GMCS starts new dual-credit high school
Apple on top of school books.
WINDOW ROCK
For the last few years, the Middle College High School located on the University of New Mexico-Gallup campus has been the premier dual-credit high school in the Gallup-McKinley County School District. All students from Middle College graduate with college credit, and some with an associate degree.
The school was ranked by Niche, a website that claims to have the most comprehensive data on U.S. schools, as the 12th best public high school in the state of New Mexico. However, the school has been inaccessible to many students.
“The main reasons students are not able to pursue these opportunities a lot of times is due to economics, transportation, food, and other capacity issues with the families and programs,” Mike Hyatt, GMCS superintendent, said. “These hinder especially rural students.” Enrollment is based on a lottery system, which should allow for equal access. However, this lottery system doesn’t apply to the siblings of students who were accepted to the school. These siblings are guaranteed a spot at Middle College.
For all of these reasons and more, GMCS decided to create McKinley Academy – a new dual-credit program that will condense six years of school into four. Students in the program will graduate with a high school diploma and an associate degree.
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