DEARBORN — Dearborn Public Schools recently hosted its virtual event to review programs for high schoolers to help get a head start on their futures.

The event was for middle and high school students and parents to provide an overview of programs like advanced placement classes, dual enrollment and career technical education at the Michael Berry Career Center; Dearborn Center for Math, Science and Technology; Henry Ford Early College Health Science; Henry Ford Early College Advanced Manufacturing; Henry Ford Early College Pre-Education and Henry Ford Collegiate Academy.

Communications Director David Mustonen said that the district likes to offer opportunities to students who learn differently.

“We all know that every child learns a little bit different and our teachers do a great job of differentiating that instruction in the classroom to meet those learning needs of every single child,” he said. “It gets to a point where we know that the children and our students are going to have to face a lot of different options and they’re going to take a lot of different paths as they move through those high school years.”

Student Achievement Executive Director Shannon Peterson said that the district is very lucky to be able to provide so many secondary options.

“There’s a lot of options, depending on what your child wants to go into,” she said. “Thirty-five percent or just under 2,400 of our students take advantage of at least one of these options. It used to be that a child could only choose one, but we no longer make the child choose. If they can fit more into their schedule and handle the rigor and be successful, then we will allow them to do as much as possible while they’re with us.”

While advanced placement courses may vary by school, Peterson said students who are interested are encouraged to speak to their school counselors. 

“These are year-long courses,” she said. “They are college level and they are rigorous. They may also involve summer work. At the end of the year, they will take an advanced placement testing and a score of a three, four or five earns college credit at most colleges.”

For students enrolling in dual enrollment at Henry Ford College, Peterson said the district pays 100 percent of the tuition.

“If a student chooses to and qualifies for classes at the University of Michigan-Dearborn, the family would have to pay the difference,” she said. “The district is only allowed to pay a portion of the tuition. The classes for dual enrollment count as both college and high school credits and help start the student’s college transcript.”

Dearborn Center for Math, Science and Technology lead teacher Kim Shawver said that the DCMST courses can help students who want to go into the medical field and computer sciences.

“DCMST is a specialized secondary education center with a four-year, advanced, research-based science, math and computer science-based curriculum,” she said. “DCMST is a STEM-based curriculum designed to prepare students for a four-year university degree. Our program is designed for students who intend to pursue a four-year university degree or higher upon graduation with a STEM-based focus on careers such as engineering, medicine, nursing, computer science, research, pharmacy and the pure sciences.”

Mustonen said that the full presentations are available on the Dearborn Public Schools website and Facebook page and anyone with questions can contact their children’s school or the program directors listed in the presentation directly.