Kalamazoo Valley Celebrates Completers of Early/Middle College Program

More than 70 young people from throughout southwest Michigan will walk the stage at Kalamazoo Valley Community College’s Dale B. Lake Auditorium Thursday, May 9 as the second cohort to complete the school’s Early/Middle College program. The ceremony begins at 7 p.m.

The Early/Middle College program allows students to earn an associate degree or certificate for little or no cost by completing a fifth year of high school. Students delay high school graduation for one year while they take college courses at Kalamazoo Valley. Tuition and fees are paid by the local school district up to the state maximum allowed.

At the ceremony, all students will receive an Early/Middle College Certificate of Completion from Kalamazoo Valley. Students from secondary partners Kalamazoo County Early/Middle College and Gull Lake Early College will receive their high school diplomas. Students who are part of the Van Buren Middle College will be given the Michigan Early/Middle College Association certificate and awarded their high school diplomas later this month.

“We are celebrating the hard work and diligence these students put toward completion,” Coates said. “We have 25 students who earned associate degrees and many more who completed certificates, certificates of achievement or earned transfer credits toward a four year college or university. These students deserve to be recognized and celebrated for their academic achievements.”

Kalamazoo Valley President L. Marshall Washington, Ph.D., will provide remarks. Early/Middle College graduate Hunter Ackerman and current Early/Middle College student Stephanie Fee will also speak.

More than 150 new students are expected to begin the Early/Middle College program this fall at Kalamazoo Valley, bringing enrollment in the program to nearly 400 students.

For more information, visit www.kvcc.edu/earlycollege.