costs for the students when it comes to their college career, which is a benefit to the parents as well. It also provides these students with the unique opportunity to not only discover what they wish to study in their four-year colleges but to also work toward it every day. Along with all these opportunities, there is the potential for these students to be able to get jobs in these three areas while they are working on their four-year degrees. It provides them the ability to solidly market themselves to the workforce. This is a small setting that gives students greater access to their professors.

Another goal of this dual enrollment program is “to grow our own,” according to Karen Gilbert, director of BCSD Career and Technical Education. The Lowcountry has a lot of opportunities to offer to young people, including the healthcare profession, which is one of the largest employers in the Lowcountry region. The hope is that gaining associate degrees in these areas will encourage our graduates to stay in the area where job opportunities are waiting for them. Having students who are gaining degrees in cybersecurity and networking will entice more computer-related businesses to come to our area, knowing they will have employees to fill their roles. A student who follows the computer technology or IT Pathway will be ready to go to work right after high school graduation. This benefits the students and the community by entering high-demand fields, earning an income, and meeting labor market needs right here in Beaufort County. This contributes to expansion of our workforce and entices employers to come to our area.

These programs were created and based on the needs of the community and will be able to expand for years to come. As time goes on, the cohorts will hopefully grow in size and continue to progress. TCL and BCSD aspire to provide even more certificate opportunities in the future as well. “We hope that continuing to offer these programs and earlier access to them will minimize or even eliminate student debt as a whole,” says Taylor Welborn, director of Recruitment Admission and Dual Enrollment at TCL.

Students who decide to participate in these cohorts can expect a ton of involvement and support from the TCL team. They will have support from tutors, library services, and much more. It will be a challenge, which is what some of these students are looking for. The TCL team is ready to help these students succeed. BCSD will provide these students with an administrator and a school counselor. They will have support from both sides of the program. There will also be transportation for these students to get to the TCL campuses. BCSD is committed to making this accessible for students, so that their parents do not have to worry about getting their children to the campuses.

Many colleges prefer transfer students or students who already have taken college courses because it is a demonstrated pathway to success. These students are just more likely to succeed, not only in their high school and college careers, but also in the workforce.

All of this — the program, the collaboration between BCSD and TCL, the students, the job opportunities, and more — contributes to community excellence. BCSD and TCL are providing these students with the foundation to be successful. It is up to them to take it and run with it. And we are sure that they will.
If you are interested in more information, you can contact Latoshia E. Middleton, BCSD Director of School Counseling, at 843-379-6918. The application process starts at the BCSD level.

Special thanks to Karen Gilbert, Latoshia E. Middleton, Davina Coleman, Molly Godley, Taylor Welborn, Laura Dukes, and Leigh Copeland for their contributions to this article.