Even more area teachers and students will be able to realize the educational and monetary benefits of dual enrollment because of a $290,000 Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development Fast Forward grant to Gateway Technical College.

Dual enrollment provides high school students the opportunity to earn college credit while still in high school, a cost- and time-saver for Wisconsin's families. Students who are able to take on college-level courses while in high school are better prepared for the rigor of post-secondary education.

“Governor Walker’s Wisconsin Fast Forward program is investing in high school teachers, ensuring innovative dual enrollment programs continue to prepare students for high-demand jobs in growing industries,” said DWD Secretary Ray Allen.

“This funding supports students’ access to post-secondary education while still in high school, accelerating their transition into the workforce and reducing the cost of receiving a higher education.”

The grant will allow Gateway to train a minimum of 37 area high school teachers toward certification of Higher Learning Commission Dual Enrollment Standards, with a primary focus in the areas of higher education-related courses, general studies and business-level courses. While the credits students earn are applied to Gateway, the courses are taught by certified high school teachers in the high schools.

In the 2017-18 Academic Year, 6,223 students in Gateway’s three county district of Kenosha, Racine and Walworth earned 14,781 credits and saved $2.6 million in tuition costs.

“This grant will help us to provide the education-changing benefits of dual credits to even more students, helping them to begin their college career early and save money in the process,” said Katie Graf, assistant director of college access partnerships at Gateway. “It will allow us to expand our offerings to include general studies courses, as well.”

A total $3.6 million was awarded statewide to 14 technical colleges that will serve 209 school districts and more than 1,000 high school teachers. These teachers will be trained or certified in their area technical college’s relevant subject areas.

The Wisconsin Fast Forward program encourages increased collaboration between Wisconsin’s workforce, employers, local or regional economic development organizations, workforce development boards, post-secondary institutions and private training providers to develop and execute business-led training programs.