Fair Lawn Teens On Track To College Degrees Before HS Graduation

FAIR LAWN, NJ – Fourteen Fair Lawn High School juniors are on their way to earning an associate’s degree from Bergen Community College – a month before they graduate from high school.

The teens are the first from Fair Lawn High School to participate in the community college’s dual-enrollment program, which launched in 2017 and partners with 11 area high schools.

To participate, students must go through a competitive application process that requires 15 credits per semester while completing their required high school courses.

“We are so proud of our members of the Class of 2021 who are the first FLHS students to participate in the Bergen Community Early College Program,” Fair Lawn High School Principal Paul Gorski said.

“They started school this September before their classmates did, and they are balancing their college and high school responsibilities beautifully. These students are on track to earn their Associate’s Degree from BCC in May 2021, a month before their FLHS Graduation! Special thanks to Guidance Facilitator Stacy Morales for her instrumental role in getting this program off the ground,” Gorski said.

“It’s something we feel is a great opportunity for our students,” said Fair Lawn Superintendent Nick Norcia, during the January 2019 board meeting when trustees approved the district’s participation in the program. “We think it’s something we can give back to our families who are feeling the crunch and financial burden.”

Under the program, Fair Lawn Schools pays the full cost of the students’ tuition.

The participating students are: Faith Kwasnik, Kaelynn Amodia, Jung Hae Joon, Samantha Thai, Stav Kanza, Adriana Kopf, Dilara Kiper, Michael Natenzon, Mark Sinay, Fiona Lau, Frank Guadagnino, Finn Kliewer, Jasper Tumboken and Jason Lu.

Junior Samantha Thai said she wanted to “challenge herself” while also furthering her education, but added, “From a financial perspective, it would be less strainful on my family when I got to another col- lege after high school.” Thai works two part-time jobs, is a member of the Honor Society, Student Coun- cil, winter fencing team, and spends her free time studying for the SAT.

Students who earn these credits in high school will ideally take fewer credits while in college, especially if they transfer to one of the state’s public universities.

“Transferring from any of New Jersey’s community colleges to the state’s public four-year institutions allows the student to transfer seamlessly and automatically enter his or her junior year of college at a fraction of the cost of a four-year institution,” said Jennifer Migliorino-Reyes, Dean for Student Support Services at BCC. “Students who earn an A.A. degree or A.S. degrees - transfer programs - will find that the state's public institutions will grant them full credit for general education requirements. All of this at the age of 18!”

That’s exactly the goal for one early college cohort.

“It gives me an advantage in the future,” said Mark Sinay, who juggles early college with lacrosse, judo, Jewish Club and volunteering at Valley Hospital. “When I graduate from FLHS, I graduate with an associate’s degree too.”