College high offers teens a head-start program

Manny Reyes

Tuesday, Feb. 18, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.

Imagine a high school without tardy bells, buses or a senior prom.

The 250 juniors and seniors attending Community College High School don't have to -- they're living it.

"It gives you a sense of what college is like and puts you a step ahead," explained senior Matt Auyler as he pushed up the bill of his baseball cap -- an item banned at regular high schools.

Matt, a former Cimarron-Memorial High School student, is a business management major at CCHS and will graduate this spring with 12 college credits.

One of 20 similar "middle college" programs across the country, CCHS is a venture between the Clark County School District and Community College of Southern Nevada. It allows high school students to get a head start on college while working toward a high school diploma.

Students can take up to five classes a semester at the college's West Charleston or Cheyenne campus. Three can be high school English, social studies and math courses, while the others are college courses that satisfy both high school and college requirements.

With the guidance of high school and college counselors, students choose their own schedules. The high school classes can be taken afternoons three days a week. The college classes are fit in before or after.

"Most students aren't exactly sure what they're (majoring in), but they all are attending CCHS for some type of college degree," said senior Timothy Wind, an aspring author who's taking two college English literature courses and a Nevada history course.

They're also saving time and money, according to CCHS Site Administrator Pat Merselis, a former assistant principal at Durango High School.

"They're going to graduate from high school, and some of them will have a year of college out of the way," Merselis said.

No frills

Most of the social aspects at a regular high school will not be found at CCHS. It does not have any sports teams, cheerleaders, pep rallies or assemblies -- and that's the way most CCHS students like it.

"We got here because we are tired of the high school campus, its immaturities and cliques," said senior Susan Lee, a counseling major.

"It's nice here because you are treated as an adult and you have the freedom to do as you choose. Your education is your responsibility. You're no longer being looked out for."

Without being able to choose her school schedule, Susan would not be able to work two jobs and edit the yearbook while taking college courses, as she is doing now.

"The classes are smaller, that is a definite bonus," said senior Esther Gabriel, who will graduate this spring with 18 college credits. "We all know each other better so we're are less inclined to hold ourselves back in class."

Not for everyone

While many students praise the advantages of CCHS, not everyone thinks it is so wonderful.

"We had a student who came here last spring who did very well with high school and college courses, but he missed playing soccer at Rancho [High]," Merceles said. "So he went back to Rancho this fall."

The experiences a student can have in a college environment are different than in a traditional high school: older classmates, higher-level classes. That's reflected in the kinds of students attending CCHS.

"We have risk-takers, students who are willing to accept responsibilty and go out on a limb, even if it's something that's not going to be accepted by the status quo," said former Durango instructor Annette Amerando.

A chief responsibility is getting to school, as transportation is not provided.

"It's not easy for me because I live really far away," said former Silverado High School student Erin Marriotti. "When I get car problems it becomes a pain to come all the way over here."

Those are minor concerns for students like Gabriel. "If you want to build up your education, transportation's negligible."

Since the high school is located on the campuses, students have access to community college resources, like Cheyenne's football-field-size, state-of-the-art computer lab.

"They're doing things on the Internet because that is all accessible," said Amerando.

"Attending CCHS is a privilege because it allows you to take college courses early," Wind said. "If you take advantage of the privilege, you lose it."

It's better to let the privilege give you an advantage.

"Students who come to our program find out they can be successful in college classes," Merselis said, "so when they graduate from high school there's no hesitation. They don't worry about 'Can I do this, can I do that,' because they've done it."