Whoever thought pie could be educational?
On the UW-Whitewater campus, Partners In Education or PIE, is a partnership between UW-Whitewater and regional high schools.
The program offers credit-bearing college classes to high school seniors.
“[PIE] allows high school students to earn a UW-Whitewater transcript to take with them to college,” Jodi
Galvan, the coordinator of PIE, said.
PIE began last school year, but this is the first time college level classes are being offered in local high schools, Galvan said.
According to Galvan, the classes offered will free up courses for other incoming freshmen at UW-Whitewater.
The classes will be taught by high school teachers who will go through a review process by the UW-Whitewater academic departments.
Organizers of PIE said they hope to get students involved by presenting to school districts the idea of building a relationship with UW-Whitewater and offering college level classes.
Lindahl is a UW-Whitewater professor who collaborates with high school teachers, preparing them to instruct college level courses.
Lindhal said PIE will allow students to gain a competitive edge over other college applicants by remaining academically challenged throughout high school.
They have the opportunity to participate in rigorous college credit courses while still being in a familiar high school environment.
Lindahl said the university also hopes the relationship will benefit UW-Whitewater by having places for education students to do internships and other jobs in the future.
“I think this program is good for the campus and high school students,” Lindahl said. “It can create a local connection to high school students, and make the high school a new site for the teacher training program to place future teachers.”
PIE offers full support in registering high school students for these classes and helping transfer their achieved credits to the university in which they enroll.
“We hope that more UW-Whitewater University departments support and join in offering dual credits in high schools,” Galvan said.
