Baldwin High School seniors head to college

Ezra Pierre-Antoine started her senior year at Baldwin High School not in Baldwin, but in Brentwood, 23 miles from most of her classmates. Instead of sitting with people she has known for the past three years, she found herself next to students at Suffolk County Community College.

When she introduced herself as a high school student in a college course, one classmate was taken aback. “She looked at me and said, ‘What?’ And that’s kind of been everyone’s reaction,” Pierre-Antoine said.

She and seven other Baldwin students are taking part in a program at Suffolk Community College that allows participants to finish high school and earn a year’s worth of college credits.

The experience has exposed Pierre-Antoine to a new sense of freedom that she did not feel in her high school’s halls, she said. “My first day, I came out of class and I was like, ‘What do I do now?’” she said. “I just walked around campus doing nothing for an hour.”

Some students, including Madison White, said they expected to have a harder time in the college classes, but have found little difficulty adjusting. “It’s definitely not as hard as I thought it was going to be,” White said. “Statistics, for me, is a really simple class.”

The Early College Program partnership between Suffolk and the Baldwin School District is in its first year. School officials said they hope to see the program grow.

“This partnership can save students time spent on working towards their college degree, as well as help shape their decision when selecting a degree,” Dr. Shari Camhi, the Baldwin superintendent, said in a statement. “Our overall goal is to help guide our students and make sure they are college- and career-ready and able to obtain employment after college.”

Students in the program will earn about 30 college credits during the year, about five classes per semester, in courses that align with their high school graduation requirements. The college credits will be transferrable to any college in the State University of New York system, saving students time and money if they go that route, as they will already have one year of college completed.

“I think it’s a tremendous opportunity,” said Jim Nolan, the Baldwin High School principal. “One of our top goals in any high school is college and career readiness, and these young people are already ready.”

Students in the program were made aware of it by their guidance counselors last school year. “I thought it was cool,” said Carey Brown, who said one of the biggest adjustments has been the responsibility she has to ensure that her work is completed without an instructor’s constant reminders.

“You don’t have someone saying, ‘Hey, you have stuff to do,’” she said. “You’re on your own in a sense, and that kind of surprised me because I’m not really used to that.”

Suffolk Community College President Dr. Shaun McKay said that independence is one of the core tenets of the college experience. “The on-campus, holistic college experience is an important component to teaching students the necessary skills for later success in higher-level academia,” he said in a statement.

Starting in January, students will also be able to enroll in classes that could serve as prerequisite courses for the health sciences field. Future plans for the program include the option of enrolling in prerequisite courses for heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration or manufacturing technology programs.

The students attend classes in Brentwood Monday to Thursday, and on Friday work on online courses, meet with their guidance counselor and use the high school library for additional work.

Nolan said he would like to see the program grow in Baldwin, and believes other school districts should develop similar initiatives. Pierre-Antoine said she would recommend the program to other students, but warned that it might not be for everyone.

“You have to use your time wisely,” she said. “If you know you’re a student who can handle freedom responsibly, then I would recommend it.”