The overview
The agreement made with Tarleton will include four courses as well as Career and Technical Education courses, said Kristen Elam, the district counseling programs director.
The program will offer more courses in math and science then Tarrant County College, said Assistant Superintendent of Secondary Education Leanne Shivers.
Students will be charged $50 per course credit, meaning a three credit course will be $150. This fee will cover all course material, technology tools and credit eligibility evaluation. KISD will pick up the fees for students with a free and reduced lunch status, said Shivers.
In addition, students do not have to pass the Texas Success Initiative Assessment to take the course like they did for Tarrant County College.
“This will allow... many more of our students the potential to earn college credit while still in high school,” said Elm.
KISD will still be partnering with Tarrant County College for resources associated with the Keller Collegiate Academy, Shivers said. This agreement runs through 2027.
The agreement for Tarleton will begin during the 2025-2026 school year and students in dual credit will start attending Tarleton in the fall.
The details
Teachers no longer need their master's degree to teach a course at Tarleton. Instead, KISD teachers teaching at Tarleton are required to take a summer course to be able to teach the class. Tarleton will provide the training and course material for the classes and KISD will pay the class fees. In addition, teachers will have monthly support meetings and have access to a liaison that they can reach out to for on demand support, Shivers said.
“From the districts that I have spoken to surrounding us that are using Tarleton currently for their core courses, they love what they have,” Shivers said. “They really haven’t had any cons that they have reported back to their administrations.”
The backstory
Shivers detailed problems the district has been having with Tarrant County College for the past three years including unanticipated fees charged to the district, lack of timely data for student progress and low enrollment due to TSI testing requirements.
With the change to Tarleton, KISD expects to save at least $50,000 annually compared to what they paid for Tarrant County College, though the exact amount can not be accurately calculated due to the shifting amount of student enrollment in dual credit courses, said Chief Communications Officer Bryce Nieman.
Shivers said that 20-25% of students looking to take a dual credit class had to take the TSI multiple times with some still failing to pass and not being able to take dual credit courses.
Shivers detailed a low amount of students taking dual credit courses versus those taking AP courses. For an AP English course, 167 students would request the class versus five students requesting to take a dual credit English class. For an AP U.S. History class, 196 would sign up versus four signing up for the U.S. History dual credit course.
“So what we consistently see in many of our campuses, we are missing an opportunity for our students to enter collegiate level courses,” said Shivers. “Courses that will give them three college credits.”
What else?
Students who graduate in the top 50% of their classes at Tarleton will gain automatic admission and do not have to submit American College Test or Scholastic Aptitude Test scores, though not submitting scores may compromise consideration for scholarships.
KISD students who attend Tarleton and qualify for Tarleton’s Guaranteed Scholarship Program will receive $1,000 above the GSP level they qualify for if they are in the top 10% of the graduating class. If they’re in the top 50% and not in the top 10%, they will receive $500 above their GSP level.
The agreement was approved 6-0 at the Feb. 27 board meeting.
