High School CLEP Opportunities
At the Academy for G.O.D. I have the pleasure of being directly involved in our high school CLEP Program. The College Board’s College-Level Examination Program (CLEP), offers students the opportunity to take college level courses while still in high school and eventually the opportunity to test out of those same courses, with credit, at the college or university they attend upon graduation. Currently at the Academy, we offer our high school students the opportunity to take up to 6 different CLEP courses during their four years with even more offerings being planned for the very near future.
Written by John Edmondson, Jr High & High School Resource Teacher
At the Academy for G.O.D. I have the pleasure of being directly involved in our high school CLEP Program. The College Board’s College-Level Examination Program (CLEP), offers students the opportunity to take college level courses while still in high school and eventually the opportunity to test out of those same courses, with credit, at the college or university they attend upon graduation. Currently at the Academy, we offer our high school students the opportunity to take up to 6 different CLEP courses during their four years with even more offerings being planned for the very near future.
There are many benefits to being able to offer these courses to our students. From a fiscal standpoint, the benefits are obvious. “From 2008 to 2018, the average tuition at four-year public colleges increased in all 50 states. On average, tuition at these schools has increased by 37%.” The ability to test out of almost an entire year’s worth of college classes, with only having to pay nominal testing fees, can save our students tens of thousands of dollars in tuition and exponentially more in future student loan repayments.
From an academic standpoint, we offer many opportunities for our students to parse out those areas and subjects where they have the greatest interest. The benefit of doing this is that it allows them time to decide where they want to focus their study in college before they start college. With CLEP, our students would have the ability to not only start college with credits toward graduation, but they would also be able to step directly into major coursework in their field of interest, side-stepping general education courses in the process.
In my CLEP American Literature course this Fall, I have had the opportunity to teach college-level American Literature to Freshmen! Not only do our students have the ability to receive the benefits associated with the CLEP Program, but we at the Academy for G.O.D. are intentional with our spacing and scheduling of those courses. The student’s schedules are thoughtfully designed to avoid unnecessary stress on our upperclassmen, instead spreading the college-level coursework over their entire four years instead of just the last two.
After teaching several CLEP courses, I can already testify to the fruit it has produced. Simon Liley, a 2019 graduate of the Academy for G.O.D., took the CLEP College Composition course I taught last year and was able to test out of its equivalent at the Institute for G.O.D. this past Fall. He recently shared with me his gratitude for the ability to do so, which allowed him the opportunity to take another class in his field of interest—Biblical Studies—instead. We have high hopes that Simon will be the first of countless students who will reap the benefits of our CLEP-inclusive curriculum during their high school careers.
Sources:
AbigailJHess. “The Cost of College Increased by More than 25% in the Last 10 Years-Here's Why.” CNBC. CNBC, December 13, 2019. https://www.cnbc.com/2019/12/13/cost-of-college-increased-by-more-than-25percent-in-the-last-10-years.html.
Academy Senior Serves Local Widow
Eighteen year old Blake Botzum, now an Academy for G.O.D. graduate, wanted his senior project to be connected to ethical building. Blake interviewed several builders within the GOD community to learn what that meant, and what he found was one common motivation: to help someone who could not help themselves in a way that could be modeled by others.
Written By Rosemary Sherrod
Eighteen year old Blake Botzum, now an Academy for G.O.D. graduate, wanted his senior project to be connected to ethical building. Blake interviewed several builders within the GOD community to learn what that meant, and what he found was one common motivation: to help someone who could not help themselves in a way that could be modeled by others. Therefore, instead of focusing on what kind of building project he would enjoy doing, Blake first considered who he wanted his senior project to benefit. “I want to serve those who are on God’s heart and I thought about a verse in the book of James that my Mom had me memorize years ago: “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.” He went on: “God emphasizes caring for children and widows. So that is what I would do. I wanted my offer my services to a widow in our neighborhood and that’s when I met Mrs. Frances.”
Denise Bennecker, manager of G.O.D.’s Widow and Elderly Care program, introduced Blake to Mrs. Frances, and pointed him to a biblical precedent for caring for widows in 1 Timothy 5. It may come as a surprise that the Bible gives standards for which widows should be helped, but when dealing with a large number of widows, the text is very helpful. After Blake’s time with Mrs. Frances, he agreed that she was one of the “true widows” that the text describes: “at least sixty years old ... well attested for her good works, one who has brought up children, shown hospitality, washed the saints’ feet, helped the afflicted and devoted herself to doing good in every way,” (5:9-10). Blake recounted: “She spent her life serving the children at her church and in her neighborhood. She describes herself as the neighborhood’s grandmother and that fits her perfectly. It was so easy for me to talk to her and before long I discovered how I could help her.”
Mrs. Frances has always worked in her yard whether planting or maintaining her shrubs and flowers. However, at this time in her life, she expressed that there were things she needed or wanted to do but she was no longer able. Blake asked, “What can I do for you?” and Mrs. Frances was ready with an answer. “I need a step with a rail built so I can get in and out of my shed and I would really enjoy having an arbor built right here.” The “right here” is the spot where Mrs. Frances could look out her back door and see the greenery covering her arbor.
So Blake got to work. The Academy at G.O.D. provided all the materials and Blake provided the labor (Blake’s dad helped him with planning, design and a little hands-on work). Blake intentionally paced himself so that the job took the full five weeks that the project was termed. I asked him why he didn’t just get it done. “I could have, of course, especially if I asked my dad to help more. But I wanted to show consistency and have time to build a relationship. Even though I love building, I loved serving Mrs. Frances more.” Blake isn’t interested just in building but ethical building which means he cares so much about the person on the other side of a building project that their needs are incorporated into the actual project plans. In considering Mrs. Frances’ needs more significant than his own, Blake committed himself to a longer period of time than was actually required to finish the project but not without effort. “It takes longer to get something done when you stop and consider the person you are serving. I am such a task-oriented person and I wasn’t sure I could get over that.”
I asked Blake how he will go forward from this project. “I’m maintaining my relationship with Mrs. Frances by visiting her and helping her in any way I can.” He smiled and said, “I offered to fill her car tire and she offered to bake me some cookies.” The service, it seems, goes both ways.
In the end, Blake expressed how thankful he is that God showed him that he works well with the elderly and he said he will be getting involved with our Widow and Elderly Program. In a more sober but hopeful tone, Blake commented about this grandmother who lives out of town: “My Grandma is also like the 1 Timothy widow. I hope the church back home is taking care of her in a similar way.”
Honor widows who are really widows...The real widow, left alone, has set her hope on God and continues in supplications and prayer night and day (1 Tim. 5:3,5).
Academy Students Explore Careers
If you went to college you are likely familiar with the dreaded prospect of “declaring a major.” As an 18 or 19 year old, you are suddenly forced into a choice of pursuing an education focused more specifically on what you will do “for the rest of your life.” If you are like me, that decision was predicated upon what seemed most likable (“should I teach, do professional ministry, work as a missionary?”) or what seemed most economically sound (“computer programming...what is computer programming?!”). The sudden choice of declaring your future-and-forever career is a challenging one for most college students. A study by the U.S. Department of Education found that 1 in 3 college students change their major by their third year of college. 1 in 10 college students make the change two or more times.
STUDENTS GAIN INSIGHTS INTO POTENTIAL CAREER PATHS
If you went to college you are likely familiar with the dreaded prospect of “declaring a major.” As an 18 or 19 year old, you are suddenly forced into a choice of pursuing an education focused more specifically on what you will do “for the rest of your life.” If you are like me, that decision was predicated upon what seemed most likable (“should I teach, do professional ministry, work as a missionary?”) or what seemed most economically sound (“computer programming...what is computer programming?!”). The sudden choice of declaring your future-and-forever career is a challenging one for most college students. A study by the U.S. Department of Education found that 1 in 3 college students change their major by their third year of college. 1 in 10 college students make the change two or more times.
Beyond the burden of choosing a major, there is a dilemma as college graduates enter the workplace. Almost half of college graduates report that their first career choice was in a field unrelated to their degree, while nearly one-third report that they never work in a field related to their college major (1). Worse still is recent data showing that when graduates do enter a field they have a degree in, employers find them unprepared for their jobs, lacking both the hard and soft skills necessary for the careers their degrees represent training in (2).
Acknowledging the difficulty a young person has knowing what “they want to do,” yet striving to avoid the problem of graduates being unprepared for the workplace, the Academy for G.O.D. created the Directed Studies course for high school students. Directed Studies is a program that gives students the opportunity to experience a career field that interests them hands-on. The course emphasizes discovery, exposure, practice, and evaluation - all of which are necessary for students to leave high school prepared to pursue an occupation that they can claim, with confidence, they are suited for.
Genesis Garner, 15, shadows Jaimeé Arroyo, Family Nurse Practitioner, BC. "Being able to shadow at HFC gave me an incredible hands-on, real life opportunity to use my compassion for the sick" Genesis says.
Directed Studies adds a dose of reality to student interest, supplementing enjoyment with research and practice. This experience is not just theoretical, as students gain practical experience shadowing professionals in their fields of interest. For an entire school day, students observed their mentors in a professional setting: a student that wants a future in medicine shadowed a nurse practitioner. Another, interested in electrical engineering, worked on the job-site with a professional installing and programming ‘smart homes.’ A girl that wants to run her own bakery observes a small business owner, learning what it takes to start and manage your own company.
All together, the high school class shadowed professional counselors and psychiatrists, veterinarians, mechanics, electricians, business owners, journalists, photographers, elementary teachers, non-profit youth workers, and nurse practitioners. The lessons were tangible: “I learned the importance of knowing how and when to say ‘No’ to the customer.” “I experienced what journalism was like in terms of due dates, scheduling, policies, privacy, and time management.” “Working with a photographer allowed me to use what I was learning about a camera instead of keeping my knowledge idle.” “I saw the value in employees working together to solve problems on site.” “My mentor encouraged me to ‘follow my dreams’, but to do so understanding it would be five times harder than I expect now.”
The passions and interests of young people need to be encouraged, nurtured, and honed. Paul claims that, “We are [God’s] workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works” (Eph. 2:10). Who we are, then, is the result of God’s involvement, and, like any project, must be developed until we are capable of doing the “good works” Paul speaks of. The Directed Studies course is another step in the development of young people, giving them the opportunity to know a little better who they are and what they can do. For each student it is a gift to know better what they like and do not like, what they can and cannot do, and how to best direct their energy into pursuing an occupation that synthesizes what they enjoy with the reality of work, all in the context of participating in those “good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life” (Eph. 2:10).
1. Leu, Katherine, RTI International (author), presented by National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). "Beginning College Students Who Change their Majors within 3 Years of Enrollment," Data Point, US Department of Education, December 2017.
https://nces.ed.gov/pubs2018/2018434.pdf
2. O'Shaughnessy, Lynn. "New Study Shows Careers and College Majors Often Don't Match." CBS News. November 15, 2013. Accessed April 05, 2018. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/new-study-shows-careers-and-college-majors-often-dont-match/.
3. 60% of employers surveyed found that college graduates lack the critical thinking skills necessary for their job. 44% found shortcomings in writing ability, and 39% in public speaking. "Which Job Skills Make the Most Money? Infographics | PayScale." Cardiovascular Technologist Salary. Accessed April 05, 2018. https://www.payscale.com/data-packages/job-skills.