“College classes allow me to feel like I am actively learning information every second of every hour I spend,” Dominic Winet, a Berkeley High School freshman, said. While BHS students grind AP courses, extracurriculars, and SAT prep, some take to community college courses to further their educational growth.
Community college classes allow students to study subjects that directly relate to their future career path and college major. Winet is taking Calculus 2, having recently finished Calculus 1 at Berkeley City College last semester. “The classes I take align directly with my longer-term career plans in a field heavy in computer science, mathematics, and biology,” Winet said.
In addition to providing a more specialized education, taking classes at community colleges is also a way for students who are more advanced in subject matter to take challenging classes. “I take college classes because the curriculum offered by BHS to the ninth grade is wildly insufficient to meet my skill level and dedication to my passions,” Winet said.
Winet proposed that BHS should offer more advanced classes to freshmen if they show enough dedication and understanding of the topic. “If the restrictions of the universal ninth grade were to lessen, allowing a freshman to test into Calc AB or BC, I would take that class without a second thought over one at a local (community college),” Winet said.
Jaren Gaines, a BHS freshman taking Physics C, Linear Algebra, and Biochemistry at a community college, agreed that students in lower grades should be able to take classes at BHS based on their skill level, regardless of what year of high school they are in. “I think there should be some sort of system to allow people to skip classes or go to a class that makes more sense,” Gaines said, “If (you) demonstrate the ability to do basic calculus, then you should probably go into Calculus AB, right?”
Although allowing underclassmen to take more advanced classes may be beneficial to them, unfortunately, according to Tiffany Liew, an academic counselor at BHS, it’s logistically unfeasible. “It’s a staffing and … a classroom issue because there’s only a certain number of classes that are offered, so priority is given to mostly upperclassmen,” Liew said, “Because of that, if ninth graders take up all the spaces in higher level classes … it further impacts what’s already a limited opportunity.”
Liew explained that concurrent enrollment is a great opportunity as it allows students to take more niche or advanced classes. “I think that’s a wonderful resource that we offer, because as soon as you’re a ninth grader, the world’s your oyster … (it’s) another option for students to take more classes that interest them,” Liew said.
While taking community college classes is academically rewarding to high school students, there are also disadvantages.
Gaines mentioned that these classes require a large amount of time be dedicated to them. Due to this, community college courses interfere with Gaines’ personal and extracurricular time. “It’s a huge time commitment, and I’m already stretched, as is with my other extracurriculars. I essentially have no personal life because of all this,” Gaines said.
While there are some drawbacks to community college courses, most students find that the rewards immensely outweigh them.
“A college class is a fantastic way to push oneself and to look for great colleges and future employers,” Winet said, “If you are truly passionate and/or skilled enough for a topic to take a college class in it, the experience will launch you to the moon.”