Marysville high schools report growth in AP, college-credit and internship programs

Marysville High School and Marysville Early College High School leaders told the Board of Education on April 17 that the district has expanded Advanced Placement (AP) courses, college-credit plus (CCP) offerings, Ohio High Point pathways and paid internships.

The presentation highlighted rising student participation and outcomes that school leaders said can translate into college credit and workforce readiness. “We had a high of 77.8% of students scoring a 3 or above,” Principal Ken Chaffin said, referring to AP exam results. Chaffin also said the district increased CCP course offerings from 22 to 33 and estimated a potential 2,113 college credits could be earned by students if course results meet grade thresholds.

Tammy Cooper, internship coordinator at Marysville Early College High School, and Chaffin described internships as a growing component of the district’s career pathways. “A metric that I’m going to look at and continue to monitor is that… we had $63,000 earned in student internships in this school year,” Chaffin said. The high school presentation noted DECA state qualifiers grew from 21 to 85 students and DECA membership from 30 to 102 over three years.

Lisa Nemeth, assistant principal at the Early College High School, said the early-college campus continues to produce students earning college credit on campus and off: “We actually have 7 students this year on track to graduate with an associate’s degree,” she said, and reported about 195 students at ECHS are taking CCP courses out of roughly 600 students in that building. Nemeth also reported 76 seniors at ECHS participated in internships this year and said that roughly 50% of students at the Early College High School take at least one CCP course.

Board members asked how the district prepares students before high school for AP and CCP work. Chaffin and Nemeth said the district has shifted curriculum and lowered some high-school integrations into middle school courses to give students earlier exposure. “It really doesn’t matter when you learn it. It matters that you learn it,” Nemeth said, describing the district emphasis on mastery and access.

The presentation emphasized coordination with community partners, Columbus State and Ohio High Point, and said the district is piloting staff externships with local employers to strengthen internship placements. Leaders asked for continued board support to grow pathways and monitor scheduling conflicts that limit student internship hours.

Less urgent details: presenters asked board members to note that expanding CCP and AP requires teacher credentialing and scheduling adjustments; several board members praised the programs and the district’s partnerships.

The board did not take a formal vote on these program updates; the session was informational.