Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2008

Moving off campus for college-level classes

College Institute program relocates to Universities at Shady Grove

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Dan Gross⁄The Gazette
Thomas S. Wootton High School seniors Jake Kresloff and Alyssa Wohl get a tour of the new Camille Kendall Academic Center at the Universities of Shady Grove. The two will begin taking classes at the center next week as a part of the College Institute Program.
Thomas S. Wootton High School senior Alyssa Wohl was recently accepted to the University of Miami, where she plans to double major in psychology and international relations.

Expecting a large course load, she was attracted to the College Institute Program at Wootton because it would allow her to take college-level courses and knock off some requirements before beginning her first semester.

Wohl chose to take a 200-level psychology class and a ‘‘freshman survival seminar” to help orient her to college life.

‘‘I know that I don’t have to take those classes at college anymore,” Wohl said. ‘‘I really learned a lot, and I was learning about what I wanted to learn.”

The College Institute Program, run by Montgomery College, started at Wootton in 2002. Participants say the program, which brings Montgomery College professors to teach college courses at high schools that now include Wootton in Rockville, Seneca Valley in Germantown, Kennedy in Silver Spring and Gaithersburg, helps ease the transition to college.

Now, however, courses taught at Wootton will move to the new Camille Kendall Academic Center at the Universities of Shady Grove, where school officials say seniors will have a better opportunity to be introduced to college life.

‘‘Now, they’re not just doing college classes at a high school, they’re doing it at a college,” said Wootton Principal Michael Doran. ‘‘It’s a more legitimate experience.”

The program at Wootton currently has 104 students enrolled. The students will begin classes at the new center twice a week after an orientation on Thursday.

The move was in part prompted to ease the problem of limited classroom space at Wootton, which is overcrowded, Doran said. During class times, students will access the recently-completed Shady Grove facility from campus via shuttle buses. The new building, which is located on the campus of the Universities of Shady Grove in Rockville, is about a six-minute ride from Wootton’s campus, Doran said.

Completed in the summer, the building has won the public building of the year award by the Maryland chapter of the American Institute of Architects. It is also LEED gold certified, which means it has met a set of requirements to be certified as an environmentally sensitive structure.

‘‘It’s really three buildings in one,” said Joe Bucci, director of marketing and communications at the Universities of Shady Grove. The building features staff offices and student service accommodations, like a dining facility and a fitness center, along with classroom space.

Students enrolled in the program will attend classes twice a week at the new facility in addition to their classes at Wootton, said Jane Storck, director of the College Institute Program at Wootton.

Outside of class, students will have unlimited access to the facility, which includes a computer lab and a library.

The other three high schools that participate in the College Institute Program are not moving classes to the new facility. However, some students, including three at Gaithersburg, have chosen to take classes at the new facility instead.

‘‘For me, the convenience of it being right here at the high school is fabulous,” said Joanne Allen, coordinator of the College Institute Program at Gaithersburg High School.

Bob Walko, director of the program at Seneca Valley High School, agreed that having the courses taught onsite was easier, although he might consider offsite classes if overcrowding became an issue.

Susan Wohl, Alyssa Wohl’s mother, said she didn’t have concerns about her daughter leaving Wootton’s campus to participate in the program.

‘‘There may be a few kinks that need to be ironed out, but I know they will figure out what needs to get done,” Wohl said.

Doran said the school has held several meetings and has offered parents tours of the new facility to make parents feel more comfortable with the change in the program.

‘‘We’re making it easy for the kids to get there and we’re making it easy for parents to get answers to their questions,” Doran said. ‘‘I think that parents trust us.”

Alyssa Wohl said she is excited about the move to the new facility. ‘‘It’s beautiful,” Wohl said. ‘‘It will be nice to have a change of scenery.”

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