Last week I had a look at the educational future.
Nichols hosted a group of 50 seniors and freshmen from Bartlett High School in neighboring Webster. They are part of the Nichols Honors Academy, which is now entering its fourth year, and through which our college is offering those students a connection to their futures in college and beyond.
Through this program, high school juniors and seniors are able to take college courses on the Nichols campus, while freshmen and sophomores visit four times during the school year to get coaching in college readiness as well as simulating a full college day. The students are selected for the program based on their academic achievement and college ambitions.
At a ceremony near the end of their four-hour visit to campus, the freshman were inducted into the Honors Academy and received Chrome laptops to help them on their way.
The superintendent of the Webster Public Schools, the Bartlett principal, and longtime Nichols benefactor and trustee Gerald Fels—who with his wife Marilyn is sponsoring the Honors Academy—joined me in acknowledging the progress of the 12th graders.
I called these students the “pioneers” of the program and reminded them that their success last year in taking the Nichols courses International Business and Principles of Marketing proves that they can do college-level work. They’ll be taking a political science course on the Nichols campus this fall.
These bright students have benefited from their time at Nichols—from the college courses to workshops stressing time management, college choices, and the application and essay writing process.
What’s just as heartening is the eager collaboration between the Nichols administration and faculty and their counterparts in Webster. A number of Bartlett teachers, counselors, and administrators were at the event, and their ongoing support of the Honors Academy has been invaluable.
Together, we’re helping shape a bright future for a next generation of college students.