West Oso pilot lets fifth graders earn college credit through ASU courses; two students posted 4.0s

Angie Mendy, a second-grade master-designated teacher at West Elementary, told the West Oso ISD school board that a new pilot program gives fifth graders access to Arizona State University “universal learner” courses intended to remove traditional barriers to college credit.

“Our vision was simple yet radical,” Mendy said, describing a program that she said establishes “a multi-tier, entirely risk-free pipeline starting with our fifth grade students designed to guide our students step by step towards earning a Delmar(e) College associates degree concurrent with their high school graduation.”

Mendy said the district used ASU’s universal-learner courses because they require no high‑stakes placement tests or GPA prerequisites. Families pay a $25 upfront transcript‑shield fee; students who want official college credit later may pay the standard college charge (Mendy noted a $400 course fee) to have the credit recorded. If a student is dissatisfied with a grade, Mendy told the board, the district’s approach is to let the student retake the course rather than incur the $400 cost.

The pilot enrolled two fifth graders, Barbarita Bay and Joe Christian Zuniga, in an ASU health and wellness course. Mendy said both students “excelled” and “officially initiated their permanent higher education transcripts with a perfect 4.0 collegiate GPA.” She added that Delmar(e) College department chairs reviewed the ASU syllabi and confirmed content alignment for transfer evaluation.

Board members asked how students were chosen, how long courses take to complete and who covers the cost. Mendy said selection used a combination of GT indicators, STAR scores, GPA and teacher recommendations. She explained students have up to a year to complete a course (the minimum completion window is six weeks), and that parents currently pay the $400 credit claim if they elect to have the grade recorded as college credit. The district paid a $25 initial fee on behalf of the pilot students when appropriate.

Board members and staff discussed plans to expand the program to junior high and possibly offer scholarship support so families would not shoulder the $400 cost. Miss Moore and board members said they would examine options for funding, teacher/facilitator supports and parent orientation to ensure students have home support during asynchronous coursework.

The board did not take a formal vote on program expansion at the meeting; Mendy said the next steps include further alignment with Delmar(e) College and planning to scale from the pilot after collecting results.