Enrollment for the 2013 - 2014 school year is underway. All current high school sophomores are eligible to enroll and will begin a combination of high school and college classes in the fall of 2013. There are several steps to the process that are outlined below:
1. Learn about the Blue Water Middle College Academy
View the information and video below, including links to other interviews and videos. In addition, the "Student/Parent Information Document" that can be downloaded from the link at the right provides a lot of detail about the program. Also, please feel free to call Pete Spencer, the middle college director, with any other questions that come up (810-989-5805).
Click here for the podcast of BWMCA director, Pete Spencer, being interviewed by WPHM 1380's Paul Miller on February 1st.
2. Apply to the middle college
The BWMCA application can be downloaded and printed from the link at the right. Students interested in the middle college must submit the one-page application to trigger the next step in the process.
3. Student and parent/guardian meet with middle college staff
Each student who submits an application will be scheduled for an interview with a middle college staff member. The goal of the meeting is to make sure the student and his/her parent or guardian are clear about what it will mean if the student enrolls in the middle college. We discuss the student's academic and career goals, extracurricular activities and academic achievement. We discuss the challenges students face by taking college classes as well as the many new opportunties and benefits the middle college provides.
We want to be sure that students and parents have as much information as possible before making the decision to enroll in the Blue Water Middle College.
4. Students commit to the middle college
Once students have all of their questions answered, they decide whether to enroll. This decision must take place by early spring.
5. Apply to St. Clair County Community College
Students who decide to enroll in the middle college must complete an Early Admission Application for St. Clair County Community College. Middle college staff will then submit that completed for to SC4.
6. Complete all requirements before the fall of 2013
These include, but are not necessarily limited to:
COMPASS placement testing at SC4
Complete SC4's Online Orientation
Complete the middle college's online new student survey
Update Immunization status
Attend the middle college's new-student 4-day orientation in August
Attend the middle college
Video Overview of the BWMCA
Middle College overview
The Blue Water Middle College Academy provides St. Clair County students the opportunity to earn a high school diploma and a college associate degree at no cost by attending school for an extra year.
The middle college is designed to increase the number of students enrolling in college and the number of students completing either an associate or bachelor’s degree.
This is accomplished by progressively transitioning high school students into the college environment beginning in 11th grade and continuing through year 13. The Blue Water Middle College is modeled on schools elsewhere in Michigan and the nation that blend high school and college classes.
Students are supported throughout the program with personal mentoring and academic counseling, college success workshops, and development of a supportive group of fellow middle college students.
Students enroll in the Blue Water Middle College Academy in the fall of their 11th grade year. Enrollment begins in January with a series of informational meetings at the partnering high schools.
A unique partnership
The BWMCA is chartered by the St. Clair County Regional Educational Service Agency and reflects a unique partnership between the RESA, St. Clair County Community College and five county school districts: Algonac, Capac, Memphis, Port Huron and Yale.
Students take their high school courses at one of the partnering high schools. Their college courses are taken at St. Clair County Community College.
Students enrolling in the Blue Water Middle College Academy become students of the middle college but are allowed to play sports and participate in normal extracurricular activities at their local high school through agreements between the middle college and the local districts.
Success Sessions
Success Sessions are provided several times a month by middle college staff to provide students time to meet as a group, share information and ideas, and learn about the strategies and skills that help students succeed at high levels in college.
Students are expected to attend all Success Sessions they possibly can. They are often offered on Friday afternoons when there are virtually no college classes taking place at SC4, however we are trying to offer more of them during the days when students are already on campus. Information on each upcoming Success Session is shared with students and parents via email.
What courses are middle college students taking at SC4?
Students took a variety of courses at SC4 during the fall semester, but most included at least one of a few basic, introductory level courses (Speech 101, Sociology 101, and Political Science 101). All students took SD 140 or College Success. SD 140 is a two-credit course designed to provide students with information, learning strategies, and increased self-awareness that will help them focus their effots and succeed at higher levels in their college courses.
Other courses taken by middle college students in the fall semester included English, history, biology, anthropology, psychology and criminal justice.
Their winter semester schedules include a wider variety of courses with more students taking English, mathematics, and science.
Blue Water Middle College Academy staff
For more information, call
(810) 989-5805 or e-mail one of the staff members listed below:
The Blue Water Middle College Academy is now accepting applications for the 2013-2014 school year. Click here to download the application. The entire enrollment process is described on the left.
Student/Parent Information Document
Click here for a more detailed description of the middle college program and information students and parents should consider as they decide whether the middle college is right for them.
The academy is chartered by the St. Clair County Regional Educational Service Agency.
