Western Nevada College partnering with Douglas County alternative school

Western Nevada College is expanding its services in two new partnerships with the Douglas County School District.

In addition to Jump Start College, an initiative that allows high-achieving high school students to attend college classes on campus during their junior and senior years of high school, students who attend ASPIRE Academy High School, the school district’s alternative high school, will soon head to the WNC Douglas campus for their studies.

The partnership enables ASPIRE Academy High School students to attend classes at the WNC Douglas campus in the morning and early afternoon, 7 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Then, from 2 to 10 p.m., WNC Douglas college students will have full use of the campus, including classrooms, laboratories and student services areas, as well as a gathering area and outdoor patio for studying and eating.

“WNC has enjoyed a strong, long-standing partnership with Douglas High School,” said WNC Dean of Student Services John Kinkella. “Every year, many DHS students take advanced college classes at the WNC Douglas location. The new ASPIRE and Jump Start partnerships are exciting next steps in our efforts to increase the success of our students.”

Across the United States, high school students are taking college classes, Kinkella said.

“This increases their chances of attaining a college degree,” he said. “We know that, through working closely together with our teammates in secondary education, positive results will follow for our students.”

ASPIRE Principal Miki Trujillo said the partnership is a good fit.

“The students and staff of ASPIRE Academy High School are thrilled at the opportunity to make the WNC Douglas campus our new home,” he said. “When our students toured the facility, they beamed walking through the halls. Our students have worked diligently to find success in school and such a beautiful campus truly rewards their efforts.”