Center Grove High School (CGHS) honored 114 seniors for earning college degrees or certificates through the school’s Early College (EC) program on Thursday, May 20.
Through the EC program, students can take courses that earn credit toward both high school and college at the same time. Center Grove High School’s commencement ceremony is scheduled for Saturday, June 5, at 7 p.m. in the CGHS Ray Skillman Football Stadium.
“I am so proud of our EC seniors,” said Tracy McMahen, CGHS assistant principal and director of Early College. “Even with all of the challenges that COVID presented, they adapted and persevered. They’ve grown stronger, become more self-reliant and more independent. When things got tough, they still showed up. They showed up for their friends, their teachers, and, perhaps most importantly, themselves. They are going to accomplish great things.”
The following 58 EC seniors will receive an associate degree in General Studies from Vincennes
University, along with their high school diploma:
Fifty-six students will receive a 30-hour Indiana College Core certificate, which means they have met all requirements for general education courses at all state universities in Indiana. Of this year’s class of 121, 120 graduating seniors earned more than 15 college credits. In total, this year’s EC seniors earned 6,330 college credit hours, which is a savings of approximately $1,053,400 in college tuition.
The Early College program is open to all CGHS students. Students are selected for the program based on their reading level, grades and recommendations. The program admits approximately 110 students per year. Students take all of their core classes with the EC faculty and other EC students in a small learning community. This structure increases collaboration between faculty and leads to increased accountability and attention to students.
