9th Grade Program

BEC is If:

• You are excited about advanced coursework at an accelerated pace.
• You enjoy working independently most of the week and learning skills that will help you here and at your future college.
• You are excited about the possibility of completing your HS degree by taking mostly college courses, and beginning to build your college transcript early.

BEC Might Not Be If:

• You have a hard time starting or sustaining work on your own, and aren’t interested in learning the skills that support this crucial action.
• You can’t devote 25-35 hours per week towards your academics.
• You’re not interested in reaching out for help from your peers or instructors.
• You aren’t interested in starting 10th grade as a full time college student.

This program aims to complete these three goals during the full academic year of enrollment:

• Build self-management (executive function) and college readiness skills.
• Acclimate students to the college term schedule and pace of work demands.
• Earn up to 18 college credits over the 9th grade year and significant high school credit aimed at HS diploma completion.

Each of the three, 11-week quarters, students take 4-6 courses that are preselected to maximize high school diploma completion. These will be a mix of high school credit and ‘Dual Credit – DC’ courses that bear both college and high school credit. These will be taken by all students in the cohort simultaneously.

The advisory class is the primary vehicle for teaching academic skills, executive functioning, and college readiness. Each of the three quarters students are enrolled in this low-time commitment class, and have weekly requirements of setting goals, building and submitting a weekly schedule, and completing skill-based assignments. Each Wednesday from 10:00-11:30 am, the entire cohort meets synchronously for 90 minutes to build community, enrich academic content and processes, and focus on optimizing their actions and habits to be more successful students.

All courses are taught online within varying online learning programs. Canvas serves as the main access system to learning, while Math uses the highly-esteemed ALEKs platform. Our DC courses are granted credit by our partnering colleges of Eastern Oregon University, Blue Mountain Community College, and Western Oregon University. All courses are taught by BEC highly-qualified teachers.

We have specifically designed this program to support students all over the state which means that we logistically can’t bring students all together each week in person; however, we strive to build as much community as we can. The Wednesday meetings and coursework serve as a basis for creating weekly connections and interactions and we also host no-cost monthly in-person activities and events around the state; including five proms.

The goal of the 9th grade program is to move our students into all, or a majority of, college coursework for high school diploma completion; and can be combined with online high school credit only coursework. In the second half of the 9th grade year, students will enroll at the Oregon community college that best suits their needs, either geographically or by course offerings, and begin the process of registering there for their 10th grade year. As they transition to 10th grade, their advisory teacher and counselor will help to individualize the best path forward. It can be anywhere from all high school options courses, to all college courses, or anywhere in-between.

Transitioning into the 9th Grade Program

We regularly have a large contingent of our 9th Grade BEC students come from BWA; however there are some distinct differences that all prospective BWA students need to consider before making the leap! It is important to communicate these to preserve and prioritize a student’s academic progression, confidence, and high-school/college transcripts.

What are the key differences between BWA and the BEC 9th Program?

• The existence of firm, weekly due dates and late penalties. Turning in all work at the end is not an effective strategy and will result in failed courses.
• The difference in pacing between quarters and semesters, and the general amount of school work. We move into 11-week terms without the opportunity to ‘catch-up’, instead of the traditional 18 week semesters.
• The independent nature of our college work and pre-college work. If a student is struggling they will need to self-advocate and reach out for help; as we do not having regularly occurring advising meetings.
• The barriers to re-entry of BWA if you decide to switch back mid-year. If for some reason you want to return to BWA it is not a given that you can resume the identical setup due to1) The need for home district re-release), 2) Low likelihood of retaining your advisor, 3) Potential of getting denied re-entry if BWA is full.

What do you recommend I take to prepare for the BEC 9th Grade Program?

We highly recommend students entering into the BEC 9th grade cohort to:

• Have at least grade level writing skills and pre-algebra level math placement.
• Have a diverse curriculum in their 8th grade year that necessitate higher level critical thinking and production of work (submitting written work); not solely quiz based (Acellus) courses.
• The ability to complete the work scheduled for that week, within that week.

What do I need to do if I want to apply?

If you would like to continue on and apply or get more information, start by talking to your AT, or reach out and contact us!

The application opens 2/7/25 and closes 5/2/25.