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St. Francis Introduces Students to College-Level Courses
Special to The Truth
An estimated 80 percent of
students change their major course of study at least once
after entering college, with many switching majors two or
three times before determining a career path that fits them.
Now, in partnership
with
The University of Toledo
(UT), the College Board and
school alumni,
St. Francis de Sales School
(SFS) is launching myPREP, a first-of-its kind academic
program designed to expose students to potential career
paths and hopefully eliminate some of the emotional and
financial costs indecision can cause college students.
Juniors and seniors at SFS will now have the opportunity to
take four college-level courses at UT. The course offerings
include Intro to Law, Intro to Business, Intro to Health
Care Professions and Intro to Engineering. In addition to
these courses, SFS is also offering students the opportunity
to earn newly created College Board designations in computer
science and engineering.
“myPREP builds upon our already strong Science, Technology,
Engineering and Math (STEM) program,” said Rev. Geoffrey N.
Rose, O.S.F.S., president of SFS. “Building on that
foundation, our Advanced Placement program, the largest in
the area, offers 21 courses taught on-site and in person.
Then, our juniors and seniors can explore different college
level courses at UT. There is no ceiling for learning at St.
Francis.”
According to Rose, the myPrep program begins even prior to
high school. For the first time, students in eighth grade
can take Design and Modeling and Automation and Robotics,
classes that integrate problem solving, critical reading,
math skills and teamwork. The skills acquired in these
classes help students succeed academically as well as
socially, supporting the SFS mission of developing
well-informed, well-formed individuals.
“The cost of college can be quite high,” said Rose. “At SFS,
we are able to expose our students to a wide variety of
fields early in their education. We hope this exposure helps
them think about their courses of study early on and,
ideally, eliminate some of the indecision that college
students experience.”
According to John Adams, with UT’s Dual Credit and Early
Outreach, the opportunity to take courses that examine the
many options within a specific field of study can be
critical to a successful college experience.
“We want these courses to save students time and money, but
we also believe the courses can be critical to helping
students make informed decisions about their future. UT is
proud to partner with SFS on this initiative to help these
young men begin to make their mark on the world,” said
Adams.
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