New Muir Students Take Advantage of ‘College’

As new ninth graders begin to sign in to their virtual classes at John Muir High School, about 30 of them have already “been to college.”

“Muir is very unique,” said Alejandra Diaz, early college counselor, told Pasadena Now recently.

The school has an early college program where students begin taking college-level courses at Pasadena City College in the ninth grade. Of those incoming ninth-graders, said Diaz, there are already about 30 who have taken their first college course over the summer.

“And then of our 10th to 12th graders,” said Diaz, “we have about 278 that are continuing students taking college-level classes.”

And while a total of 295 incoming ninth-graders will be exposed to their first college class this fall, of those 295, about 28 took their first class over the summer, Diaz explained.

“And most of the classes that they took were a language other than English,” said Diaz. So far students have taken Spanish, French. Mandarin and Japanese over the summer.

Thus, said Diaz, “They all have successfully completed their first college-level course.”

As Diaz noted, Muir has had incoming ninth-graders take summer college courses, but in limited numbers so far.

“So to have 28 of them actually take advantage of taking their first college-level course in the summer was a big deal,” she said.

As she explained, the first course that the students take is more of an introduction to college and college study habits, along with time management, and a growth mindset.

“The first class really is meant to kind of get their feet wet into college-level coursework,” said Diaz.

In their second semester, students take a health education course where they learn about different health issues in society or in the United States, along with different health trends.

Should students choose to continue college-level courses, they may choose any of the general education classes offered, such as political science, history, sociology, psychology, cinema, and music appreciation.

Students may also take college-level math or college algebra, as well as college-level college statistics on campus.

“We have a lot of eager students that take these additional courses,” said Diaz.
“Muir’s program really focuses on saving students time and money in taking college courses that they would take regardless of their declared major.”

Currently, Muir provides application workshops and meetings with new and incoming families to make them aware of the range of opportunities available.

Diaz is rightfully quick to trumpet those opportunities at Muir, saying, “We have great staff, we have wonderful, college and Career Academies, and they have exposure to partnerships with schools like Caltech and Art Center.”

And Diaz, added, “So really, they get a core experience coming to Muir, and early college is just a bonus.”