A recent editorial by the Toledo Blade:

Sometimes state government actually improves life in Ohio.

It’s so rare that when it happens we should note the achievement and celebrate the success.

The case in point is the July 5 Blade story on the Maumee and Sandusky school districts. They met credentialing standards required to teach up to 60 hours of college-level courses to high school students. That allows students to earn associate degrees at Bowling Green State University. It’s part of the Ohio College Credit Plus program. It provides a great opportunity.

Since the program began in 2015, high school, or in some cases, junior high school students, have saved $883 million in university tuition.

In 2021, 76,000 Ohio high school students were taking college courses worth $158 million in tuition.

Most often the courses are delivered online. But nearly 40% of the college-level course work is taught in the high school by high school teachers, who’ve taken extra hours of professional development training.

Meeting the requirements to teach enough college coursework for an associate degree is why Maumee and Sandusky now have the ability to hand their graduates a high school and college diploma at commencement.

All students benefit from the extra training and verified performance from their high school faculty. Bowling Green State University benefits from a flow of students seeking to build upon their two year degree.

The impact of the College Credit Plus program is astounding.

In Lucas County 21% of high school students are taking at least one college course. The Early College High School-ECHS program between the University of Toledo and Toledo Public Schools is life changing. Nearly half the participants are racial minorities, and 60% are economically disadvantaged. State education department statistics show 95% of the high school students taking courses on campus at UT earn credit for the course and average a 3.46 GPA.

Some of the other education-department statistics are applause worthy. More than 60 percent of the Whitmer High School students are taking a college class, nearly half earn three credits by graduation. The percentages of students taking university level course work is high around the region and the state.

As a final feather in the cap of Ohio’s CCP program, enrollment in high school advanced placement classes has increased by 40% since 2010.

It appears that Ohio high school students are willing to challenge themselves with tougher coursework to prepare for the CCP program.

Across Ohio, the 3.33 GPA turned in by the early college students’ shows the overwhelming majority are capitalizing on the opportunity.

That can only be good news for our collective future.

— Toledo Blade, July 6