Making Higher Education More Attainable for ORCA Students

Jul 7

Our mission at Oregon Charter Academy (ORCA) is to give students the tools they’ll need to thrive in a global society. For some students, that means exploring the fantastic opportunities available in career and technical education and learning how to successfully enter the workforce after graduation. Another group of students leave ORCA and continue their education at a two- or four-year institution. In recognition of National Higher Education Day on Monday, June 6, we’re highlighting three ORCA programs designed to help our students transition from high school to the next phase of their education.

A College Path for Every Need

ORCA's college preparatory programs are designed to meet the needs of a diverse student population. Many of our students are highly motivated and thrive in advanced learning environments. Others need more structure to achieve their full potential. We clearly understand the characteristics of all ORCA students and are committed to helping each individual find their place in one of the following programs:

Dual-Credit Classes

We've partnered with Chemeketa Community College, Linn Benton Community College and Willamette Promise (a program associated with Western Oregon University and Oregon Institute of Technology) to offer a slate of classes that enable our students to earn high school and college credits simultaneously. After students graduate, these college credits may also be accepted by almost any Oregon college or university.

The teachers in the dual-credit program are approved by our partner organizations to teach college-level courses in subjects like writing, mathematics, science and social studies. Our program is so robust that students who begin taking dual-credit classes as a junior or senior could have a year or two of college credits under their belt by the time they graduate high school.

Not only is this an incredible cost-saving opportunity, since our dual-credit program is free, it's also an excellent inclusion tool for many first-generation college students. Dual-credit classes offer a soft entrance into college-level curriculum for kids who've never thought about the option of higher education. When young people succeed in these classes, it plants a seed that education beyond high school is an attainable goal.

Because we want to channel as many students as possible into our dual-credit program, we start talking with them about it when they begin high school, and continue the conversations as they plan for life after graduation.

Advanced Placement Classes

ORCA's Advanced Placement (AP) classes are another opportunity for kids to earn college-level credits in high school. In this program, students take rigorous coursework taught by AP-certified instructors, and upon completion of an AP class, they either earn community college credit through our dual-credit program, or take a standardized exam administered by the College Board. Students who score high enough on the AP exam begin earning college credits that may transfer to nearly any college or university in the country. ORCA currently offers these AP courses:

AP Language and Comp
AP Literature and Comp
AP Calculus AB
AP Statistics
AP Biology
AP Environmental Science
AP U.S. History

ORCA counselors typically identify AP-level students during their junior and senior years after completing earlier honors-level courses. Conversations between counselors and students happen individually and support the student's long-term plans. It's our goal for students to make their own decisions about pursuing AP coursework, so that they take ownership over the process and results.

AVID Program

Our Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) program targets kids doing B- and C-level work to teach them learning, organizational and social collaborative skills. Most AVID students haven't thought about college as an option, and the program teaches them the skills they'll need to get there and thrive once there.

ORCA begins introducing AVID to our 5th-grade students. After an application and interview process, students can enter the program anytime between the 6th and 12th grades. AVID students work together in community-focused cohorts on skills like: reflecting and asking questions, focused note-taking and reading and writing for learning. By honing these skills, AVID students learn how to process information – and identify what confuses them – and transfer it into something they understand. We find that when kids gain these skills, they excel both inside and outside the classroom, which is evidenced by the amazing accomplishments we see AVID students achieve.

ORCA's AVID students have an 85%+ attendance rate in middle and high school.
84% of ORCA's AVID students passed all of their classes in the fall semester of the 2021-2022 school year.
Statewide, AVID seniors had an average 3.2 GPA.
100% of AVID seniors graduated high school and applied to a four-year university.
71% of AVID seniors were accepted into a four-year university.

ORCA Students Succeed in College

All three of our college-preparatory programs work together. AVID high school students are expected to challenge themselves with dual-credit and AP classes. At the same time, AP and dual-credit students outside of the AVID program pursue challenging courses of study that propel them to the next phase of their education.

Our approach to fostering success in higher education works. To date, 1,365 ORCA students have earned college credit while in high school. Our students have also collected 1.1 million dollars in scholarships and grants and have gone on to prestigious schools including George Washington University, New York University, Vassar and Cornell.