KAYSVILLE—In a first-of-its-kind partnership between a technical college and a school district, Davis Technical College (Davis Tech) and the Davis School District (DSD) signed an agreement last week that would allow high school students to receive concurrent enrollment credit between the two.

“It’s typically with higher education,” said DSD Assistant Superintendent, Dr. Logan Toone. “We’ve been doing that for a good many years.”

It was a concerted effort largely led by Davis Tech President Darin Brush, he said. “We met regularly to see what overlaps there were in a CTE high school course and a Davis Tech course. We gathered teachers from both and matched them up with their counterparts. They were tasked to work together to find places where there were overlaps with what they do in high school as well as at Davis Tech. The end result was a pathway for dual credit for students.”

Students dual enrolled at the Catalyst Center generate high school credit for CTE classes and are simultaneously enrolled in a Davis Tech course, Toone said. “It’s truly in concert with the concurrent enrollment with colleges that the community has come to know.”

“This is an example of how visionary President Brush is,” said Stacey Hutchings, Senior Advisor for Secondary Students at Davis Tech. “Davis Tech is innovative and willing to try new things to serve more secondary students.”

For example, if a student takes Culinary I in high school and decides to go through the program at Davis Tech, they’ve already taken those classes,” she said. “They would be duplicated so they would have to retake the class. This gives them a direct pipeline so credit already earned from high school CTE classes can be expedited to Davis Tech.”

Students, parents and counselors clarify what the student wants to do in the future related to CTE and Davis Tech, said Hutchings. “They create a plan to maximize what they’ve done, aligning many classes taken in high school with those taken at Davis Tech. We wave some of those classes but instead of waving the credit, why not just give them the credit while they’re in high school?”

PHARMACY TECH STUDENTS at the Catalyst Center count out pills. Students will be able to get high school credit and receive Davis Tech credit as well. Photo by Roger V. Tuttle

There’s a lot going on within higher education, she said. “We have relationships with Salt Lake Community College and Weber State University. This is a unique relationship reaching down to the high school.”

Currently, high school students can enroll in Davis Tech and begin their certificate, Hutchings said. “They have to drive to leave their campus and come to Davis Tech. A lot of students don’t have transportation to leave the high school. This opens the door for students in CTE at their own school to start earning this credit.”

This is a pilot program with a narrow scope, she said. “It is specifically at the Catalyst but we want to expand so that every school in the district has a CTE program.”

“It’s good for us and the whole state,” said Toone. “If the state notices, other technical colleges will follow and have the conversation to make it happen. If not, they will miss the opportunity to have something that’s great for kids.”

The program will start in the fall, said Hutchings. “I’m impressed that they do what they feel will benefit the students the most. It’s exciting to be part of something that helps kids who may not have the opportunity to earn these credits. It opens the door to a lot more students.”