HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. — A program designed to ease the transition into college for high-achieving high school students is expanding in Northern Kentucky.

Heading into college, Simon Kenton High School senior Zoey Siegert has already accumulated close to 80 college credits and invaluable experience.

She said the program’s balance of education and support is incredible.

“There’s no other program in this area where you can get this amount of college credit, but also have the same amount of support,” Siegert said. “I’ve already started research with some of my professors. I’ve met the Dean of the honors college, and made really good connections with him, and a bunch of other professors.”

Siegert is part of the first cohort of the Young Scholar Academy, which started in fall 2020 as a partnership between the Kenton County School District and Northern Kentucky University.

Now, nine more school districts are coming into the fold, and a lot more students will get to experience the opportunities Siegert has.

“It’s really intimidating to be 16 years old and going into classrooms filled with traditional college students, and I have been blown away by how much I’ve enjoyed being a part of this program,” said junior Lacy Rogers.

The eight new school districts joining the Young Scholars Academy are Covington Independent Schools, Pendleton County Schools, Erlanger-Elsmere Schools, Newport Independent Schools, Bellevue Independent Schools, Dayton Independent Schools, Ludlow Independent Schools, and Bracken County Schools. Superintendents formally signed contracts on Tuesday.

Starting in the fall, a select number of high school students from schools in these districts can take a full college course load in their final two years of high school, earning dual credit for both their high schools and college degrees. Students can earn up to two years of college credit toward a bachelor’s degree or earn a full associate degree.

The scholars admitted to the program study subjects in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), as well as integrative studies, supply chain, and computer science.

The new districts will bring what has been about 70 new students a year up to 300.

“These programs are not new, but the research is pretty clear. Students who attend early college, go to college, go on to postsecondary training after high school more than students who are not enrolled. They graduate within four or six years more regularly than kids that are not enrolled,” said Kenton County School District Superintendent Dr. Henry Webb.

YSA Director Dr. Winona Landis said the program will soon need a lot more space on NKU’s campus than the current room in the library that exists, and that excites her.

“They make coming to work fun. They make it worthwhile. And I think it is that we’re helping them not just with the transition to college, but we’re helping them with this broader transition to life,” Landis said.

NKU President Dr. Ashish Vaidya said 82% of NKU graduates stay in Northern Kentucky, so investing in high school students means investing in the region.

“The university is driving the economic prosperity of this region when so many of our graduates in high demand fields go on and add to the vitality of what this region means,” Vaidya said.

Besides gaining a leg up academically, and dipping their toes into college life, Vaidya said YSA students also save about $22,000 during their time in the program.

To apply for YSA, students must currently be in the 10th grade at a participating school district. Students must also meet the college readiness benchmarks as it applies to the most recent College Equipped Readiness Too assessment. Finally, students must have a 3.0 grade point average or higher. 

To learn more about the Young Scholars Academy at NKU and to apply, click here.