Six Haines High School students went to college for a week. They earned credits from the University of Alaska Southeast’s Juneau campus.

Superintendent Roy Getchell worked with UAS staff for months to develop a university accredited program for high school seniors considering technical careers.

“Whatever their path is, we’re going to support them in taking that next step,” he said.

The students put in a week of intensive study on campus. They came home with workforce credentials, university credits, and a jump start on any one of UAS’s 17 technical programs.

Haines High School already has dual credit programs for traditional college track courses. Getchell says this new program rounds out the school’s opportunities for upperclassmen.

“Students that are taking dual credit right now in math may go the career technical route, students in the construction class may go the more traditional college route. But all of this is good for students, all of this is useful for making their career decisions, and it will all be applicable in their future,” he said.

University scholarship money and HBSD grant funding paid for everything. It’s part of the school board’s commitment to invest about $1,000 per student in college and career preparation.

UAS offers an associate’s degree in several technical fields, including construction. That’s the track Haines students took last week. Associate Professor of Construction Technology Robin Gilcrist was among their instructors.

“This is the first time that we have done this with the construction technology program,” she said.

It’s also the first time that high school students could earn UAS credit for that program. Each student has three credits towards an occupational endorsement, one of the steps on the wait to a technical degree. Gilcrist says those endorsements prepare students for the first job.

She was pleased with their performance.

“They did great,” she said.

“They learn a ton if skills in just a short amount of time. They were long days. Started at eight and worked until four or five o’clock with an hour lunch break, so it was intense!”

Students are now OSHA certified and have nationally recognized credentials. Gilcrist says all six students completed their coursework with high marks.

And those juniors and seniors got to experience on campus dorm living…with a chaperone.

Haines Borough School District and UAS plan to formalize the partnership so that it continues into the future.