High Schoolers Get a Head Start on College
PARAMUS, N.J. – This spring, 53 students from the Applied Technology High School (ATHS) on the campus of Bergen Community College completed their studies and graduated with associate degrees … one month prior to earning their high school diplomas.
The graduates represent the latest members of a growing nationwide cohort of high school students who simultaneously enroll in college-level classes while working toward a high school diploma. According to the federal government, high school students now account for more than 20 percent of all community college enrollees. Locally, Bergen maintains 13 partnerships with schools including Cliffside Park High School, Garfield High School, and the aforementioned ATHS to provide students with access to college classes. Bergen President Eric M. Friedman, Ph.D., said the programs remain popular for a reason.
“Ambitious high school students and their families remain incredibly excited about the opportunity to earn college credits - or a full associate degree,” he said. “The student has an opportunity to grow as a learner through advanced coursework and potentially enter college with a significant number of credits already completed. Of course, this saves both time and money for the student. The incredible growth of our high school partnership programs reflects our community’s support of the competitive advantage we have developed for local students.”
Bergen has become a regional leader in establishing college-high school partnerships, creating a portfolio of offerings that serve students regardless of their individual goals. Early college programs, like Bergen’s arrangement with ATHS, offer high school juniors and seniors the opportunity to enroll in classes at the College where they can attend in-person or online. Meanwhile, the dual enrollment program allows students to earn college credits at their home high school, taught by a Bergen-approved instructor. Rounding out the offerings, Bergen also offers a non-degree option for juniors and seniors and a grant-funded preparation program for seniors planning to articulate into the College. Collectively, 2,962 students from 53 high schools participated in one of the four programs last year. Growth has continued unabated since the College first launched the high school partnership initiative more than a decade ago, according to Bergen Director of College Readiness and Early College Programs Laura Madera.
“We’re opening doors of opportunity for students that might otherwise remain closed for years,” she said. “This good work is only possible through a robust collaboration with our partners: superintendents, principals, guidance supervisors, department deans and professors. We are grateful to have such dedicated partners by our side.”
Those partners include the Bergen County Technical Schools district, which operates ATHS. The ATHS model remains especially unique because of its position on Bergen’s campus, giving students a true, on-campus collegiate experience according to ATHS Principal Dennis Montone.
“This experience prepares them not only for the academic rigor of college, but also for all of the supplementary skills that lead to college success,” he said. “At ATHS, students learn how to register for a college class, how to work with the bursar's office, how to form peer study groups and how to access college resources like the tutoring center and office hours. None of this would be possible without our unique integration and strong partnership with Bergen.”
ATHS blends a high school curriculum, college classes and hands-on technical training in three concentrations: engineering technology, health professions and cybersecurity. The high school opened in 2015 as a joint venture of the College and the BCTS district, facilitated through Bergen County government. BCTS operates under the auspices of county government, while the College receives approximately 15 percent of its funding from county appropriations, making the district and the College “county cousins,” according to BCTS Superintendent of Schools Howard Lerner, Ed.D.
“The joint venture between the Bergen Community College and Applied Technology High School provides an unparalleled opportunity for students to experience college-level coursework and hands-on CTE training while still in high school, setting them on a path to success in both higher education and their future careers,” he said. “I am immensely proud of our students who have not only completed their high school requirements but also earned associate degrees through our unique partnership. This achievement is a testament to the hard work, dedication, and ambition of our students and their families.”
According to analysis by the National Center for Education Statistics, high school students enrolled in college classes will account for an increasing share of overall community college enrollment due to a declining birthrate and, thus, high school graduates entering higher education. Disrupting the traditional pipeline for community college enrollment, administrators throughout the country have worked quickly to develop partnership programs to stem the loss in enrollees. Bergen notwithstanding, New Jersey has lagged its nationwide peers in dual enrollment programs, with approximately 15 percent of enrollments coming from high school students. Elsewhere, high school students account for more than one half of all community college enrollments (Idaho, 55.4 percent and Indiana, 51.7 percent) or approaching half (Iowa, 43.7 percent and Colorado, 38 percent). Bergen’s President Friedman sees this collection of data as an opportunity.
“I am proud that we have become a leader among our in-state community college peers,” he said. “But we have so much more capacity for growth. It’s not difficult to envision a scenario where every Bergen County high school student has the opportunity to enroll in some type of partnership program with the College. High school partnerships represent the evolution of a foundational goal of community colleges to provide access to higher education. We have a plan to expand and meet the community need.”
Students such as Bergen and ATHS class of 2019 graduate Noel Thomas said she never imagined earning a college degree before her high school diploma.
“If you were to tell me that in middle school, I would have laughed,” she said. “It enabled me to be ready on a different level when I entered college - it gave me a different confidence. The program opened my eyes to what college would be like at an early age.”
Thomas parlayed her experience into a degree in chemical engineering from Hampton University in 2023. She now works as a manufacturing supply chain manager for PepsiCo. in New York. She credits the early college program for unlocking her interest in science and technology - she planned to become a school teacher like her parents.
“The best part of my experience was that I not only saw another level of leadership within myself, but I got exposure that I wasn’t expecting,” she said. “This exposure presented opportunities.”
Bergen’s high school partnership program coordinator Madera said Thomas’ story captures the essence of what the College aims to accomplish.
“Whether it’s the chance to observe a K-12 classroom as a future special education teacher, gaining acceptance into an accelerated nursing program, earning a degree at a fraction of the cost, achieving the financial flexibility to buy a home in their 20s or simply becoming more prepared for college and career challenges - our programs are genuinely changing lives,” she said.
For more information on Bergen’s college-high school partnerships, visit collegeinhighschool@bergen.edu.
Based in Paramus, Bergen Community College (www.bergen.edu), a public two-year coeducational college, enrolls more than 13,000 students at locations in Paramus, the Philip Ciarco Jr. Learning Center in Hackensack and Bergen Community College at the Meadowlands in Lyndhurst. The College offers associate degree, certificate and continuing education programs in a variety of fields. More students graduate from Bergen than any other community college in the state.
Photo caption: Applied Technology High School students (left to right) Elizabeth Mazur, Briella Biggins and Skylar Melis have the opportunity to enroll in college-level classes and pursue an associate degree from Bergen Community College.