FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                  
Contact: Janelle Bird, Director of Community Relations & Communication
Phone/Email: 707.468.3012/jbird@mendocino.edu
September 27, 2018                                    

Focused on student success and achievement, Mendocino College and Ukiah High School have been working together to develop the Ukiah High School at Mendocino College Middle College program. After long term planning and implementation between the two institutions, the 2018-2019 Middle College class is underway with a group of 27 Ukiah High School sophomores.

The Middle College program provides a contemporary educational program for high school students who are motivated to complete their high school diploma and earn college credit simultaneously. All of the newly enrolled Middle College students met the established program enrollment criteria, were individually interviewed, and chose to participate in this first UHS at MC cohort, which will continue through their junior and senior years until graduation. All of the students are enrolled in at least one college class this semester, but most are taking two either online or face to face. The Middle College program will afford students access to college-level courses that accelerate their education and facilitate a seamless transition to the workforce or to post-secondary education. Each semester students will increase the number of college courses they take. Each student will work with their high school counselor and teachers and college counselor to choose classes and will graduate from high school with one to two years’ worth of college credits.

Mendocino College Vice President of Academic Affairs, Debra Polak stated, “we are excited and proud that the program is beginning this semester as a result of collaborating with our Ukiah Unified School District partners. Middle College will provide students with the opportunity to become successful college students while they are still in high school. When they graduate from high school, they will have a running start on their college education. They can finish with us for a degree or to transfer, or they might choose to go directly to a four-year university.”

There are two Ukiah Unified School District high school teachers assigned at Mendocino College to work with the students in their core classes. The UHS at MC classroom is located in the Grove area at the Mendocino College Ukiah campus, which provides an optimal setting for encouraging students to pursue college after high school. One of the enrolled students, Kazjmin Capri, says he is enjoying the small classroom experience because there are fewer students and less drama, which makes it easier to focus on his classwork.

The Mendocino College Ukiah campus is located at 1000 Hensley Creek Rd. Ukiah, CA 95482. www.mendocino.edu