Dual credit vs AP, which is better?

Brandie Hayden has a son in his first year at Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi and a daughter who is a sophomore at Tuloso-Midway High School. She originally signed her son up for an Advanced Placement course in English during his senior year, but he did not pass the final test as required for AP. “We switched all of his classes to the Del Mar Dual Credit Program, and he came out of his senior year with 19 hours of credit to transfer into a four-year degree, but he had to take the English class again,” Hayden said. She is now…

High schoolers learn about dual credit

Help available with application process Brittany Hayden, a sophomore at Tuloso-Midway High School, is eager to get a degree in the medical field. “I want to start earning credit in the fall for a career as a registered nurse,” Hayden said. She became familiar with the Dual Credit Program through her older brother, who acquired 19 hours in his senior year toward a degree and is now attending Texas A&M University. “I’m looking forward to starting my dual credit courses in the fall, after seeing how much they advanced my brother before he started TAMU-CC,” Hayden said. Hayden and her…

Dual credit prices not likely to increase, Escamilla say

Del Mar College noted a loss of $2.1 million in relation to the dual credit program for fiscal year 2014-15. Despite the loss, prices are not expected to increase, according to Mark Escamilla, president of Del Mar College. The current rate for a three-hour course in the dual credit program is $99.99, compared with a traditional student rate of $353. In fall 2011, dual credit was responsible for 11 percent of the college’s overall enrollment. It was at 18 percent this semester. “The plan has always been to push to 25 percent of overall student population, which equates to around…

Crawfish boil benefits Del Mar scholarships

The Del Mar College Foundation is inviting all Cajuns and “Cajuns at heart” to join them in celebrating the flavors of the bayou while raising money for scholarships. The all-you-can-eat event will feature accordionist Leroy Thomas, best known as the “Jewel of the Bayou,” and his Zydeco Roadrunners. Their repertoire mixes Zydeco, Cajun, blues, R&B and country music. The menu will include crawfish, shrimp and sausage, and all the fixin’s, commonly referred to as veggies. Available drinks are tea, sodas and bar fans’ favorite — an open bar. Last year the event served 350 pounds of crawfish, raising almost $136,000…

‘The Gift of Fear’ a learning observation worth reading about

Gavin de Becker developed the threat assessment tool called Mosaic, which is used by the Supreme Court as well as police departments and schools across the country to predict whether someone will turn violent. His consulting firm, Gavin de Becker & Associates, has consulted everyone from Ronald Reagan to the CIA, and includes numerous Fortune 500 companies. I found myself glued to de Becker’s “The Gift of Fear” from the very first page. The story itself is a well-written book of how a young boy at age 10 began assessing violence, and by age 13 could predict the outcome. The Mosaic…