Mike R. Waldrip, Superintendent Frisco Independent School District | Official website
By the time the Class of 2024 collected their diplomas last month, many had already accumulated years’ worth of college credit. In addition to Advanced Placement courses that can qualify for college credit by exam, dual credit courses provided through partnerships with Collin College and the University of North Texas help students get a head start on college.
These early opportunities to earn college credit also offer cost savings. Students who complete the 42 credit hours through UNT’s North Texas Now! program can save thousands of dollars compared to taking the same courses as UNT students. Additionally, students who take Collin College dual-credit courses are offered the Collin County resident rate, regardless of their county of residence.
Two 2024 graduates earned associate degrees through Collin College:
- Aleah Adkins - Associate of Science and Lebanon Trail graduate
- Raziya McKinney - Associate of Science and Heritage graduate
Raziya McKinney, who plans to study math at Austin College this fall, expressed gratitude for the dual credit opportunities available in Frisco ISD and encouraged others to pursue similar opportunities. “Having an associate’s degree and my high school diploma means that I can continue to prove that my generation is strong and resilient,” she said.
Her mother, Cassandra McKinney, praised the partnership between Frisco ISD and Collin College, noting that counselors “bridged the gap between high school and the junior college to help make things understandable for high school kids.” She added, “It was a way that [Raziya] could contribute to helping make college an affordable reality in high school.”
Another group of graduates completed the two-year, project-based learning program North Texas Now. Through this program, students earned 42 hours of college credit, also known as core complete. The following students will be starting college as juniors this fall:
- Kriti Avirneni - Centennial
- Katelyn Barrett - Lone Star
- Mihika Bharadwa - Lebanon Trail
- Claire Brady - Lebanon Trail
- Blake Busboom - Centennial
- Katie Cameron - Frisco
- Ford Cooper - Lone Star
- Beau Dean - Emerson
- Trevin Fugere - Frisco
- Kylie Glenn - Reedy
- Kate Helms - Frisco
- Ambereen Hundal - Frisco
- Bailey (Isaac) Kelley-Weaver - Lone Star
- Leia Machado - Lebanon Trail
- Jake Manis - Wakeland
- Aiden Maricle - Wakeland
- Kaylehn Molitor - Independence
- Jeremiah Owoh - Liberty
- Sania Rahman - Independence
- Meenu Ramkumar - Centennial
- Cole Ramsay - Reedy
- Juliana Reedy - Lebanon Trail
- Tyler Sanders - Memorial
- Joseph Sara - Heritage
- Saiesha Sawhney – Reedy
- Aarush Singh – Heritage
– Aniah Vincent – Frisco
Dual credit will be on the Tier III GPA scale, or 6.0, starting for the Class of 2030.
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