M³ College Connections: Growth in dual enrollment

M³ College Connections, the dual enrollment program that supports MPS students to attend college courses at MATC and UWM, began its third year in September. With a 60% increase in enrollment over last year, 91 students are enrolled this fall in English and math at MATC and  a cultures and communities course at UWM. Students will take three additional courses in the Spring 2021 semester, bringing their total college completion to 19 credits prior to high school graduation.

This year, students, faculty and program leaders overcame technology and connection challenges to participate in virtual onboarding and classes. Faculty met prior to the start of the semester to exchange successful student support and virtual learning strategies. Now that the semester is under way, students check in daily with James Sokolowski, postsecondary engagement coordinator for MPS, and can get connected to additional support as needed.

In this atypical year, students were surprised when their books for their UWM course were delivered to their homes. With so much learning online, the M³ College Connections team provided students with physical books to improve access. Students are reading one or more titles from the following list:

• Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi
• Our History is the Future: Standing Rock Versus the Dakota Access Pipeline, and the Long Tradition of Indigenous Resistance by Nick Estes
• Policing the Planet: Why the Policing Crisis Led to Black Lives Matter by Jordan T. Camp and Christina Heatherton
• The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration by Isabel Wilkerson
• Parable of the Talents and Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler
• Letters to a Young Brown Girl by Barbara Jane Reyes