As the school year winds down area high school students should be deciding if they want to enroll in Kirkwood academy courses in Washington. April 15th is the preferred deadline for students submitting pre-registration forms, but that does not lock them into the classes. Washington County Kirkwood Regional Center Director Tera Pickens says the orientation sessions are held to help students and parents decide if the classes are the right fit for their academic schedules, “We really hope that that’s a time for the students to make that decision if it’s going to be a good fit for them or not. At orientation we’ll discuss, you know, college student expectations, connect with the students just to learn more, you know, do they have enough time in their high school schedule, are they making satisfactory progress at the high school for their high school classes. The students will tour the lab spaces, classroom spaces, they’ll meet with the academy instructors. Just really a great opportunity for them to learn as much as they can about the academy experience, and then be able to make that informed decision if this is something the do want to do for the 2019-2020 academic year.”

Orientation events will be held. The first will be on April 24th 6:30-7:30 p.m. for industrial technology academies at the regional center. The second one at the regional center is on May 1st for healthcare and network security and graphic design academies. And the final one will be on May 9th at 6:30 p.m. at the high school auditorium for those who want to enroll in the arts and science academies, and pre-business classes, and the general education classes that transfer to the four-year universities. The classes are free for area high school students.