The idea that attending Middle College is just a shortcut for students to leave normal high school and slack off is a common misconception. As the name suggests, Middle College takes place between high school and a four-year university. Middle Colleges are programs that allow Palo Alto Unified School District (PAUSD) and Mountain View-Los Altos Union High School District juniors and seniors to complete their remaining graduation requirements at Foothill College in Los Altos Hills. The goal of this program is to rekindle a student's desire to learn.

Students in the program take two hours of Middle College classes with other Middle College students and two or three regular courses with college students. They receive double credit for the college courses that they complete. Middle College students also have the opportunity to participate in their home school's activities such as dances and sports.

"Middle College is attended by a wide variety of students–from the National Merit Scholarship students to the ones who simply did not fit in the high school atmosphere," guidance counselor Linda Kirsch said. "The wide variety of opportunities that Middle College offers provide a new approach to learning and the opportunity to take college level classes before they graduate high school, which many students find appealing."

For Middle College student and high school senior Theresa Sanders, this new approach to school provided the sense of maturity that was exactly the motivation she needed to succeed academically. "Because of Middle College, I now want to go to a four-year college, whereas before, I didn't think I would wind up at anything more than Foothill," Sanders said.

Despite its reputation as an easy alternative to high school, Middle College is not all fun and games for enrollees. To start, signing up for Middle College is a somewhat difficult process. Prospective students must fill out an application and get recommendations from at least one teacher and one counselor to prove that they are good candidates for the program. Students must also attend a parent-student meeting and an interview with their parents and a Middle College representative. PAUSD is allowed 42 spaces in the program, 39 of which are taken by students this year. The district covers all Middle College costs, including tuition, book and lab fees.

Students in the program must be very responsible and self-motivated. "There aren't teachers on your back all day holding your hand. You have to work hard and be responsible," Sanders said.

The college level classes also provide a more challenging work load than high school. In fact, Middle College student and high school senior Maren Blair found that her Middle College classes were actually much harder than the classes she took in high school. "When you sign up for a college class, you are going to get the work at a college level," she said. "They aren't going to go easy on you because you are in Middle College. With Middle College you get exactly what you sign up for."

Although Sanders found the program to be beneficial, the challenging atmosphere of Middle College is not appropriate for everyone. For Palo Alto High School student Chris Milligan, who dropped out of the Middle College program, the intense environment proved to be too stressful. "I just never liked school in general," he said. "Middle College was harder and it just didn't work out for me."

For more information about Middle College, visit http://www.mvla.net/middlecollege/index.html or talk to your guidance counselor.