The bell rings, and you start walking to your next class along with hundreds of other students. You imagine that students could be headed anywhere, from Algebra to French, AP Psychology to English, or Law to Physics. However, they might be headed somewhere else, somewhere more unexpected. WJ offers programs that allow students to take classes at a location outside of the school building. Some of these include the Dual Enrollment program, the Edison program, internships and more.
WJ provides a variety of choices for programs to be part of, including those outside the school building. Many students don’t have either morning or afternoon classes, so they can go to another location to learn.
“I have an internship at Montgomery County Parks, Locust Grove Nature Center,” junior Nicole Palacios said. “I learn about different plants and help to maintain the parks. I received an email about it, filled out an application, attended an interview, and they selected me.”
Some students are interested in learning about topics that will be helpful for their futures or career choices. These courses are only offered at other locations. Dual enrollment provides students with the opportunity to take college courses while still attending high school, giving them insight into what college is like or what their prospective major includes.
“I chose it because I want to major in either public policy, political science or international relations,” senior Julianna Cabanillas said. “Those are the majors I’ve picked for my schools, so I wanted an intro-level class to see what my classes in college are going to be like.”
Dual enrollment takes many forms. Some students travel to Montgomery College, some attend the class on Zoom and others attend classes in the Media Center.
“The class is a little bit difficult because it’s online. It’s harder to keep up with the professor, and he’s not the most clear about expectations, so he’ll take points off for stuff he didn’t even say,” senior Maddie Oursler said.
Hands-on experience is a key part of education that typical high school classes don’t offer. However, just a short bus ride away, the Edison Program provides students with a full three hours a day of just that. This program focuses on giving students a head start to learn skills that they will need for their future careers. Students can learn more about their passions so that they are ready for the workforce.
“They teach us in the classroom, and then we get to go to an actual job site, a construction site at a residential house,” senior Shane Corkery said. “They let us install the wires in the actual house, so we get a lot of experience, which gives us a lot of credentials to be able to pursue electricity.”
