​

True or false: You can graduate from high school with a college degree. You can get your associate degree before your high school degree. These aren’t trick questions.

If you are a participant in the dual enrollment or Hoop of Learning program at Chandler-Gilbert Community College (CGCC) the answer to these questions is “true.” For Zachary Johnson and JuliAn Cottam, this wasn’t just a possibility - it happened. Johnson and Cottam recently participated in CGCC’s Hoop of Learning program and earned their associate of arts degrees before they received their high school diplomas.

Johnson and Cottam started CGCC’s Hoop of Learning program their high school freshman year. The Hoop of Learning program is designed to provide the opportunity for Native American high school students to earn college credits, receive full scholarships, tutoring and more. In addition, students learn about their culture/heritage with Native American guest speakers, instructors, fieldtrips and coursework.

Johnson recently graduated from Chandler High School. He plans to transfer to Arizona State University in the fall to study electrical engineering. “This was a great experience that more students should take advantage of,” Johnson said. “It was definitely a time investment attending high school and college at the same time, but Carriann Dehiya, the program coordinator, supported me and was always available to help, so that made a big difference.”

Cottam is a recent graduate of Mesquite High School. She will be attending Brigham Young University - Hawaii – and will major in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages. “When I began, I really just hoped I got experience in the college system and a few classes out of the way,” said Cottam. “But I got so much more from this program than I thought I would.”

In addition to the Hoop of Learning program, high school students can take classes at their current school to earn credits toward an Associates Degree through the Dual Enrollment program. 

CGCC partners with East Valley high schools to offer dual enrollment credit and has strong articulation agreements, which make earned credits transferable, with the three major in-state universities and out-of-state colleges.  Dual Enrollment courses are held on high school campuses and taught by community college qualified high school instructors. Participating Districts include Chandler, Gilbert, Higley and Queen Creek Unified School Districts, Public Charter Schools and Private Schools.

“Chandler-Gilbert Community College hears the same comments from parents all the time - I wish I knew about this program as it really gives students an advantage,” said Marina Giovannini, dual enrollment coordinator for CGCC. “I have two children of my own who decided, in addition to AP classes, to go the dual enrollment route– they will be graduating with Bachelors degrees in three years.”

Currently, only a small percentage of East Valley students are taking advantage of the Dual Enrollment program. The Dual Enrollment and Hoop of Learning programs are available at most Maricopa Community Colleges but are not as well known as advanced placement (AP) and International Baccalaureate (IB) classes. Many parents and students are not aware of the difference between the programs. The key difference is that when students take final AP or IB tests they must earn high marks in order to gain credit for the class. Dual Enrollment and Hoop of Learning classes award credit as long as a “C” or better is earned for the entire class, which takes pressure off of students who do the work but do not test well.